Real Wedding – Nick and Hayley, Highett VIC

Fun, flirty and full of love was Hayley and Nick’s wedding day. Both being teachers meant that their organisational skills were on point which leant itself so well to coordinating and organising a wonderful group of suppliers to help bring their vision to life.

Knowing they were set on a retro, Palm Springs-esque vibe, the event space at Luna provided the perfectly-lit and airy atmosphere they were after. Teaming it with a bright floral palette and soft neutrals for their outfits meant it all tied in together perfectly. They even had their divine celebrant Teagan Dole from Panache & Co effortlessly blend in to their colour scheme.

Hayley dazzled in her Kyha two-piece dress, simple and non-traditional which is exactly what she was after. But she then added that resident retro glam when they were out for their couple photos, donning the Khya denim jacket, simply too cool for words.

They spent the evening laughing and crying (happy tears, may we add), touched by the words from beautiful speeches from friends and family before dancing the night away with espresso martinis in hand.

All captured by the incredible Kyra Boyer who is the is magic behind the lens, always creating a comfortable space for couples to relax and enjoy the moment.

The meeting.

Nick and I are both primary school teachers and became friends when we were teaching Year 1 in classrooms next door to each other in 2016. It wasn’t until nearly two years later that we took the plunge and started dating.

The ‘one’.

Even though Nick had plans to move overseas to teach in London and was leaving in a few weeks, we decided to start our relationship and try the long-distance thing. After calling each other every day and flying over to visit him, we both knew we were in it for the long haul!

The proposal.

Nick originally had plans to propose on a weekend away, but surprise, surprise, COVID lockdowns in Melbourne meant that wasn’t going to happen. After going to the effort of buying the ring without even being able to go to any in-person appointments with the jeweller (again, thanks COVID!), Nick was keen to propose as soon as restrictions lifted and also because he absolutely hates keeping a secret! The first weekend that restrictions lifted, Nick planned a picnic brunch at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Melbourne, under the guise of a date to celebrate the end of lockdown. As Nick is quite organised, I wasn’t surprised to see he had chosen a beautiful spot by the lake, brought a speaker for some music and even sliced up some oranges for our Aperol spritzes! I thought Nick seemed a bit edgy, because he kept checking his phone, but I assumed there was some sports score he was keeping an eye on. Little did I know, he had organised a mutual friend of ours to take photos of the proposal and was checking to make sure he had arrived! As soon as Nick had confirmed that the camera was ready, he turned to me on one knee and asked if I would marry him and of course I said yes!

Planning process.

The planning process was pretty relaxed because we both knew what we liked from attending quite a few of our friend’s beautiful weddings. I used a Google Sheets template which made everything so easy. Basically I found a few options for vendors on Ivory Tribe, got some quotes, discussed the options with Nick and we picked our favourites from there.

Our vendors were absolutely amazing! The only snag was the Omicron COVID outbreak hit the week before our wedding day, which was super stressful as it meant about 30 of our guests were unable to attend. Unfortunately, this included all of Nick’s groomsmen. Of course, we were so upset not to have those special people there, but we felt so thankful that we could still have our day and we were able to live stream the ceremony for everyone that couldn’t be with us. On the day, everything went smoothly and we had the absolute best time!

Style inspiration. 

We really loved the vibe of a warehouse-style, cocktail wedding with a light, bright colour palette, with modern styling and a touch of Palm Springs. Our venue, Luna Event Space, really informed our style as well as they have a gorgeous existing aesthetic.

I found that I got inspiration mostly through real wedding stories and directories on wedding blogs, especially to source our vendors. Being able to see how everything tied together in reality was super helpful to the planning process.

The ceremony.

We loved our ceremony and how our celebrant Teagan arranged it! Teagan wrote our ‘love story’ and kept it a surprise. Hearing it for the first time during our ceremony made it really moving and special. We kept our vows very simple and classic. It was really special for me to have my brother Cade walk me down the aisle, as our amazing Dad passed away a few years ago. Cade was busy during the ceremony because he also stood in for Nick’s groomsmen along with our friend Anthony who was our MC for the night. We asked my Mum and Nick’s best friend’s Dad to be our witnesses and loved having special people fulfilling that role. The giant floral wall installation at the top of the aisle and colourful confetti toss at the end of our ceremony looked amazing too!

The look. 

I knew I wanted a simple, all-white dress and also loved the idea of something non-traditional. I had seen a couple of brides in a two-piece ensemble and then I saw my dress on Kyha Studios’ Instagram and fell in love! I took my Mum and beautiful bridesmaids to their old South Melbourne boutique and tried it on first and everyone loved it! I did try on a few other styles just to make sure, but I knew it was the one and so did Mum and the girls. The denim jacket was a bonus promotion and it was so fun to use it in our photos! My jewellery I kept simple, just wearing my engagement ring, wedding band and long, pearl-drop earrings. On one of my nails I had nail art of a blue heart with Nick’s initials as my ‘something blue’.

For Nick’s outfit, he liked my idea of a light-coloured suit, but didn’t love the texture of linen. Just by chance he saw this suit at Connor very early on and snapped up five of them in the Boxing Day sales for a steal. It was actually more difficult to find a tie and pocket square in our neutral colour palette, but we finally found light-gold, paisley patterned ones that were perfect.

My bridesmaids chose their own dresses in similar styles and neutral colours. The first time we saw all four dresses together was about an hour before the ceremony, and they looked incredible together!

Favourite moments.

The ceremony was my absolute favourite moment! Seeing Nick light up when I walked in and squeezing each other’s hands throughout were highlights. I also loved getting ready in Luna’s bridal suite with my Mum and bridesmaids, having a laugh with Nick during our photos, laughing (and crying!) during some beautiful speeches and dancing the night away with espresso martinis.

Meaning of marriage.

Marriage means we are there to support each other through ups and downs, no matter what. It means getting to laugh through life with your best friend by your side!

Wedding soundtrack.

Aisle: Ocean eyes by Billie Eilish.

Signing: Dreams by Fleetwood Mac.

Recessional: True Lovers by Holy Holy.

Reception entry: Crazy Little Thing Called Love by Queen.

First dance: Believe by DMA’s

Funny stories or near disasters.

Well the main disaster was of course COVID meaning Nick’s groomsmen and many of our other guests not being able to attend. However, it did lead to some memorable moments like Nick having Zoom drinks with his groomsmen before the ceremony. The weather was also a bit stormy on the day, so my dress ended up getting absolutely filthy and quite damp, which got some laughs!

Planning surprises.

We aren’t super traditional, so I was a bit surprised at how moved I was during our ceremony and speeches. We originally wanted to have both those parts quite short, but they turned out so beautiful and I am so glad we invested the time.

Words of wisdom.

Make sure you know what elements are important to you both and only invest your energy into things that you will both love, even if they aren’t ‘traditional’. Ignore unsolicited opinions and don’t sweat the small details, just remember what it’s all about.

Final words.

A huge thank you to our amazing vendors who were so flexible with all the COVID-craziness! We loved working with you all and you made our day so special.

Nick and Hayley’s dream day included many amazing Ivory Tribe suppliers. Head to our directory and get booking a team that always bring talent and a total vibe.

NICK AND HAYLEY’S VENDORS

Ceremony and reception venue: Luna Event Space

Katie and the team at Luna were absolutely incredible, especially with the last-minute changes we needed to make. Katie is a styling mastermind and is always calm, cool and collected. The food was so delicious, as were our cocktails!

Celebrant/Officiant: Teagan Dole (Panache & Co)

Teagan is so incredible at what she does! We couldn’t have asked for a more organised and thoughtful celebrant.

Photography: Kyra Boyer

Kyra is magic behind the lens and made us feel so comfortable. We were blown away with our photos and how fun Kyra made the experience.

Videography: Nick’s Dad filmed our night!

Styling: Katie Clough, Luna’s venue manager

Florist: Natalie Hollobone from Foxy Evergreen

Nat had a special talent of understanding exactly what I was looking for, even though I have absolutely no clue about flowers! Her arrangements were out of this world.

Hair: Rokk Ebony Salon Mentone 

The Rokk team were just incredible on the day, letting us have free reign of the salon and sourcing our make-up artist for me.

Make Up: Jessica Bell

Jessica did the best make-up look I’ve ever had and is hilarious as an added bonus! Her attention to detail is incredible.

The Dress, veil and denim jacket: Chosen by Kyha Studios (Bonded bandeau and Finn skirt)

Shoes: Bared Footwear 

Rings: Monroe Yorke (engagement ring) & Michael Hill (wedding bands)

Bridesmaid’s dresses: The girls all wore different dresses! They were from Shona Joy and Dissh.

Suits: Connor (the groomsmen still wore theirs on Zoom when Nick was getting ready!)

Tie & pocket squares: Politix 

Catering and bar: Four Side Events 

Cake / Cake topper: I actually made our cake! Our florist Nat made a gorgeous floral topper.

Stationery / Signage: My bridesmaid Jade designed all our stationery and signage.

Entertainment: Revery acoustic duo and DJ Dan from Hey Jack

Transport: Uber

Décor: All of our stunning décor, furniture and plants were supplied by Luna Event Space.

Honeymoon: Tasmania. Our favourite accommodation was at The Cove, it was just stunning and the owner, Kim, was so warm and welcoming.

Other:

Biodegradable confetti from The Whole Bride

Earrings from The Traveller Series 

Sunnies from Cotton On 

Alterations by Sam’s Alterations – Sam was just so amazing to work with, he knows exactly how to fit bridal gowns to perfection.