Real Wedding – Olivia & Nathan, Brighton & Melbourne VIC

 

Olivia and Nathan felt a connection from their very first meeting. And whilst it was a slow burn to begin, this love story overflows with sweet romance and effortless emotion, all echoed in each delightful detail of their wedding day.

Beginning with a classically charming ceremony setting and ending with an epic, elegant inner-city reception, Olivia and Nathan had it all; garden party glam to metropolitan intensity, tied together with a timelessly tasteful sense of modern romance.

We love the colour palette of creamy mocha, soft ash and muted blush reflected through the bridesmaid’s gowns and linen textures of the reception. Epic clusters of white on white blooms elevated the effect, all illuminated by cloud-like arrangements of hanging pendant lamps.

Olivia was every inch a glam goddess in her gown by Rosa Clara, which she transitioned perfectly into the party by adding the sweetest tulle wings.

Every beautiful moment was captured by one of the best in the biz, photographer Aleksander Jason. And the biggest surprise of the day? A short downpour, which created the scene for stunningly romantic portraits of the newlyweds.

 

The meeting.

It all started at a mutual friend’s cocktail party about five years ago. This night was the first time we met, and once we started talking, we didn’t stop until the party was over. Guess you could say there was something special between us from the moment we met.

 

The ‘one’.

We believe that timing is everything in a relationship. When we first met, we had an initial connection, but we were both too shy to do anything about it. So, we became good friends and then naturally drifted our separate ways, as we were still figuring out our lives. Deep down, we always had that special place in our heart for one another – but the other just didn’t know it. Our paths eventually crossed again, the timing was perfect, and this time we let one another just how we had always felt. The rest is history.

 

The proposal.

This is a pretty sweet story if we do say so ourselves. First, for some context, we are both photographers and have a shared wedding photography Instagram account. Nath did some solo behind-the-scenes work and got a Byron Bay jewellery business to DM our shared wedding photography account and ask for Olivia to model some jewellery so we could take product photos for their social media. As anyone would do, Olivia made sure she had her nails, hair and make-up done for the photoshoot.

We headed out to Olivia’s favourite seaside spot, Point Addis, and proceeded to take product photos for what Olivia thought was a real photoshoot. Then, Nath dropped down on one knee and asked the big question! He had organised a beautiful clifftop picnic with our immediate family afterwards to celebrate.

 

Planning process.

Instagram was our number one and main resource. We did browse around on blogs, magazines and websites at times, but we always came back to Instagram. We follow many wedding vendors on our business account, so we always get so much inspiration from their posts. If we needed something specific, we’d go to the Instagram hashtags and search through local suppliers.

We thought the best place to start was to lock in the big vendors. We knew the style of wedding we wanted and stumbled across ALTO Event Space and fell in love. We only looked at one reception venue (ALTO) and knew that was the one. Once we locked in ALTO for our reception, we then locked in Kamesburgh gardens for our ceremony.

Next, we locked in our photographer, videographer, florist, celebrant, hair & make-up and wedding dress. With Covid constantly making us doubt if our day would go ahead, we hesitated to book the other vendors for our day.

A few months out, we knew we were getting married on our date regardless of what restrictions were in place. So, we booked the remaining vendors and just hoped we could have the wedding we planned. Covid definitely added extra stress to the wedding planning – but it honestly made us appreciate everything we were able to have so much more. The most important thing was having all our closest people celebrating with us.

 

Style inspiration. 

We think the words that best describe the style of our wedding are modern and elegant with a hint of romance. Our inspiration was that we wanted to make our wedding totally us – we didn’t want to make the day something we’re not. We kept it true to who we are, and it really was a day to remember.

 

The ceremony.

Our ceremony felt so special to us as it included all our closest family and friends. The ceremony was outdoors at the beautiful Kamesburgh gardens, the weather was warm, and the ceremony set up was so sweet and timeless.

 

The look.

Olivia kept an open mind whilst trying on different styles of dresses but fell in love with one particular dress. Olivia’s dress was a beautifully made mermaid-style gown, subtly beaded and with gorgeous geometric lace. She wore a traditional veil for the ceremony and then opted for some detachable tulle wings for the rest of the day. Her outfit was finished off with a simple strappy white heel and pearl drop earrings.

Nathan went about finding his outfit with the boys, and they all agreed on an outfit.

 

Favourite moments.

Our favourite moment of the day was at the end of Nath’s speech when we were both standing in front of all of our guests and thanking them for celebrating with us. It was so beautiful to see all our guests together in one place and see how everything we spent so long planning had finally come together.

 

Meaning of marriage.

Marriage to us means marrying your best friend, which we definitely did. As long as we have one another in life, we can handle anything.

 

Wedding soundtrack.

Ceremony: Acoustic guitar instrumental.

Reception entry: Love by Kendrick Lamar.

First dance: I Get to Love You by Ruelle.

 

Funny stories or near disasters.

In true Melbourne fashion, the weather decided to take a turn from the nice warm and partly cloudy day to an absolute downpour during our portraits. We definitely weren’t expecting that to happen. Luckily our limo driver had umbrellas, and we embraced the rain with our brave photographer and videographer. Those unexpected rain photos are some of our favourites from the day!

 

Planning surprises.

The dreaded C-word (Covid) took us and everyone else in the world by surprise. It definitely didn’t make wedding planning any easier, as no one knew what would happen the next day, let alone in 10 months’ time. Planning ahead was hard, but like everyone else, we had to be adaptable and be happy with whatever happened. At the end of the day, we knew we were getting married on our chosen date, and the most important thing to us was marrying one another.

 

Words of wisdom.

If we can give any word of advice, it would be to trust in what you and your partner want and create the day that’s perfect for you both, not anyone else.

 

With so many incredible images out there, it can be tricky to know where to begin when looking for your photographer. We have some true talents in our team of visual poets, so dive in to the directory and get booking!

 

 

OLIVIA & NATHAN’S VENDORS:

Ceremony location: Kamesburgh Gardens, 78 North Road, Brighton

Reception venue: ALTO Event Space, 350 Bourke St, Melbourne

Celebrant/Officiant: David Sturtevant & Steven Hayden (Groom’s uncles)

Photography: Aleksandar Jason Weddings

Videography: Atti & O

Florist: Pear & Poppyseed Events 

Hair: Jordan Doroschuk, Mr Almeda.

Make-up: Lisa Mitrov.

The dress: Rosa Clara, purchased from Raffaele Ciuca Bridal

Veil: Raffaele Ciuca Bridal

Shoes: Siren Shoes

Rings: Michael Hill

Bridesmaid’s dresses: Shona Joy

Bridesmaids Shoes: Jo Mercer

Groomsmen’s suits: M.J. Bale & Charles Tyrwhitt

Groom/Groomsmen Shoes: RM Williams

Bow ties / ties: Otaa

Bar & catering: Damn Fine Food Group

Favours: Handmade Soy Candles by Olivia (bride)

Cake / Cake topper: Pear & Poppyseed.

Stationery / Signage: Designed by Olivia (bride). Printed by Peterkin Paper and Printery

Entertainment: Friends of the Bride and Groom

Transport: Night Owl Limos

Ceremony hire: Weddings of Distinction.

Reception hire: Linen tablecloths – Table Art. Table runner & napkins – Event Art. Candles, candle cylinders, marble card holders & wishing well – The Small Things Co. Hanging lights – Technical Events.