Real Wedding – Sam & Stephen, Red Hill VIC
A winter wedding that warmed our hearts, Sam and Stephen’s day encompassed beautiful nods to their values and vision. A vision that was brought to life by the exceptional planners and stylists at Whole Lotta Love Creative. With guests asked to wear a touch of sparkle, walking down the aisle together into an intimate semi circle for their ceremony and a complete transformation of their reception space mimicking a dark, moody wine bar.
Nikki McCrone, wove her magic, creating a fun and relaxed atmosphere for Sam and Stephen to indulge in deep belly laughs and so much love along the way. Their celebrant and DJ Aleks Mac brought a wealth of fun with a side dish of emotions as she regaled all their friends and family with their love story.
But Sam truly shone in her custom made Holly Butler full sequin gown. And as the night unfolded, beneath the warm glow of candlelight and the hum of laughter, Sam and Stephen soaked in every moment—completely present, completely them. A celebration that was equal parts heartfelt and electric, their wedding was a testament to the joy of doing things your own way, surrounded by those who matter most.
The meeting.
We met at work in 2020, which, at the time for both of us, was the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne. We got sent out on a stormy night to transport a toddler from Albury to Melbourne. It ended up being a 17hr shift stuck together. It was not a fun time, but we’ve had enough fun since then to make up for the trauma.
The ‘one’.
Sam: When I was considering moving states and jobs for a man when I always said I would never, ever… I did.
Stephen: When we were walking home together in the pouring rain one night and I knew I loved Sam no matter the situation.
The proposal.
I (Stephen) had originally planned on popping the question when we went back to WA for Sam’s sister’s wedding, but the ring wasn’t ready in time. So, then I arranged for a weekend away on the Great Ocean Road. I popped the question whilst we were having coffee one morning looking at the view from our room. Sam didn’t say yes…for a long time.
Planning process.
I (Sam) would have loved to keep it simple, elope and spend our entire budget on a trip to Europe. Stephen wanted to celebrate with his friends, so lots of compromises were made on both sides. Sam hates being the center of attention and has never once dreamed about a ‘perfect wedding’ let alone a wedding.
We found vendors that made the process so much easier and trusted their expertise. We tried to not fuss over small details we ultimately weren’t going to care about and focused on details that felt comfortable and very us.
Our priorities were spending as much time together as possible, good company, good music and good food.
Style inspiration.
We didn’t want a boring, stuffy vibe with lots of formalities. We love moody wine bars and wanted to create a dark, romantic, semi-hazy kind of feeling as much as possible.
We wanted everyone to have a good time with no responsibilities, so it was an adults-only event. We also asked everyone to either wear a little bit of sparkle or bright bow ties.
We tried not to deep dive into blogs too much. Pinterest was helpful initially to help narrow down a style we liked, but then I deleted it so I didn’t second guess things or get too many ideas that were just unachievable. We looked at a few venues based on what we’d seen on a few Melbourne Wedding photographers’ Instagram. I (Sam) found the more I looked at ‘inspiration’, the harder it was to stay true to us as a couple.
The ceremony.
The idea of walking down an aisle and through guests, awkwardly turning to look at you, absolutely terrified me (Sam). So, we flipped the ceremony set-up around into a sort of semi-circle with everyone facing us.
We also ended up walking down the aisle together; we had thought about it prior but settled on Sam walking down alone. Until an anxiety attack pre-ceremony, and the plan changed to Stephen meeting Sam at the end of the aisle and walking down together. We did fireball shots at the start to warm everyone up. We wrote our vows, which was a surprisingly vulnerable process.
The look.
Sam’s dress: I didn’t even want to attempt going dress shopping. Trying on clothes can be such a stressful experience for people at the best of times, and as I was already anxious about the entire wedding process. I found dress styles online that I liked, and Holly merged them all into one sparkly piece of art. I’m not sure Holly enjoyed making my dress in the end; there are probably still sequins all over her house, but I loved it. It was very me. The sleeves were removable so that I could spin during our first dance.
Stephen’s suit: I’ve always wanted a tailored suit and thought this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I picked a colour that I would hopefully be able to wear again but otherwise wanted a pretty classic style. My tailor (Germanicos) did the rest!
Favourite moments.
Sam: Having a drink together after our first look, just being able to have a few seconds alone before the chaos began, was everything.
Stephen: The first look! Getting to see Sam for the first time in her wedding dress and taking funny photos together.
Meaning of marriage.
Sam: Adventuring, growing and learning alongside your best friend. Pushing each other to be the best versions of ourselves. Accepting, taking care of and loving every future edition of each other, through all the seasons and storms.
Stephen: Marriage for me means having your best friend by your side as you go through life together – the highs, lows and everything else in between.
Wedding soundtrack.
Aisle: We Found Each Other in the Dark by City & Colour sung by Charlie from Hey Jack
Recessional: Love you for a long time by Maggie Rogers
First Dance: Wild by John Legend & Gary Clark Jr
Words of wisdom.
Decide on your must-have vendors first and ask them what venues and other vendors they would recommend. If everyone loves working together it makes the day so much easier.
Stick to your priorities, and don’t second guess your gut feelings; you’ll be disappointed if you change things up for the wrong reasons.
Blank slate may equal more expensive to decorate, less character and ultimately might not feel like you as a couple.
Don’t pick a venue if you can’t try the food before entering a contract.
There are no flies at a winter wedding.
Being a bride isn’t an exciting experience for everyone; sometimes, it’s type two fun. All the feelings are valid, and it’s ok to be a Brinch (Bride Grinch) about it. You don’t have to pretend to enjoy the process.
Recently engaged and no clue where to begin? We have all the tips, tricks and how to’s when it comes to finding and locking in your wedding vendors right here.
SAM & STEPHEN’S VENDORS
We wanted a supportive team around us that made our lives easier. We used Easy Weddings at first and then Nikki recommended some amazing vendors to us, including Whole Lotta Love Creative, who we then trusted with most of this work, Agi and Jenn were amazing.
Ceremony & reception venue: Lancemore Lindenderry, Red Hill
Celebrant: Aleks Mac. We can’t even with Aleks. Such an amazing human, a talented writer and just an all-around weapon. It made so much sense to have Aleks with us all day as a Celebrant, MC and DJ. The ceremony she wrote was exactly what we needed to lighten the mood, calm Sam down, have a laugh and share all the emotions with our guests. Her energy just carried the vibe we wanted through the day and night.
Photography: Nikki McCrone. Nikki was always on the cards. Sam works with her when she’s moonlighting as a nurse in her spare time and trusts her completely. Nikki was exactly who we needed on the day. She recognised what kind of vibe and direction we required and got us through the day unscathed with a whole bunch of absolutely stunning pictures to remember every second. We can’t imagine trusting anyone else. Nikki went above and beyond, even managing to make us look less awkward and even photogenic.
Styling: Agi & Jenn from Whole Lotta Love Creative. Agi and Jenn are now two of our favourite people. The day would not have happened without them, it definitely wouldn’t have looked as amazing as it did without them. The work they put into planning and styling a wedding is next level. We definitely think they need to charge more. They managed to turn our incoherent ideas based on moods, colours and Pinterest into a reality. They were available to answer all our ridiculous questions and guided us through the entire wedding planning process. Best of all, they turned the reception room into the dark, romantic, wine bar of our dreams. Agi and Jenn know so many talented vendors.
Florist: Rose Studios. We booked Rose Studios through Whole Lotta Love, and damn, the florals were phenomenal. We will be getting bouquets for all special occasions from Rose Studios forevermore.
Hair & Make-up: Hary May. Hary is an actual ray of sunshine, I don’t understand how a human like her exists. She is the kindest, friendliest lady and an absolute artist. She was the best person to have around me the morning of and did her best to hype me up. My hair and makeup stayed put all day and will never look that good again… unless Hary does it.
The dress: Holly Butler. Holly’s space is safe and personal, she turns your ideas into an amazing creation, and I can’t recommend her highly enough.
Shoes: Bared
Rings: Simon Curwood
Suit: Germanicos
Bow ties: Declic
Bar: Cocktail Hour: Batched Negroni & Margarita Cocktails from Everleigh Bottling Co
Favours: Magnet-Me Photos
Cake: We did a combination of our favourite cookies from Falco and Hatcher Baker. The best thing about this is that we can buy these cookies whenever we want to remember how good they are. We also ordered some gluten-free cookies from Butter Mafia which we were told by our GF guests were amazing.
Stationery / Signage: Maddison Jayne Design
Entertainment: Hey Jack & Aleks from One More Song DJs
Honeymoon: We did a recovery lunch at Alba Thermal Springs the day after the wedding and stayed a few nights in Sorrento. Then travelled to Palm Cove, The Daintree and Port Douglas.
Other: Dance Lessons: First Dance Melbourne
