Real Wedding – Shona & Bradley, Ripponlea VIC
With the stage set at Melbourne’s iconic Quat Quatta, Shona and Bradley embraced all the romance of a true winter wedding.
Their day was steeped in vintage-inspired, European elegance, with moody hues, crackling fireplaces and the venue’s opulent interiors creating the perfect backdrop. This was a celebration years in the making – from a chance connection that almost passed them by, to a sunset proposal in Santorini – they worked tirelessly to ensure every detail of the day that celebrated their love came together in a way that felt so distinctly “them.”
Captured by the talented Emma Hawkins, scroll on for some planning words of wisdom and a classically romantic but equally fun-filled celebration.
The meeting.
Bradley’s dad and my mum’s partner at the time were long term friends and had a common interest in cars. Mum’s partner owned and operated the local panel beaters/ ar restoration shop in town. Caleb, a good friend of Brad’s (also one of our groomsmen) worked at the shop and Bradley had a ding on his Chevrolet Silverado that needed repairs. They decided they would all work on it together after hours and take the time to catch up and hang out in the process of repairing the truck. Over time, mum’s partner decided that Bradley would be just perfect to date me (particularly because we both have miniature dachshunds, lol) he expressed his idea that we should date, which we both were not interested in at the beginning. It got to the point that he refused to finish the repairs until we had at least one dinner together, so we did and of course, he was spot on! We hit it off so well and were in love from then on.
The proposal.
Our proposal was seven years later in Santorini, Greece, overlooking the sunset.
The planning.
As the type A bride I am, I had a criteria that our venue had to meet, particularly around flexibility, allowing me to take the lead and have everything exactly how I wanted – amazing food and service, not too big and not too small for our 105 guests, and a willingness to work with the vendors that I had my heart set on.
We actually chose our reception venue first and after viewing about eight venues, we knew instantly that Quat Quatta was the one for us. I actually visited four times before officially locking them in and they couldn’t have been more welcoming and easy going whilst also upholding professionalism.
The look and opulence of the venue is exactly what we envisioned and it really helped that not only was it all aesthetically pleasing, but was run like a well oiled machine that ticked every box for us!
It was important to us to capture a feeling of cohesion across all elements of our day, ensuring that every part was “Oh, that is so Brad and Shona”. We wanted our guests to feel the love and a sense of ‘us’ in every little thing.
Another big thing for us was ensuring we genuinely got along well with everyone working the day, each and every vendor were professional, knew exactly what they were doing and went so far above and beyond for us and it made the day so much smoother and allowed us to let our hair down and enjoy it all in the moment.
Style inspiration.
Our style was very vintage inspired, with European influences.
Being a true winter wedding, we wanted to embrace the moody and rich colours, warmth of crackling fireplaces and honour the gorgeous interiors and architecture of our ceremony and reception locations, the rest just flowed from there!
The outfits.
Everyone looked absolutely fabulous and followed the dress code to a tee!
But, I’d have to say my gorgeous gown from Champery couture was the best! We had a detachable skirt, sleeves and the most stunning mantilla veil which all just worked so perfectly with my style, the venue, church and everything!
Favourite moments.
Oh my gosh, I couldn’t pick one, everything was perfect, but most likely walking down the aisle with my gorgeous niece and nephew, my lifelong best friend and sisters, towards the man of my dreams!
Standing beside our three best men, surrounded by the people who mean the most to us, that I could re-live again and again!
The dance floor!! We were in our element and were so blown away with how packed it was throughout the night, there were backflips going on, wheelies popping and moon boot stomping from our disabled guests, splits from my boss!! It was perfectly wild! It was pure bliss enjoying the night with our nearest and dearest and that was certainly the highlight of the evening.
Bradley is also not a lover of the spotlight and with no prior practice, I was so surprised how well he danced, he even nailed the lift!! A gorgeous moment on such a fabulous day.
Also, walking out of the church as husband and wife!! It’s definitely a pinch me moment, even now.
Words of wisdom.
Stay true to what you want and don’t stop searching until you find the people and places willing to work with that! Your unicorns are out there and they are worth finding!
There’s nothing quite like the advice of those who have walked the path before you. Click here for some of our most recent words of wedding planning wisdom that you can’t afford to miss.
Shona & Bradley’s vendors
Reception venue: Quat Quatta
Photography: Emma Hawkins Photography – I had followed Emma on Instagram for yearsssss! I could tell by watching her stories how she works and got a snippet of her personality, which was a nice little insight into who we would be sharing this important role with.
When it was time to lock someone in I reached out to a few people that were recommended to me, but ultimately I was still drawn to Emma, we had a chat on the phone and I just knew straight away that she was the right person for this role and that we had to go with her, and I am so glad that we did!
She really gets it, is so incredibly helpful, efficient and we had so many comments on how fantastic Emma and Keranda (content creator) were by guests, family, our bridal party etc.
They truly understood Brad’s reluctance to get posey and forced photos and took that on board so well, and from what we have seen so far in our sneak peeks I am simply blown away with what has been captured, our photos perfectly depict us and we couldn’t have wished for a better photographer.
The editorial style is just perfect, not too boho or over corrected which was something we really didn’t want as it doesn’t reflect our style. We also love our relaxed, moody, natural shots that just flowed so well in the moment and really captured the feelings. We are so happy with the candid moments that were captured with Brad’s dad Manny and our beloved grandparents, those photos we will cherish forever.
Content creator: Keranda Simmons
Florist: Proud Designs
Hair stylist: Monique Ringeri
Hair colourist: Mane Envy Hair
Make-up: Sarah Roberts and Sarah Hardy
The dress and veil: Champery
Shoes: Tony Bianco
Bride’s jewellery: Burlington
Groom’s jewellery: Maison Duciel
Suits: Black Tie Classic
Favours: Sugared Almond Boutique
Cake: Sweet Bakes Co
Stationery: Events Personalised
Entertainment:
Ceremony Musician – Ricky Muscat
Reception Singer/MC – Carla Troiano Soul House
Saxophonist – Justin Kenny Hall.
Carla, Ricky, Kenny and Matt were incredible!! They read the room and just went for it and honestly the dance floor was packed the whole night long! I couldn’t pick one song that they did better than the next it was amazing! I highly recommend them and having life music and a sax, it wouldn’t have been the same otherwise!
Transport: Bu Cadi
Spray-tans & lashes: Coco-Bronze
