Real Weddings – Steph & Bart, Thornbury VIC
When Steph and Bart were brainstorming somewhere low-key yet sentimental to say ‘I do’ they could think of no better spot than their favourite pre-kids dinner destination.
Some of their favourite dating memories were those spent sharing the famous house pie at the Northern Git, so naturally, it made it onto their bespoke wedding menu.
Their chic, modern, inner-city celebration featured a first-look at a wine bar, sweet in-between snaps on bustling public transport, and portraits outside Steph’s late father’s former law firm in a touching nod to the legacy and love that was keenly felt that day.
Their ceremony was crafted with heart and humour by the warmest of wordsmiths in Tegan from Panache & Co and delivered in front of the venue’s large-scale mural. The edgy backdrop was artfully juxtaposed with cascading green and white florals by Love Alfalfa that softened the setting and complemented the contemporary design of Steph’s structured mini gown.
Read on for insights into how they curated a day of relaxed romance that felt truly ‘them’, as captured by the brilliant Mimo Weddings.
The meeting.
We met each other hanging out with mutual friends at the Heidelberg train station – Bart was wearing a lime green spikey eyebrow ring, and he used to muck around a lot, so it was hard not to notice him. He was funny, confident and intimidating.
From here, we would see each other at the same parties as young teenagers. As years went on, we stole a few glances, but I kept my distance from this rowdy Marcellin Boy.
Years passed before we found ourselves at a mutual friend’s 21st, where he stole my heart forever. Together we just had fun. There was dancing and laughing, even a few cheeky kisses, but timing was not on our side because I headed off to America for five months. This paused our love story, and we reconnected in 2014, where we began the delicate dance of dating.
‘The one’.
I knew Bart was the one at our friend’s Melbourne Cup party. We sat for hours and just talked and talked and I even said something to him like ‘this isn’t normal I don’t think’, he was so shy and coy, but I knew he felt it too. We were inseparable after that.
The proposal.
With our gorgeous son, Rupert, in tow, Bart proposed in our backyard with a long playlist of our favourite songs and a beautiful Ceylon Sapphire ring. He had prepared a beautiful speech, and we were both crying while he was on one knee.
It was sentimental and perfect.
He had thought a lot about some other little gifts to propose with as well, like a map of where our first date was and some photos of the years we’d spent together on dates and holidays.
Planning process.
I wasn’t working after having my second child, Winnie, and Bart doesn’t love the spotlight, so I knew something relaxed would suit us better.
We considered budget and sentimentality the most, and this worked in our favour because vendors like The Northern Git were able to cater to us. We didn’t look at wedding magazines or blogs, we just kept coming back to what we thought we would be most comfortable doing. A big winery wedding would have been too overwhelming for us and not in our budget, so our favourite restaurant that we knew and loved sounded like a better option.
We liked the idea of photos before the ceremony on the streets of Northcote, Preston and Thornbury and getting family portraits done while we had a drink and nibbles. A huge driving force behind this was that I personally was worried the night would get away from us and we would miss getting important pictures with our special people.
The ceremony.
What made it super special was our unbelievable celebrant, Teagan! She made sure to include a lot of humour and sentimentality in our story, and lots of people genuinely commented on the way she did the ceremony. It was fantastic.
The outfits.
After having two beautiful kids and deciding on the venue, I knew I wanted to go with something short. I loved my dress and felt super comfortable in it. I think a short dress with a long veil was fun, and I still felt very bridal. Bart looks great in a dark suit, and it really suited him.
Favourite moment.
My two favourite moments of the day were for sure meeting our family at Estelle for drinks and photos. I really enjoyed seeing our family before the ceremony, having a few drinks and getting excited to walk down the aisle. It felt less nerve-wracking and more fun.
The second was walking down the aisle with my gorgeous Uncle Mike, who ‘handed me over’ to Bart. I felt this was a special moment for the three of us, and I know how loved Bart is by my family and vice versa. It was still emotional seeing Bart at the end of the aisle waiting for me, and I wish we could do it all over again.
Wedding soundtrack.
Aisle: I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) – Sleeping at Last
Recessional: Do You Believe In Magic – The Lovin’ Spoonful
Words of wisdom.
Weddings are not one cookie-cutter formula. You can genuinely make a wedding as unique and different as you, bending the general mould and expectations.
I think our photos were less ‘traditional’, and this is what I liked most about this part of the process. They were romantic, fun and relaxed, and this is just what we had in mind. They were different to what we’d seen and really suited us as a couple. It was also a great way to make sure we got photos with all the family doing this before the ceremony, and gave the rest of our family to be involved and feel part of the day. I loved seeing everyone before the ceremony.
STEPH & BART’S SUPPLIERS:
First look location: The Estelle. We knew we would be tight for time, so we decided to do a ‘first look’ at one of our favourite places to have a nice dinner and cocktails. The Estelle is a beautiful space and was a perfect location for a first look and family photos with drinks and nibbles, and of course, it gave us the opportunity to hop on and off the tram. I absolutely adore our wedding photos at Estelle because it feels intimate and different to what I’ve seen before.
We were then able to hop off the tram and get a few sneaky pics outside Gray and Gray. This was important to me because my father once owned “Gray & Gray Barristers & Solicitors” and I used to be his receptionist at the law firm. When he passed nine years ago, another business bought the space and turned it into Gray & Gray Barristers & Beverages. While my Dad couldn’t be there to walk me down the aisle, Bart and I found the opportunity to get some pictures taken outside of his old office as a nod to his memory. They even still had the same old signage and blue curtains! I felt that this was a quirky and intimate way to remember him on our special day.
These two locations provided a relaxed and natural vibe for our couple photos, where Bart felt comfortable. It was important to both of us that the photos were less staged, and I think we accomplished this.
Ceremony & reception venue: The Northern Git. Bart and I moved to Thornbury in 2018 and always frequented the Northern Git (before kids) for dinner. Generally, on a Sunday when we were hung over and we would get their famous pie – it’s seriously outstanding – which we featured on our wedding menu. But of course, our favourite part about going to ‘The Git’ as we call it, is the gorgeous front-of-house and completely hospitable Karine, the wife of the infamous chef Michael. She has a beautiful warmth about her, always chatting to us, making us feel at home in her restaurant and going above and beyond for us to have a nice meal and time while we’re there. It felt right to have our wedding there. We asked 2.5 years earlier if they could host us, but they it wasn’t the right time so we put the wedding on hold. A while later, Karine asked ‘so where did you guys end up getting married?’ and with red faces, we told her we hadn’t gotten married because no other space felt ‘right’. We laughed and she seemed flattered. The space was perfect, and I like that we had our ceremony in front of their famous mural on the side of the restaurant, I think it is was a good use of their artwork and kept it kind of edgy. The food was nothing short of unbelievable. A mix of up-market and homemade style food. We had the head chef Michael shucking oysters, king fish sashimi, homemade sausage rolls for our American family who love the Aussie basics. All of our vegetarian, vegan and gluten free guests were looked after with the highest priority. The sheer amount of thought that went into just looking after the guests was impressive and relaxing for me as the bride. We also had a pisco sour as our cocktail on arrival.
Celebrant: Panache & Co. I got in contact with Panache via The Ivory Tribe Directory! And wow, where to even begin with Teagan?! She was incredible. I found Teagan just by chance through the Ivory Tribe website, and as soon as Bart and I met her (via a Teams meeting), we both knew that she was ‘the one’. Not only did she have family dynamics in common with Bart, but she was also funny, warm and super relaxed – just what we were looking for. Teagan helped us both feel calm on the day and in the lead-up. Her words during the ceremony were funny and sentimental, which had everyone laughing and happy crying. Many people asked us after the ceremony how we knew her and if she was Bart’s friend or mine! She did such a wonderful job at capturing our story that people felt we had known her our whole lives and were genuinely shocked that there was no previous relationship – she’s that good.
Photography: Mimo Weddings. Got in touch with Mimo via word of mouth, my girlfriend had hoped to use them, but they were booked on her wedding date. I met with Caitlin prior to the wedding who had a look at the ceremony and reception space, and she provided the best advice on how we could incorporate the mural that takes up one side wall of the restaurant. She highlighted that it would look great in the photos, and I think she was right. On the day, the photographer we had was Kamila and she was so cool, funny and down to earth which made completing the photos so much easier. She gave us helpful suggestions when we were a bit awkward or made us laugh and it was an easy experience with Kamila, for sure. We absolutely adore our photos and I feel so fortunate that we were able to have Mimo capture our day and everything that was important to us.
Videography: These Wild Eyes. I absolutely loved the way Ben had made some of his wedding clips for clients with both normal film and then the super 8mm film. On the day we had the beautiful Jay who filmed us together with Kamila from Mimo and they were a dynamite duo for sure! Jay was so good at direction and encouraging us. We love our video and think it speaks for itself. A perfect compilation.
Florist: Love Alfalfa. This was a referral from my brother and sister-in-law who used Elle for their wedding and I loved her work. Then I saw her on the Ivory Tribe when I was researching vendors for my wedding. I remember seeing my sister-in-law’s flowers at her wedding and loving them! They were white and blue and looked great. When I asked my SIL about her florist, she mentioned that she was actually a Thornbury local. When it was our turn for a florist, I knew I wanted to have Elle. She went above and beyond in helping us decorate the space, figuring out where the ceremony should be and visited the restaurant on a couple of occasions in anticipation of the big day. Elle was also a new mum at the time of our wedding and so I felt we connected on that level as well. She made a perfect posy of baby’s breath for my Maid of Honour and I had a few long stem white roses. Nice and simple. Our flower girls had the cutest baby’s breath flower crowns but my daughter was playing with hers too much so it didn’t make it down the aisle. Our flowers were absolutely stunning, and the photos don’t do it justice!
Hair: Kelvin Wong. It was our makeup artist who suggested Kelvin and he did an amazing job! He handled all of us getting ready, with hair extensions, and it was busy. I loved my hair and I know the other girls did too. The Maid of Honour looked exceptionally sexy with her Pamela Anderson up do.
Make-up: Laura DiFrancesco. Wow, I have never had better makeup in my life. Laura was so, so gorgeous as a human and always ensured that I was happy along the way. She was thoughtful, gentle in her approach and absolutely professional. All of us girls felt unbelievable and have had so many compliments on our makeup and how great it was on the day. My Maid of Honour said to me “honestly I’ve never felt so hot like I did on the day of the wedding, the makeup was unreal”. She is simply the best in the business.
Dress/ veil: Holly Butler. I had previously seen a friend of ours marry in a Holly Butler dress and knew I wanted her to design mine. The experience with Holly was completely stress-free and whimsical. She’s calm, romantic and kind, and I loved every fitting with her and couldn’t wait to get back there each time. My dress was everything and more than I could have asked for and I feel that her specialty with corsets suited my figure and what I had envisioned for the day. Thank you, Holly for making my dream dress!
Bridal Shoes: Billini
Bridesmaids dress: Rebecca Vallance. It was really important to my Maid of Honour and I that she was comfortable, especially after we both were Mums by the time I was getting married. Rebecca Vallance has such amazing dresses and because I was wearing a short dress, it made sense for Chloe to wear one too. I think black was classic, and I loved that her dress is very wearable should she choose to debut it a second or third time. I loved that it looked classic, wasn’t too short or too long and you could tell that she really loved it too. It wasn’t your ‘typical’ bridesmaid dress and honestly, that’s what we both liked about it. I don’t think it’ll ever date. It might have been simple, but the small detailing on the roses down the front of the dress that sparkled and also showed just enough skin were perfect.
Bridesmaid shoes: Bared Footwear
Suits & ties: Menz Mode
Rings: Family jeweller
Flower girl romper: Oui Babe. Our flower girls wore the Layla Romper with white frilly socks and white Nike air sneakers. It was my beautiful niece, Posy (18 months) and gorgeous daughter Winnie (10 months) who both stole the spotlight. So lucky to have had this memory with the two of them.
Page boy suit: Country Road. My son, Rupert (3) was our page boy and instead of putting him in a suit, we decided on navy chinos, white untucked shirt and a navy bow tie with white Reebok sneakers as well. I wanted something to look more age-appropriate for Rupert which is why I opted for a shirt and slacks and not a suit. The sneakers with all the kids was a nice touch to make it less formal.
Cake: Jolly Cakery. OMG our cake was unreal. It was the typical ‘Pinterest raspberry cake’. The flavour was Vanilla genoise/ plain milk cream/ strawberry slices inside. Love love loved our cake and the following week was my husband’s birthday and we got the same flavours made again for his birthday cake. Delicious.
DJ/Sax: Jarrad Lees. He was a great saxophonist and played and awesome mix of ’60’s and soul at our wedding which matched our vibe completely. Loved Jarrad!
Acoustic guitarist: Andrew Watson
