MADDY & RYAN'S BRUNSWICK WEDDING

These guys are all about the fun, folks, and you can see it in every darn moment of their day. From bride Maddy’s pink wedding dress to their urban winery venue, this Melbourne wedding was one “big fabulous party”, just as the bride and groom hoped. “We decided to pick the traditions we liked, and skip the traditions that didn’t feel like us.”

Loving on that ethos hard. We’re also loving the truly excellent dream team Maddy and Ryan assembled to make the magic happen – Nat Sproal nailing the celebrant duties as per, LoveCo Beauty in charge of hair and makeup and the uber-talented Kyra Boyer behind the lens. You’re going want to spend some time perusing these very pretty pics…

THE PROPOSAL “I proposed to Maddy in Mexico City. We went out to a mezcal bar and proceeded to get on it. We were sitting at this cute little table outside, drinking mezcal and eating tiny dried grasshoppers. Somehow the conversation turned to marriage and Maddy said, ‘I just don’t see myself ever getting married’. This was not the best thing to hear, given I was planning to ask her the following night at a fancy restaurant! A little while (and some more mezcal) later I thought it was the perfect time to ask. We were having such a great night, in such a cute place, and it just felt right. I asked Maddy if she wanted to get married. Her first response was ‘What?’ and she then proceeded to ask ‘Are you sure?’ a bunch of times. I explained how much I loved her, how I wanted to marry her, and that I even had a ring back at the AirBnB. She started crying and said yes.”

THE DRESS “I bought my dress online from Needle & Thread. I had never tried on any of their dresses, or seen them in real life, so I just followed the size guide, crossed my fingers and hoped for the best. I wanted something that felt special, but wasn’t too formal or traditional. Once I had the pink wedding dress, I decided on pink everything! I went online and found the shoes, bag and sunglasses to bring it all together.

THE SUIT “I had my suit custom made at Oscar Hunt and they were awesome to work with. I went in with Maddy, we had a drink and went through all the colours and fabrics on offer. I then went back for a couple of fittings. The whole process was so easy.”

REFERENCES “We spent a lot of time looking at the Real Weddings on Hello May and Instagram – looking at weddings we liked and taking note of the vendors that kept popping up. Once we had booked a couple of vendors, we asked them who they loved working with.”

MEMORABLE MOMENT “My favourite moment was listening to our ceremony. Our celebrant Nat Sproal did an incredible job capturing who we are and sharing our story perfectly. Standing up there together, listening and laughing with everyone else in the room, helped me feel less nervous and more excited about what was about to happen.”

WE’RE GLAD WE… “We did a lot of our photos before the ceremony. We had a first look and then spent about an hour roaming the streets near our house getting portraits done. It really helped with our nerves and we were able to get comfortable with our amazing photographer Kyra! Kyra was snapping away and chatting with us the entire time. It was a favourite moment of mine. It also meant we were able to spend more time at our reception with our friends and family.”

This gorgeous wedding first appeared in the Real Wedding Special Vol. 8. shop it here. If you’re inspired by Maddy’s pink wedding dress, check out this round-up of colourful bridal gowns we love. And if it’s Maddy & Tom’s dream team you’re after, you’ll find Nat Sproal, LoveCo Beauty and Kyra Boyer over on the Hello May directory.