Before they’d even begun planning their wedding, high school sweethearts Sharee and Joel, first seen in Issue 10, chose to toss aside tradition and play by their own rules. £We didn’t have a proposal! says Sharee.
£The day we realised our 10th anniversary was approaching, we checked the calendar, saw it fell on a Sunday and decided a wedding would be an amazing way to celebrate such a milestone anniversary!
Captured by She Takes Pictures He Makes Films, there was no traditional wedding cake either (instead they chose to have a tower of Krispy Kreme donuts) and in lieu of a wedding dress Sharee wore a jumpsuit.
£It took a while to find what I wanted in a dress, mainly because in the end it wasn’t a dress that I wanted after all! At first I was apprehensive? The more I thought about it the more I realised it was exactly what I wanted. I’m so glad I chose it – it’s one of my favourite parts of the day – I felt so comfortable and confident in it!
Both originally from country Victoria, they picked Fairfield Amphitheatre as their ceremony spot – a place reminiscent of their home towns, while their reception venue, Pope Joan, represented their adult life in Melbourne.
£The dichotomy of our country and city lives provided the inspiration for our theme which heavily featured bold and quirky Australian flowers, and bright and charismatic Australian birds, alongside the quintessential Melbourne imagery of trams and train stations,” says Sharee, who also found inspiration from Hello May.
£Joel bought an issue on a whim from Mag Nation and we then ordered back issues online! Hello May helped with a detail I was particularly struggling with – wedding night undies! Their idea to create Conversational Bingo’ sheets however, was all their own.
£? it had little trivia bites about a number of guests on it and the aim of the game was to find out which fact belonged to who by mingling and chatting to the other guests. The prize was a pack of items that reflected the bride and groom which included a jar of dill pickles and Die Hard DVDs.
Super trivia prizes aside, (who doesn’t love Die Hard!) for Sharee and Joel, perhaps the biggest reward was knowing they’d done everything the way they wanted – no ifs or buts about it.
CREDITS Photos She Takes Pictures He Makes Films // Jumpsuit J.Crew // Lingerie b.tempt’d by Wacoal // Shoes Tony Bianco and Melissa Australia // Accessories Gorman // Hair and makeup Lady Day // Rings Claire Kinder Studio and Michael Hill // Bridesmaid dresses and shoes Bul // Jacket Noose and Monkey // Shirt Reiss // Pants and groomsmen suits ASOS // Tie The Tie Bar // Shoes Allegro Shoes // Socks Unempire // Barber / grooming Lords of the North // Printer Moo // Ceremony Fairfield Amphitheatre, VIC // Reception and catering Pope Joan, VIC // Cake Krispy Kreme // Wedding favours Bulleen Art and Garden and Pots ‘n’ Pots // Celebrant Felicity Johnston.