Britt and Ben are just the kind of couple we want to be mates with, you know? They’re funny, they’re carefree, they’re total jokers – and their playful side totally shows through in their beautiful wedding. “There was no theme for the day,” Britt tells us. “We just wanted an overall cruisey vibe – and that we got! It was full of love and surprises but was short and sweet so we could enjoy the day without too many formalities.”
After a proposal involving Shrek, a dressing gown and a gorgeous Louise Jean ring that had been stashed away waiting for the right moment, Britt and Ben tied the knot in a place very close to their hearts. “We have lived in Richmond for so long and every Sunday we would go on the same walk,” Britt shares. “We would stop and sit under this particular tree on nice days and let our dog run around. One Sunday, Ben engraved our initials into this tree so when we were thinking of where we would tie the knot, we thought, why not under our tree?”
Picking out some of our all-time favourite vendors, Britt and Ben nabbed celebrant Love Leah to make it official, the talented One Spoon Two Spoon to work the camera… and had a bloody great day all round!
THE PROPOSAL “We were sitting at home talking about how amazing it would be to just take off and get married in Vegas, no fuss, no frills – just us, Elvis and a poolside cabana to drink in afterwards haha. Once COVID had cancelled this, we had our ring sitting around at home and Ben always said he would ask when the time was right. He saw an opportunity to propose in May 2020 on a Friday night whilst I was watching Shrek in my dressing gown, drinking champagne. It couldn’t have been more us. There was no knee drop – he just sat beside me, opened the box and said, “How bout it?” Even though I knew it was coming at some point, it still took me by surprise and was the best night ever. He originally wanted to wait until we could travel again, but my grandfather had a stroke a couple of days prior and he really wanted me to be able to go into the hospital and show him before he passed away. It was really beautiful.”
THE DRESS “My dress was purchased at the very last minute, by Ben haha. I couldn’t find anything out there, which was stressful. I had tried on wedding dresses in bridal stores, however I’m a size 12-14, probably more than 14 actually – I have large hips and bum with big breasts. Every dress I put on never zipped up or my arms didn’t go through – I actually walked out in a dress to show my friend curled over because it was so small I couldn’t stand. It was pretty deflating to say the least. I think there is a massive opportunity here for bridal stores to run larger sample sizes so we don’t walk out hating ourselves. But I found a winner online at . I wanted to stay within relatively cheaper dresses, I really didn’t want to spend more than $500, mainly because it was just a low-key day, I didn’t want anything long or extravagant. I knew in my mind what I wanted, so I googled ‘organza puff sleeve short white wedding dress’ and stumbled across the perfect Amanda Uprichard dress – and that was that. Ben ordered it for me as I kept forgetting to do it and it arrived maybe a week before the day – perfect timing.”
FAVE DETAILS “A big favourite of mine was my bouquet. I hadn’t organised anything as I was just wanting to walk down with my nan’s vintage bag. But my sister dropped into my house about 30 minutes before the ceremony with beautiful roses from her garden. It was the perfect touch. Staying on the floral topic, we were surprised with rose petals thrown by our families when the ceremony was finished. My sister had organised rose petals from my nan’s garden, my mum’s garden and her own. My pop who passed last year was the most amazing gardener with such beautiful roses so it was such a thoughtful way to have him included in the day.”
REFERENCES “I had asked my Instagram followers for celebrant recommendations and literally every single person said Love Leah! Leah Brady was available and we hit it off over a beer in Richmond when we met. Was perfect. Our photographer Hailey, from One Spoon Two Spoon – one of her photos of herself dancing at a wedding popped up on my newsfeed and I thought, omg her vibe is killer. So I reached out and it was just as simple as Leah and they were a dream to spend our day with.”
MEMORABLE MOMENTS “I was walked down the aisle by my dad and my older brother which was so special to me. I’m so lucky to have both of them. Our celebrant, Love Leah, was so sneaky and actually reached out to our close friends and asked them to write something to be read out during our ceremony. This was such a nice surprise on the day and a beautiful touch! We had both of our mums sign our wedding certificate as our witnesses. We pretended we simply couldn’t choose so we pulled names out of a hat on the day in front of everyone, but we had rigged it to only put our mums in there! It was so funny and so beautiful. We also both loved walking around Melbourne for our photos. Hailey, our photographer, had a small speaker on her shoulder and played our favourite Teskey Brothers song and we slow danced out the front of Pellegrini’s. I guess this was our first dance as husband and wife. It’s a moment we will remember forever. When we were getting ready, I gave Ben cufflinks with his best friend’s initials engraved in them – he passed earlier in the year. There’s an amazing photo of the two of them doing up each other’s cufflinks at a wedding a few years ago, so I thought this would be such a special way to incorporate Benny T into our day. We knew he was with us, as it was horrible weather all day and when it came time to leave for the ceremony, the sun was shining and there were blue skies. “
STANDOUT VENDORS “Our celebrant, Love Leah, photographer, One Spoon Two Spoon, and makeup artist Dana Vaughan were incredible! Also our waiters at Supernormal were so attentive and just outstanding. Supernormal curated a menu based on my and Ben’s favourite dishes and matched wines throughout. Everything just went so smoothly and was perfect. We were so lucky.”
Lucky? Maybe… or maybe it was the awesome team of vendors Britt and Ben brought on board that made their day so freakin’ epic. One Spoon Two Spoon is one of our faces here at Hello May and we highly advise checking out their directory listing – same goes for Love Leah, who Britt and Ben can’t speak highly enough of. And if you’re looking for seriously beautiful ring bling, head straight to Louise Jean and don’t look back!
CONTRIBUTING VENDORS Photographer One Spoon Two Spoon Florist Roses from bride’s sister’s garden Ceremony venue Our favourite tree in Richmond, with our initials engraved in the tree Reception & Catering Supernormal Cake Cakes By Pippy Celebrant Love Leah Rings Louise Jean (engagement ring), Sol’s Diamonds (wedding bands) THE BRIDE Gown Amanda Uprichard Shoes Tony Bianco Earrings Lovisa Makeup Dana Vaughan Hair The Blow THE GROOM Suit Angela Nicolaides Tie Versace Cufflinks Ties and Cuffs Shoes Gucci