“We briefed our vendors with something like, ‘a casual, fun, indoor jungle, d-floor rager of a love party’ and ran with that vision!” says bride and groom, Dani and Adam, of their epic Melbourne wedding held at one of our favourite venues, Rupert on Rupert. These two lovely humans – together for seven years (as long as their cat Oscar has been alive “so it’s easy to keep track”) – say as a graphic designer and insurance broker, they perfectly balance each other out. “When it came to wedding planning, that meant I was off creating mood boards, designing stationery and briefing vendors with our vision, while Adam was the official master of the spreadsheet and made sure we could afford everything!” laughs Dani.
Their planning journey proved a big success, as they assembled a rockstar list of vendors, including legendary celebrant Nat Sproal, fab florist Salt Flower and lens lady Meleah from Lovegood Images. Scroll down for everything you need to know…
THE VENUE “We had booked a date night dinner at Rupert on Rupert with a loose, ‘Oh yeah this could be a cool wedding venue, let’s try the food’ mindset. We walked in those gigantic conservatory-like doors and were absolutely blown away by the atmosphere, the warmth, the comforting homey feel, the ‘Melbourne-ness’ of it all. It was the venue that did it all. Ceremony and reception in one, food, drinks, pre and post ceremony music… everything! And the atmosphere and space was so perfect for our relaxed and intimate vibe. The sit-down share plate style of the meal service made it feel like a family dinner where conversation is flowing, plates are being passed back and forth, and stomachs, souls and wine glasses are full. Mali of Rupert coordinated such a beautiful, seamless day. I didn’t stress once with her on our side. Plus, the drink service was notably out of this world! We still have guests raving about it.”
FAVE DEETS “The flowers and foliage really blew us away. You think you have a picture in your head of what your florist is going to put together, but seeing Salt Flower’s incredible ceremony arrangement for the first time, with Adam standing in front of it all handsome’d up in his suit waiting for me, was so emotional! I will never forget it. Salt Flower exceeded our imaginations and made us happy cry! The Heartbreak Photobooth, props and guestbook combination was also a winner. When guests weren’t dancing, they were getting chaotic in the photobooth (in the best way possible). We have the photo strips and drunken scrawls in a guestbook to prove it.”
REFERENCES “We opted not to have a planner or stylist which was pretty daunting. But Hello May’s Wedding Planning Guide was a brilliant and empowering purchase to keep us on track! I loved the month-to-month breakdown of things to check off your list. It made doing it ourselves much more manageable. Our vendors were all superstars from the Hello May directory, so we knew we could lean on them for ideas and have complete trust in their craft.”
WE’RE SO GLAD WE… “Invested in superstar celebrant – Nat Sproal. Her ceremony set the tone for the night and she had our guests smiling, laughing and happy crying. Absolutely smashed it. She introduced us to the concept of ninja vows, which was such a fun way to kick off in a lighthearted way. Adam and I both wrote four or five vows for each other to blind read out on the day, so we got to stitch each other up a bit and share our in-jokes with our guests. eg. I wrote for Adam “I promise to accept that pizzas never have.. and never will… have nine slices”. Total stitch up. Nat empowered us to make the day our own with confidence and ease.”
STANDOUT VENDORS “Meleah, our photographer of Lovegood Images, made being in front of the camera effortless, comfortable and super fun from the get-go. The final photos are absolutely stunning and so genuinely ‘us’, which is more than we could ever ask for. Plus we’ve never looked so hot! Or happy!”
You’ll find stacks of amazing vendor recs on our directory – like the phenom Salt Flower, who was in charge of Dani and Adam’s flowers, superstar celebrant Nat Sproal, epic Melbourne venue Rupert on Rupert and incredible photographer Lovegood Images.
CONTRIBUTING VENDORS Photographer Lovegood Images Florist Salt Flower Stationery & signage Designed by the bride Printer Peterkin Paper & Printery Ceremony & reception venue Rupert on Rupert Cake Katielou’s Cakes Cake Topper Edible Flowers Melbourne Hire Items The Small Things Co. Photo Booth Heartbreak Booth Entertainment Gia Events Celebrant Nat Sproal Rings Second Empire Jewellers Guest book printer Get Foiled THE BRIDE Bridal gown designer (Top) Prea James Bridal (Skirt) Popovski Bridal Boutique Bluebell Bridal Shoes Famous Footwear Accessories Toni May Hair & Makeup Bridal by Nicole Kene THE GROOM Jacket & tie Politix Shirt Van Heusen Pants Industrie Shoes Julius Marlow
