GABBY & PETE’S GEELONG WEDDING

When Gabby told us her vision for the big day combined “Hollywood Regency, Chinoiserie and Japanese styling” together, we must admit, it was hard to imagine! Yet with the help of Igby Productions, they managed to create an incredibly unique flavour that set the scene for the wedding. “Since I have a Chinese/ Taiwanese family heritage and I am marrying into a Greek family, the whole Japanese Art Deco style was a gorgeous way to translate our story,” added Gabby. True that. Caught on camera by the lovely Lilli from I Got You Babe, check it all out below…

THE VENUE “We wanted to be near the water and the Victorian Surf Coast is so underrated.  We initially started with a few wineries- so many of them are blessed with rolling hills and ocean views- but many were not able to cater to our requests regarding beverage packages that included basic spirits. Peter has a Greek background, and while they do like their wine, they love Scotch! The Pier Geelong was able to provide the ocean views and the extended drinks list. Just don’t let them forget to include the full list on your personalised menus, as none of our guests were aware of what drinks were available to them.”

FAVOURITE DETAIL “Our origami paper crane installation which was a labour of love that featured as our wedding arbour for the ceremony, and transitioned into our photo booth back drop at the reception. Pete and I had many volunteers (willing, and those not so willing) that assisted in the folding of 1000 paper cranes. Our only rule was that cranes could not be folded by anyone who didn’t know the bride and groom, nor could anyone be paid for the work.  A big shout-out to all of the lovely people who folded a crane in our honour!”

DIY “My birdcage veil was a headband from Sportsgirl with light grey bandeau netting purchased from Etsy. To tie it in to the muted metallics in my dress, I individually hand-stitched a handful of silver and gunmetal-coloured glass beads to the netting. Despite the number of pinpricks I caused myself while stitching, the veil turned out exactly how I had hoped and was totally worth doing.”

THE DRESS “I could talk about my dress for days! I will start by throwing out there what many brides might be feeling; unless you are a size eight, it’s hard to visualise any wedding gown as ‘the one’. I booked an appointment with One Day Bridal with the intention of trying on the Leyla two-piece, however, it was nothing like I had imagined- devo! I tried on more dresses until I put the Sullivan gown on, which was such a great fit and so me, but I still kept coming back to the fabric of the Leyla. So the end result was a custom gown (a Leyla and Sullivan love child) and it was everything that I had hoped for.”

A WORD OF ADVICE “Write your own personalised vows to each other. It was my favourite part of the entire day. It was during that moment that it felt like we were the only ones in the room.”

STANDOUT VENDORS “Lilli Waters of I Got You Babe. The girl knows how to make snaps extra moody and whimsical (and Stephanie took some stunning pics also).  So, so, so happy with the result! Our wedding celebrant and MC, Russell Healy is an exceptional human. And Sophia Sava from Pomegranite and Olive was the culinary genius behind our stunning and delicious wedding cake- she went a couple of extra miles for us!”

To see all of the gorgeous weddings featuring photos by our friend and directory vendor, I Got You Babe, click here.

This wedding was originally published in Issue 20. If you’d like to check out more from this issue, limited copies are available via our online store.