Jilly and Manny celebrated their four-year anni with a cute rural getaway. It was there that Manny popped the question with a thoughtful and unintentionally punny proposal. “Manny pulled out a scrapbook he had made of memories from our relationship, and on the last page, he had written ‘Will you marry me?’ (initially, I read it as ‘Will you Manny me’ due to his lovely curly handwriting).” Two years later, the twosome tied the knot at Newstead Victoria’s heritage Butterland building and, as far as the vibes were concerned, ‘charming’ doesn’t even BEGIN to cover it. Our hearts are full thanks to these happy snaps captured by Amanda Alessi, so scroll on and join us in gushing over Jilly and Manny’s day.
THE VIBE “We wanted a chic and elegant backyard wedding feel. We love hosting, but didn’t have enough space to have a wedding at our home. We wanted our guests to feel relaxed and comfortable.”
FAVE DETAILS “The flowers were a standout – we gave Katie our budget and a couple of inspiration photos and left the rest up to her. She outdid herself! We also got lots of great feedback on Tamsin, the celebrant. Although she’d only met us briefly on Zoom before the wedding day, we felt that she really captured the essence of our love story and had such a captivating manner.”
THE DRESS “I felt strongly that I wanted a minimal, low-key dress that reflected my usual style and personality. I tried on a couple of ‘wedding dresses’ at a local bridal boutique but found them all too embellished and dramatic for my tastes. I was also against spending thousands of dollars on a dress I’d wear once, on principle. I bought my Galvan dress online from Net-A-Porter and I felt very comfortable and like myself on the day.”
MEMORABLE MOMENT “We walked down the aisle together, holding hands, as Manny’s dad, sister and brother-in-law performed a beautiful acoustic version of Unchained Melody. Looking out to all our loved ones standing in the gardens before us was such a special moment that we’ll cherish forever.”
WE’RE GLAD WE… “We loved getting ready together on our wedding morning, along with about 10 of our close friends. It also worked well for us not having a bridal party, as we wanted to keep things as simple as possible (we both have demanding jobs and a young child, so wedding planning wasn’t high on the priority list). We were so happy with our choice of venue as this set the mood for the whole event.”
If you share in Jilly and Manny’s “simple as possible” sentiment, you’ve got to bookmark our handy dandy Hello May directory. It’s where you’ll find our favourite wedding pros, including these Victoria-based vendors. After more real-wedding inspo plus lots more good stuff? Issue 40 of Hello May is out now! Here’s where you can pick up a copy.
CONTRIBUTING VENDORS Photographer Amanda Alessi Stylist, Florist & Cake Topper Katie Marx – Butterland Stationery & Signage Jilly Richards (Bride) Printer Officeworks Venue Butterland Food Trucks or Carts Porcupine Eatery Cake Maker 3 Little Robins Cakery Other Desserts Icecream Republic Entertainment Pat Carroll (Friend) Celebrant Tamsin Whaley Rings Kieroy (Engagement) & Lott Studio (Wedding Bands) Transport Organ’s Coaches THE BRIDE Bridal Gown Designer Galvan via Net-a-Porter Shoes Loeffler Randall Accessories Alix Yang Hair & Makeup Makeup by Inèz Fragrance/Perfume Le Labo THE GROOM Suit P.Johnson Shirt Calvin Klein Bow Tie Déclic Cufflinks Vintage
