A fashion designer by day, Bride Kate always knew that picking her wedding day get-up was going to be a biggie. It doesn’t surprise us an ounce that this lovely lady fell hard for a chic as heck Karen Willis Holmes number. Next on the agenda was quality tunes and a killer d-floor. Oberon Lane and The Vintage Stylus heard the call and the rest, as they say, is history. Capturing all these rollicking good times was Sydney based wonder woman Samantha Heather Photography. You can peep all her superb captures by scrolling down…

DIY “I designed all the stationery and signage for the day. But we also DIY’d our wedding favours. We bought some fortified wine in bulk and spent one night with my family dividing it up into little bottles. It was a really nice night getting excited for the big day, enjoying some of the Topaque as we poured it out.”

THE DRESS “It was SO different from what I thought I’d wear! I really thought I’d wear a super simple slip dress, but when I had tried some on they just didn’t feel special enough. I booked an appointment at the David Jones bridal suite to have a fun day out with my mum and the bridesmaids and it was the 3rd dress [Karen Willis Holmes] I tried and everyone was like ‘YES! This is the one’.”

LITTLE LOL “When we were having photos taken on our own in the backstreets of Surry Hills a car drove past and a kid yelled out the window ‘don’t do it!’. Alex yelled back ‘Too Late!’ and we had a little giggle. About 5 minutes later the kid walked over with his dad and the dad said ‘He has something to say to you’ and made the kid apologise.”

A WORD OF ADVICE “Don’t take anything too seriously and try not to worry about things going wrong because on the day if anything does go wrong you won’t even notice. And also you hear it a lot, but take people’s advice with a grain of salt. Lots of people will have opinions when you’re planning, but make sure you follow your gut.”

WE’RE GLAD WE “Really glad we had the venue until 1 am. It was always our plan and one of the reasons we chose Porteno was because there was no curfew. As it got closer we started reconsidering in case people were too tired or we were worried if they got bored. But we had so much fun on that dance floor, and I loved leaving at 1 am with all the guests that had made it to the end with us.”

STANDOUT VENDORSSam, our photographer, is such a beautiful person. She really calmed us on the day and made sure that we were happy and didn’t have anything to worry about. She did so much more than we expected, from making sure we were hydrated to just keeping everything organised all day and liaising with the other vendors, it was incredible.”

Fancy securing yourself a selection of fabulous vendors from Kate & Alex’s tried, tested and loved list? Click through for more from Samantha Heather Photography, Karen Willis Holmes, Oberon Lane and The Vintage Stylus. But first, be sure to scroll all the way down…

CONTRIBUTING VENDORS Photographer Samantha Heather Photography Florist Daisy Girls at The General Printer Fast Printing (invitations), Surry Hills Printing (venue posters) VistaPrint (other stationery) Ceremony Venue Santa Sabina Chapel, Strathfield Reception Venue & Catering Porteno Events Cake Heartcaker Wedding Favours Pfeiffer Wines, Pack My Product Entertainment Marc Malouf via Oberon Lane DJ The Vintage Stylus Rings Caitlin Boyd Transport Kombi Style BRIDE Dress Karen Willis Holmes Bridal Boutique David Jones Veil Mi Bridal via Etsy Loungewear One Day Bridal Shoes Loeffler Randall Earrings Reliquia Reception Dress Bec and Bridge Hair & Makeup Brides by Kristin Brett Bridesmaid Dresses Shona Joy, Zimmerman, Cooper St, Custom Made (Tessuti) Bridesmaid Shoes The Iconic GROOM Suit InStitchu Shirt Jack London Bow Tie David Jones Shoes Florsheim