Real Weddings

Article by

Sophie

Posted on

28/01/2021

Posted in

Real Weddings

Looking every bit the pastel princess, we adore Rachel’s bridal look from her perfectly wrangled tresses (thanks, Liv Lundelius Makeup!) to her sweet slides. And Allen, well, that brown Oscar Hunt Tailors suit is equally fab. You best believe that the rest of Rachel and Allen’s self-described “French New Wave X 70s disco X Ikebana pastel paradise” Sydney wedding is a delightful feast for the senses. Scroll down for all the details and snaps, as captured by Anna Turner…

FAVOURITE DETAILS “The flowers were everything! They really pulled the colour palette of the day together. They were a strange and beautiful mix of lavender-veined orchards, lilac bunny tails, pastel dahlias and gerberas, mixed with pops of bright vermillion roses. Lighting, I can’t express just how impactful this was! At the last minute, we arranged neon-pink uplighting in and around the dance floor. It gave everything a fun pink hue that contributed so much to the atmosphere! I can’t recommend coloured up-lighting enough. [Also] our cake, our cake was a true labour of love, made by a good friend of ours, which made it so special. It was a vibrant Marie-Antoinette style layered cake, decorated with pink and green icing and weighing in at 15 kilos, and containing more than 24 blocks of Lindt chocolate and 50 eggs! It was an extra challenge because I am allergic to gluten, so the whole cake was GF!”

DIY “We had an ambitious goal to make a pair of ceramic pinch pots for everyone. A couple of months before the wedding, we spent several weekends at Claypool together with Allen’s best man, Jarek, hand-building, sanding back, glazing and firing over 300 tiny little pots. We used traditional Japanese wrapping, furoshiki, to wrap the pots and wrote each guest a haiku. They looked beautiful on the day, and it has since been fun to see them featured on our friends’ dinner tables! We now use ours to hold our wedding rings.”

THE DRESS “I wore a dress by the Danish designer, Cecilie Bahnsen. It was organza fil-coupé and flowed in volumes. I am drawn to her exaggerated, voluminous dresses – they somehow manage to embody a sense of both romance and rebellion. I love this kind of duality in fashion. I knew early on in the process that I wanted to wear one of her dresses if I could manage to source one! I ended up buying it online via Matches, one size too big, then had my local tailor adjust it. My mum also helped with a few final stitches, a nice final sentimental touch.”

LITTLE LOL “Allen and I approached our seating plan with painstaking consideration. We thought we’d use it as a way to play ‘friend matchmaker’, introducing friends who we knew would get along but hadn’t met yet. On the day, we realised we were almost too successful and had unwittingly placed some of our rowdiest friends on the one table. It was like an explosion of love and laughter and craziness that radiated from this table, setting the tone for the evening ahead. We also ended up setting up two of our closest friends! Perhaps we have a future matchmaking business venture ahead of us?!”

A WORD OF ADVICE “Don’t be afraid to say no. Say no to suggestions from your mum, vendors, your great aunt, etc. Everyone is going to have an opinion about what you should wear, how you should do things, but trying to please everyone is exhausting and impossible. Vendors also want to know how they can deliver the best outcome for you, and part of that is having a clear understanding of what you’re not after.”

What a treat! Fancy getting in touch with a few of Rachel & Allen’s fab vendors? Well, we’ve got details! Click through for more real wedding goodness for Grew & Co, Oscar Hunt Tailors and Liv Lundelius Makeup. If it’s more Sydney weddings you’re after, we recommenced taking a peek at Wendy & Steve’s right here. But first…