This is how to do an elopement guys! The incredible dress (black, pink and sequinned no less!), the cake (it was pink, too, and by one of our faves, Miss Ladybird Cakes) and flowers to boot (you guessed it, with a common theme of pink!) these two truly upped our standards of what a wedding can be like with literally no guests.“COVID-19 turned our whole planning into a comedy of errors. We had everything locked in over a year in advance, but with each month of 2020 we found ourselves reworking it.” Ashleigh Haase Photography was there to capture the magic, so do yourself a favour and scroll down…
THE VENUE “We originally planned on Quat Quatta, then made a Corona pivot to Ripponlea Estate and then ended up going with Metropolis Events, three days beforehand. While we hadn’t originally picked Metropolis, our amazing florist, Floretta. helped connect us, and we were absolutely thrilled. The whole vibe was mid-winter glamour, with a focus on bold colours.”
FAVE DETAILS “Our flowers were outrageous. Once we knew that we would have basically no guests, we poured our whole budget into the floral installation by Floretta. and it was worth it. The cake by Miss Ladybird Cakes was also a stunner and another example of a vendor just taking our colour palette and running with it to produce something spectacular (and delicious!).”
THE DRESS “Once I decided I didn’t HAVE to wear white, it was really fun to try to find my perfect dress. I ordered a few things from different international designers and racked up a fair few international shipping costs, but when the Temperley London dress arrived, I knew immediately it was the one.”
MEMORABLE MOMENT “The whole day was both strange and perfect. I think dancing by the botanic gardens and on Southbank in the eerie quiet of a rainy, locked down Melbourne in the middle of winter was pretty surreal!”
A WORD OF ADVICE “In this instance the only stakeholders who truly matter are the two of you. If you keep that in mind, then making huge changes (like cutting a guest list from 130 to nil, or shifting venues three times) are more palatable because you know what you really want to get out of it.”
WE’RE GLAD WE… “Went ahead. Ultimately, we didn’t want to wait. We are crazy about each other, and we distilled our must-haves down to ‘say our vows to each other and with an audience of some virtual kind, get legally married, get glorious photos’. We achieved all of those goals!”
STANDOUT VENDORS “COVID-19 has been a series of curveballs, and it would have been really easy for our vendors to put our wedding in the too-hard basket. Not only did they not do that, but they displayed incredible creativity, flexibility and support. It is fair to say that without our tenacious florist, our wedding would not have happened at Metropolis Events. She single-handedly rustled up multiple back-up options every time we came up against another obstacle, and absolutely refused to take ‘Corona Virus’ for an answer. Equally, we cannot imagine looking half as majestic without the skills of Ashleigh Haase Photography, she’s a bonafide magician.”
If you want to see more real weddings from this lens lady, Ashleigh Haase Photography, head to our Directory listing here. And don’t miss more from cake maker extraordinaire Miss Ladybird Cakes here.
CONTRIBUTING VENDORS Photographer Ashleigh Haase Photography Florist Floretta. Ceremony Metropolis Events Cake Miss Ladybird Cakes Hire Items The Small Things Co. (Candles & Bases) Celebrant Stand-Up Celebrant (Paul Bonadio) Engagement Ring Suzi Zutic Jewels Wedding Band Julia Storey via Pieces of Eight THE BRIDE Bridal Gown Temperley London Shoes Bared Footwear Accessories Eldor Tina Jewellery via Etsy Hair Rubi Hair (Georgia) THE GROOM Suit Politix Shirt M.J. Bale Bow Tie Otaa Wedding Band Larsen Shoes Bared Footwear Watch Jaeger-LeCoultre Grooming Paragon (Ryan)