For this clever couple (and we don’t use that lightly folks- Sam is a solicitor and Alex is studying Biomedical Sciences…) their love story spans nine years, after meeting on schoolies. Then there was the epic proposal. “We have collected vinyl together since we first started dating,” explains Alex. “So, I recorded a love letter and had it pressed onto a vinyl. When she walked into the lounge room, I put the needle down on the record played.” Romantic much? Thanks to all-around awesome human (and HM directory vendor), Luke Going Photography, we have all the pics…
THE THEME “We had family and friends coming from overseas and wanted to have as much quality time with them on the day as we could. This lead us to have a big ceremony followed by a cocktail party for our 125 guests and an intimate family dinner afterwards, as opposed to a traditional reception. This kept things low stress and made sure we weren’t overwhelmed with hundreds of people. We’re both fairly minimalist, so that was a huge influence on the styling. We kept it basic– beautiful, modern furniture with textured white flowers and black geometric objects. We really went all out with the flowers to keep things as epic as possible.”
THE VENUE “We both have family in New York and it’s our favourite place to be together. Because a destination wedding wasn’t feasible, we wanted to incorporate a ‘New York’ feel into the day- our main inspiration when looking at venues and styling. The Johnson was the first and only place we looked at for our reception dinner– the views from the Michael Johnson Penthouse are insane, and made us feel like we were on a balcony in Manhattan. For the ceremony, we stumbled upon the Queensland Terrace at the State Library Of Queensland. It’s a stunning, huge open space with a beautiful outlook and gorgeous marble floors.”
FAVOURITE DETAIL “We really wanted our cake to be more of a piece of art and despite our parents trying to veto the idea, we landed on a simple matte black cake. It worked out so well and looked so cool. The flowers were a huge standout. They were so luxurious and full, without being too much, and were the perfect backdrop for our ceremony. Our wedding favours were stickers that said ‘I went to Sam and Alex’s wedding and all I got was this lousy sticker’. They were a completely last minute idea but everybody loved them.”
THE DRESS “Sphere Collective at Maroochydore had a Chosen by One Day trunk show. Sarah from Sphere was amazing and when I walked out in the ‘Sadie’ dress, my sister’s jaw nearly hit the floor, so I knew it was a winner. Simple, clean and sexy without being too much and so flattering. My dress arrived about three weeks before the wedding, and I was lucky in that I only had to have minor alterations! The One Day girls also gifted me a Tear Drop Veil which was absolutely stunning and the perfect final touch to my outfit.”
REFERENCES “We found Luke Going Photography on the Hello May website. He was the first vendor we met with, and we booked him the same day.”
A WORD OF ADVICE “A good excel spreadsheet will be your best friend- keep links to your vendors, shops you’re looking at and your budget all in one place. Also, colour coding is super helpful. Do as much as you can in the lead up yourself, but get someone on board to help you on the day with things like set up, pack down and moving items between venues.”
WE’RE GLAD WE… “Stayed true to ourselves and what we wanted for the family dinner for our reception. I’m also super glad we hired the girls’ dresses- getting such an amazing gown at a reasonable price as awesome, and the service from Glam Corner. was top notch. I (Alex) wish I hadn’t stayed up all night before the wedding watching the world cup and then fallen asleep with my teeth whitening trays in (and woke up with burning gums thinking my teeth were going to fall out of my head- they didn’t though).”
CONTRIBUTING VENDORS Photographer Luke Going Photography On The Day Coordination Event Styling Crew Florist Botanic & Bloom Floral Design Stationary Envelope Solutions Printer Moo Ceremony State Library Of Queensland Reception The Johnson & Tumbling Stone Catering (Post Ceremony) Wine & Dine’m Cake Velvetier Hire Items (Bar, Dry Bars, Stools & Arbour) Hampton Event Hire Entry Signage TresCollective via Esty Bar Menu, Ceremony & Seating Chart eprint Entertainment Spotify Celebrant Alana Salm Ring Box Woodsbury Transport Lux Car & Uber Custom Guest Book LiuMy via Esty Custom Swizzle Sticks Little Laser Co. via Etsy Custom Napkins Printed Napkins Wedding Favours Moo Stickers THE BRIDE Bridal Gown & Veil Chosen by One Day Bridal Boutique Sphere Collective Robe BHLDN & Le Rose Shoes Jo Mercer Rings Blue Nile Hair Aurum Bride Makeup Shannon Jennings Makeup Reception Outfit Sheike Pants, Kookai Top, Witchery Jacket & Shoes of Prey Bridesmaid Dresses Badgley Mischka rented via Glam Corner. Bridesmaid Gifts Mon Purse Clutches, ItalicHome from Esty Candles The Box Office Gift Boxes THE GROOM Suit & Shirt & Cufflinks M.J.Bale Tie Tom Ford via Mr Porter Shoes R.M. Williams Watch Raymond Weil Wedding Band The Gentleman’s Smith Groomsmen Gifts Otaa Ties, Izola Flasks, Genuine Fred Gold Party Cups.