Their love story is eight years young, with a two and a half year engagement (thanks to COVID) but “alas it was probably all for the better,” says the bride, as when their original venue cancelled due to attendee restrictions, they were relieved. “The extra year to reflect on what we wanted out of our wedding helped us realise the most important things are our closest friends and family. All we wanted was an intimate, comfortable and welcoming celebration instead of a large, glitzy event.” I Got You Babe Weddings was there to photograph it all and you can scroll down to check it out for yourself…
THE VENUE “We reached out to the team at Rupert and sat down to meet with Mali, the owner, and were absolutely taken in by her warmth and dazzled by her professionalism. She made everything seem so easy and took so much of the burden off our shoulders. We walked away from that meeting without a doubt in our minds that we had just left the place that we would soon be getting married.”
THE INSPO “The underlying vibe was one of warmth, intimacy and family. Both our families express love through sharing food and company. We both believe that it is important to honour the traditions in your life that we find value in. To honour our family values, we wanted to create a space where we celebrated our love through plenty of good food and chats. We wanted the night to have as much fun, dancing and many, many drinks!”
FAVE DETAILS “The candles. For the ceremony, we asked that Mali set up a series of candles at ground level behind the celebrant. At the time I thought it was just a nice little romantic suggestion that would go largely unnoticed and help to set the mood. Once we got there though it really outshone my expectations. It really contributed to the vibe and in some small way helped to calm my nerves for what was to come!”
THE DRESS “My original vision was to always wear a white jumpsuit. I found Cathleen Jia and was immediately excited that she is a designer based in Melbourne and had her own studio rather than a large boutique. She told me about her story and why she designs wedding dresses – it’s simply because meeting brides and hearing their stories inspires her. I tried on pants [but] my friends encouraged me to try on dresses because I looked like I always do (in pants), just in white pants. Reluctantly, I tried on a silk white dress and a separate top to appease their objections. When I turned around and looked at myself, I immediately understood the feeling that brides describe when they say ‘I feel like a princess’ – because I did. It fit me so well and made me feel so classy and elegant.”
MEMORABLE MOMENT “It’s an obvious one, but getting that first look at Trinh all the way down the aisle is easily my favourite moment of the entire day. It had only been the previous evening that I had last seen her, but my anxiousness to experience that moment made it feel like an eternity. All of the build-up to that moment where she turned that corner and I almost burst into tears!”
COOL CUSTOM “We’re both big on the idea that you should make your own traditions around the values that you hold and the things in your life that make you happy. Trinh really wanted to make sure that her family felt welcome and comfortable [and] one of Trinh’s ideas to achieve this was to have our celebrant present parts of the ceremony in Vietnamese. This was a big part of how we ended up choosing Jak Nguyen as our celebrant. Not only was he able to fit that brief, but when we met him he was quick-witted and funny.”
MARRIAGE MEANS… “Marriage has always felt to us like the reward, not the goal itself. It’s the cherry on top of an already amazing partnership.”
WE’RE GLAD WE… “Made decisions like no cake, no bouquet toss, ceremony and reception in the same location, share style dinner. All things that distract from what we wanted most for us and our guests. As much time together with our closest friends and family to celebrate this amazing commitment.”
STANDOUT VENDORS “Lili (of I Got You Babe Weddings) was a cornerstone for us from the start and we clicked from the word go. In the lead up gave us so much confidence in her skills and was so forthcoming with what she needed from us to perfectly capture the day. Jak is such a professional. I had multiple people approach me after the ceremony asking if we were old friends. One of those people that just makes it so easy to click with. I couldn’t have imagined a better person to conduct the ceremony. Mali is an absolute sweetheart. When we first met she laid out all the things that the venue would take off our hands, all the things that she needed from us to help make our vision come to life. She asked all the right questions and really helped us feel at ease in the venue – even from that first meeting at Rupert.”
If you want to see more from lens lady, I Got You Babe Weddings, head to her Directory listing with us here. You’ll love Kristen & Chris’ wedding and Clare & Gary’s. But first…
CONTRIBUTING VENDORS Photographer I Got You Babe Weddings Ceremony, Reception & Styling Rupert Florist Blossom Collective Stationery Paperless Post (Invites) Place Cards & Signage Willow Lane Paperie via Etsy Printer Vista Print Photo Booth Booth Mobil Entertainment Craig Francis Music Celebrant Jak Nguyen Rings Cushla Whiting (Bride) & Uniform Black (Groom) Transport Melbourne Valley Wine Tours THE BRIDE Bridal Gown Cathleen Jia Robes The Bridal Thread via Etsy Shoes Billini Accessories Black & Bloom (Earrings) Hair Nicole Kene Makeup Clara Campbell Bridesmaid Dresses Sheike Bridesmaid ShoesNovo Bridesmaid Gifts The Bridal Thread via Etsy (Pyjamas) THE GROOM Suit, Shirt, Bowtie Godwin Charli Shoes Aquila Watch Fossil Groomsmen Suits Formal Red Groomsmen Gifts ZaNa Design via Etsy (Cufflinks)