Tell us how the proposal happened!!!
My partner and I were out walking our dogs one night and saw a huge shooting star, telling us to just go for it! We turned to each other and asked simultaneously – and, of course, we both said yes.
How many guests did you have?
70
How much did you spend in total for your wedding?
(What does this include? Everything including dress / suit / wedding bands or are there some items excluded? If you don’t want to disclose, you can give a range or just leave blank.)
$28,000. This included everything from proposal to last drinks at the reception, including engagement rings and wedding bands, food and drink, beauty treatments, teeth bleaching, outfits, gifts – you name it! The only thing not included in our total is a honeymoon, since we didn’t have one.
How long before your wedding did you start planning?
11 months
Tell us how the proposal happened!!!
My partner and I were out walking our dogs one night and saw a huge shooting star, telling us to just go for it! We turned to each other and asked simultaneously – and, of course, we both said yes.
Which venue did you use for the Ceremony & Reception?
We used the National Gallery of Australia sculpture garden for our ceremony, and the Loft and the Duxton for our reception.
Would you recommend this venue to others?
Yes to both – everyone at both were amazingly professional, kind and a pleasure to work with, and we were blown away by the quality of service.
Did you have help from a wedding planner or on the day planner?
No
Were you happy with how everything went on your wedding day?
We were incredibly happy with how things went. We actually split our wedding – we got married at a small immediate family-only ceremony on the Wednesday and had a bigger reception on the Saturday. I’m so grateful we did this and would recommend it to anyone that gets overstimulated or has sensory issues. Our vendors were really accommodating, and our families all understood and respected our needs, and still came and celebrated with us!
Was there anything you were not happy about or any lessons learnt in hindsight?
In hindsight, I’d either pay someone else to do the flowers and decorations or not do them at all. Our ceremony location was beautiful, it didn’t need any extra pomp, and it just caused a lot of stress on my parents to set them up that wasn’t needed.
When was your happiest moment?
Immediately after the ceremony, walking out with my partner, and being absolute dorks was the happiest moment for me. And, at the reception, when the whole dance floor was pumping to some ridiculous song – just being surrounded by friends and family having a great time, that was perfect.
When thinking about the whole journey from planning to completion, do you have any regrets or lessons in hindsight?
In hindsight, I’d spend soooooo much less on the decorations. Many were just not needed, and some not even used in the end. If you pick the right venue – a beautiful view, a gorgeous garden, somewhere already beautiful to look at – you can save yourself a bundle.
Tell me about any DIY you did, any smart or creative ways you did something, any tips, tricks, hacks or money saving ideas?
I DIY’d a lot – I made our invitations and signage using templates from Etsy and printed them using Zazzle; I bought lots of dried flowers over the year and made all of our flower arrangements, bouquets, and boutonnieres myself; I even made my partner’s ring!
The dried flowers were the biggest money saver – I bought them mostly second hand from other brides off of Facebook Marketplace and stored them for months before the big day. I spent about $1000 all up on flowers, vases and other supplies, but the amount of decorations and accessories I made would have cost well over $3000 to get professionally done, so I saved so much in the end!
The second biggest tip I have is to consider buying second hand wedding bands from places like Cash Converters – our bands and my engagement ring cost us less than $400 total, and all of them are 18k gold. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but if you’re the type of person that doesn’t hold any superstitions, it’s a great way to save!
What are some tips for couples planning their wedding?
Spend real money on great food, drinks and music – the reception is the best part, and often the things guests remember the most are these three things, so I recommend that they’re where you spend your money, not on decorations and pzazz no one cares about 48 hours later. Don’t cheap out on your photographer either – it’s your most lasting keepsake, so make sure it’s good quality. Finally, if you find a good vendor that you vibe with, ask for their recommendation or other vendors that they like working with. Chances are that you’ll like them too, and saves you having to trawl through listings to find them.
What was your wedding style?
e.g. indoor, outdoor, garden, winery, airbnb, at home, beach…
Ceremony was modern garden style, outdoors. Reception was a cocktail dance party.
Who made your wedding dress / suit or outfit / Where did you get it from? Were you happy with the service?
My dress was a custom made tea-length dress from Olivia Bottega (online). They’re great quality, affordable dresses, but they do come from Russia – so expect high import fees! I loved my dress and would definitely recommend them to others. My partner’s suit was custom made by InStitchu and was absolutely perfect. It cost more than my dress, but it was worth every penny! Both outfits took several months to be made, so leave plenty of time before the big day.
Did you use a florist / have flowers? Who did you use and would you recommend them?
My main flower supplier (other than secondhand) was Florette Preserves on Facebook and I would definitely recommend them. Every piece was lovingly wrapped and of fantastic quality. I did not use a florist to make the final pieces or install anything, however, so cannot recommend any to others.
Who was your Celebrant? Would you recommend them?
Steph Slater Celebrant. Steph was really lovely and a really big support for us on the day. I loved working with her and would recommend her to a couple looking for a fun, down to earth celebrant that will even dress to match your colour scheme!!
Did you have a hair and/or make up artist? Who did you use and would you recommend them?
My makeup was by Events Make-up and Hairstyling, and hair was by Polychroma Hair Colour Specialists. Both were really great to work with, very patient and willing to accommodate my complete lack of understanding about what I wanted leading up to the day, and absolutely wonderful on the day itself. I’d recommend both!
What style of catering and set up did you have?
Cocktail
What did you do for a wedding cake (if you had one)? Who did you use and would you recommend them?
We had a two-tier cake, white chocolate and raspberry with white buttercream icing, and flowers supplied by me. It was made by Confetti and Sprinkles and was amazing! She was so open to ideas, the cake was delicious, the service was super friendly, and the pricing very transparent.
Did you have bridesmaids / groomsmen?
Yes – 10 total in our I Do Crew, 4 for me and 6 for my partner. We both had mixed gender crews.
Did you give gifts to your wedding party or fiance? If so, what did you give?
Yes – we gave all the women earrings and necklaces, and all the men lapel pins with their favourite nerd references on them, and everyone got some novelty sunnies. I also gave my crew some get-ready gifts (face masks, gowns) and a cute candle each.
Did you have Wedding Favours & Bonbonieres? If yes, what did you have?
Yes – we had custom made flower bombs for everyone, but since it was a cocktail wedding they were easily overlooked and only about half were taken. I recommend not doing them if you’re going cocktail style, or do something really simple, like a cookie, or obvious, like a bag near the door with their name on it.
Where did your “first look” happen and how was it?
(The first moment you both saw each other in your wedding outfits)
In the field out the front of our home, with our dogs! It was really sweet and a nice moment together with our little family.
Did you include your pets in some way?
Yep! Just for the first look, my partner had one and I had the other. It was great to have them nearby and I love those photos.
What did you find most challenging or unpleasant when planning your wedding?
Figuring out the cost of things. My motto was, if the price wasn’t listed on the vendor’s website, I’d not bother with them. It’s possible we missed out on some good deals, but I didn’t have the energy to be chasing that info down. There’s a million vendors out there doing great stuff with prices clearly communicated, so that’s who I chose to deal with. I also really, really struggled with finding a dress I liked. In the end I chose something I knew I’d look beautiful in, even if it wasn’t my dream dress, and I was right.
Did you have a DJ? Who did you use and would you recommend them?
No, we used an extremely well curated Spotify playlist, but in retrospect I’d have preferred a DJ. There were a couple of IT/user errors (no biggie!) that a DJ would have been able to avoid.
Did you have any special effects like dry ice or fireworks? Who did you use and would you recommend them?
No
What song did you dance to?
Technically, Chvrches covering Kendrick Lamar’s LOVE, but we didn’t really do a big first dance moment. We just had everyone on the floor together and enjoyed ourselves in the crowd.
Did you have a Photographer? If yes, which company did you use?
Tracy Lee Photography
Would you recommend your photographer to others?
I would recommend Tracy to everyone. She was very well priced, extremely comfortable to be around and an amazing support on the day. Her photography is fantastic quality and I’m incredibly happy with her services.
Did you have a videographer or filming of some sort? If yes, which company did you use?
No
Would you recommend your videographer to others?
N/A
Did you have a honeymoon / have you planned it? How soon after did you have it?
No
Did you accept gifts or have a Wishing Well?
We said no gifts, but had a wishing well available if guests insisted. We understood that a split wedding was inconvenient, causing some guests to spend more on accommodation that they expected, and that the reception-only guests had missed out on the main event, so we were really just happy with our guests’ presences more than anything.
Did you have a Guestbook? How was it? Did you buy one or make it?
Yes, we had two! We had a book where people could write longer messages and a photo frame that guests could sign. We bought both – the book from Etsy and the frame from David Jones. The frame has a photo from our wedding in it and is now an art piece in our home. If I could choose only one, I’d choose the photo frame – I realised afterwards that our guests’ cards already say all the kindest and more heartfelt things, so can’t see why we ever thought a guest book was needed!
Was there anything else you wanted to add?
Don’t treat your I Do Crew like props. We told ours to wear whatever they wanted as long as it was at least semi-formal. No colour requirements, no rules, doesn’t need to be new – just show up and be comfortable and happy. It took away so much stress and cost considerations, and they all looked amazing. I have less than zero regrets about doing this, it was genius, and I would recommend it to anyone getting married – skip the wedding party stress and just let them be themselves.
