Australian Beach Wedding

Today’s wedding calls to me in so many ways. Not only is it utterly beautiful (just as you’d suspect a beachside Australian wedding would be), but Lilli and Tom were married by the same man who officiated at Tom’s parents’ wedding nearly 40 years prior! How sweet is that? Thanks to Erin + Tara Photography for sharing their images with us!

From the bride, Lilli: We didn’t have a particular style in mind, but essentially we were hoping for a relaxed day where everyone could kick back and enjoy good food, good wine, good music and great company! We figured that if we could get those key things right, the rest would all come together. It was also important that the day feel true to us and represented each of us individually and as a couple. We knew the day would be romantic and emotional, we wrote our vows together and had Tom’s uncle Matt as our celebrant (he also married Tom’s parents in the 70s!) which made the ceremony incredibly special.

The beach is our favourite place so we were determined to find a nice spot on the water and Sandbar turned out perfectly. We were incredibly lucky with the stunning weather (which in April in Melbourne is never a guarantee) which meant everyone could enjoy the beach at the reception until well into the night. We were fully prepared for things to go a little awry on the day but incredibly, nothing did. Everything fell into place really beautifully, with a lot of help from our awesome friends and family and the best vendors in Melbourne! It was nice to have a couple of surprises on the night too, like the flash mob and Tommy’s epic speech.

Although we didn’t specifically choose a colour theme, the girls all wore shades of blue and green and we asked our amazing florist for lots of fresh, bright blooms of pink, yellow, peach, cream and green. She also made my beautiful flower crown with roses, little peppercorns, wheat and all sorts of other gorgeous little flowers. It was a complete surprise and it turned out perfect! Tom’s brother Lachie and wife Alisa built a photo frame and filled it with photos of Tom and I growing up and as a couple – very sweet. Decorating the gallery space for our ceremony was a team effort, with lots of friends and family helping out the night before to hang bunting, light candles, arrange seating etc. Tom teaches Prep (5-6 year olds) and he asked his students to draw us some artwork for the day so we hung that downstairs as well. Very cute drawings of what they imagined our wedding day would look like! Tom also made a short video of photos and video footage from our last four years together that we projected onto a wall for people to watch while we signed the register.

Any advice for couples planning their weddings now? Always keep in the forefront of your mind why you are planning this event: to marry the one you love. If you can focus on that, the many decisions and little problems that might happen along the way don’t seem to matter all that much. At the end of the day, we knew that all we wanted to do was get married and have a fun day and that helped us keep everything in perspective. Definitely only do something if it feels right to you two – don’t bow to tradition if that’s not your style.

Wedding Music:
Processional: “Sea of Love,” Cat Power
Recessional: “Home,” Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
First Dance: “You and Me,” Penny and the Quarters
Flash Mob: “Twist and Shout,” The Beatles

Wedding Location: Victoria, Australia / Photographer: Erin + Tara Photography / Ceremony Venue: Anna Pappas Gallery / Reception Venue: Sandbar Beach Cafe / Floral Design and Floral Crown: Cecilia Fox / Wedding Dress: Collette Dinnigan / Wedding Shoes: Camper / Hair and Makeup: Meg Guthrie and Rokk Ebony / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Cue, ModCloth, Myer / Groom’s Suit: Hugo Boss / Wedding Cake: Homemade by the Groom’s four aunties and mother / DJ: Francis Chang / Celebrant: Matt McDonald / Videographer: Sean McDonald / Wedding Invitations: Write to Me