Melbourne Town Hall Wedding
Whenever Louisa Bailey and Cecilia Fox combine forces for a wedding, we know we’re in for a treat. Erin and Chris’ wedding was personal, intimate, filled with gorgeous flowers, and bucked tradition in the best ways possible. Can you believe how gorgeous these poppy bouquets are?
From the bride, Erin: It was really important to Chris and I to make the day really inclusive for everybody that was there. It was for this reason we didn’t want to have a big guest list or formal bridal party and do a lot of the more “traditional” things that can sometimes make a wedding feel more like a performance than a celebration. We wanted our ceremony to just flow into the rest of our day and immediately be celebrating with all of our friends straight after rather than leaving to do photos. We wanted the whole day to feel intimate and let our guests know how important they all were to us.
Chris and I got married on our anniversary, which made it a winter wedding. As it was towards the end of winter we tried to incorporate a concept of “winter coming into spring,” with colourful spring blooms and fresh fruit popping against the cozy wintery feel of Hare & Grace. Melanie from Cecilia Fox was amazing and I really let her do her thing, she is so talented and I was astonished at how beautiful everything was on the day. Chris and I wanted a really cozy, intimate venue and the quality of food and drinks were paramount! As soon as we found Hare & Grace we knew it was perfect. Jess and her team were so helpful in making sure everything was just right and were happy to accommodate any requests we had. We had rave reviews on the food – and rightly so!
The best moment for me was when Chris and I got our first look together in the Botanic Gardens. After a bit of a stressful morning apart, the relief we both felt once we saw each other was enormous. It felt like “Oh, now you’re here I can handle everything, we can handle everything together.” Having the time together before the I Do’s was amazing, everybody should do it. In lieu of Bonbonierres (which can often be something the guests will throw out not long after), Chris and I made a donation to the Cancer Council who kindly provided us with daffodil pins for all our guests. We pinned them to the name cards on the tables. It was nice to know that we had helped a charity very close to our hearts and also special to us personally as our relationship started at a Cancer Council fundraiser event!
Any advice for couples planning their weddings now? I really wanted to savour the experience of the day and have the focus be on our guests. I committed to not doing any DIY (except the name cards!) as I had learnt from our engagement party that it is quite stressful. We made sure to select vendors who we totally trusted, with a body of work we loved and just let them do what they do best. I think some of the best advice we were given is to take some time with each other, really appreciate what you are doing. Even if it’s for 30 seconds and it’s just the two of you sitting in silence – take those moments whenever you can. The day goes by so fast and at the end of it, the whole thing is simply about the two of you saying “we are going to be together forever.” Nothing else matters more than that.
View all images from this wedding in the gallery
Wedding Location: Melbourne, VIC, Australia / Photographer: Louisa Bailey / Event Planning, Styling, and Floral Design: Cecilia Fox / Ceremony Venue: Melbourne Town Hall / Reception Venue and Caterer: Hare & Grace / Wedding Dress: Lisa Ho / Wedding Shoes: Kate Spade / Hair: Wendy Bunnett /hair / Makeup: Ashleigh Gaitz / Bridesmaid Dress: Carla Zampatti / Suits: Rhodes & Beckett / Groom’s Shoes: Loake Shoemakers / Cheese Cake: Calendar Cheese Co / Band: The White Tree Band / Celebrant: Jason Tuazon-McCheyne / Stationery: Puddleduck Paper Co
lol. that grocery store pic is pretty creative. nice.