Rustic Luxe Fete in an Australian Warehouse

Settle in and stay a while because Shannon and David’s wedding was a rustic luxe fete with modern details, joy overflowing and a happy mix of textures. Greenery spilled over from the chuppah to the table garlands, and we definitely teared up when we realized the love heart boutonnieres were hand-stitched by the bride and her mother. The images from Lara Hotz wowed us as always, and the reception filled with wood chips, crystals, rattan and terra cotta is giving us all kinds of design inspo.

What style and feel did you envision for your wedding?
The aesthetic and atmosphere we were trying to achieve was refined rustic. An enchanted fairy forest. Deep tones of greenery and luscious leafy volume offset by distressed whitewashed brick walls of the venue. The use of white flowers against the greenery was an obvious direction for us. Tasteful and timeless whilst being calming and cooling in the heat of summer. Our favorite flower has always been the hydrangea. The vibe we were trying to create for our guests was as the invitation and dress code stated – ‘comfortable chic’. The menu was very relaxed with pizza slices and watermelon lettuce cups as entree and pull-apart garlic bread with an assortment of pastas as main course.

What are some adjectives that best describe the look of your wedding? Did you have a theme or color scheme?
In all honesty, I feel like the whole lead up to the day was a DIY process. Being an interior designer, I naturally took a hands-on approach to ensuring the vision David and I were trying to achieve was realized. My starting point was creating concept boards with imagery of how we wanted our day to take shape. These boards were shown to all vendor involved in creating the overall picture and helped make sure the vision was streamlined across vendors. I also did a layout plan of the reception room which labeled everything from the layout of the bench style tables with rigging and greenery above to cake table location, to outdoor fairy light garden layout. All stationery including invites, place cards, table numbers, name tags, menu cards, seating allocation and charity cards as party favors were done by us. The love heart buttonholes were hand cut and stitched by my mum and me for the groom and groomsmen. I designed the layout and vision for the ceremony and supplied with props to the planner for installation. David and I collected mix and match vintage crystal glasses, piece by piece, for the main table.

What flowers were used for your bouquet and/or floral arrangements??
Lots of greenery using foliage with white accents of lisianthus, roses and hydrangeas. My bouquet had a touch of pink.

Any advice for couples planning their weddings now?
We followed the ‘non-negotiables’ planning strategy which was passed down from my older sister who had a gorgeous wedding is happily married for years now. If the bride and groom each have 2 non-negotiables which are then set in stone, everything else is the up for grabs and discussion. For example, my non-negotiables were 1. Our photographer 2. reception stylist. If you both have the same non-negotiable which don’t match up, I am not sure what the rules then become so Good Luck working that out – its all part of the journey. At times it does get stressful and unnerving. Sometimes I felt like a duck all calm and collected on the surface but paddling like crazy to stay afloat under the surface – I think this is totally normal but just remember that as with everything, hindsight is a beautiful thing and all the negative energy or stressful times melt away as the magical day takes shape. Oh and also, stress less about seating allocations.

What songs did you play at your wedding?
The song we did our first dance to was “Higher Love” by James Vincent. Our band was great and had a funk Town vibe to them. Was a huge party filled with dancing shoes and air guitars!

Wedding Vendors:
Photography: Lara Hotz Photography
Event Planning: The Yaya Collective
Reception Stylist: She Designs Events
Floral Design: Neat Floral
Ceremony Venue: The Pine Groves, Centennial Parklands
Reception Venue: Koskela Kitchen
Rings: Temptation Jewellery by Protea
Catering: L’amour Catering
Cake: Rowlene Kramer
Ceremony Mismatched Bentwood Chairs: Vintage Patina
Ceremony Chuppah: A little character
Printer: Kwik Kopy Elizabeth Street
Entertainment: The Shiznizzle
Celebrant: Rabbi David Freedman
Stationery: Bride designed &/ hand wrote all stationery (Invites, place cards, table numbers, name tags, menu cards, seating allocation, charity cards as party favours)
Cinematography: The White Tree