DIY Melbourne Wedding from Oy Photography
This is the kind of wedding that makes me want to move to Australia. Literally pack up my bags, head to the Land Down Under and then say "I do" amongst its awesomeness. It's a cozy + intimate beauty that just screams uber-chic with DIY details crafted by a bride and groom who are soooo in love, it's palpable. Basically, it's a whole lot of perfection wrapped up in a gallery of gorgeous images captured by Oy Photography. Join me there for all of the pretty.
From the Bride... Sam and I wanted a relaxed and intimate party filled with good food and wine, where we could share our love, happiness and laughter with some of the people we love most. It was really important to us that our special day reflected us in its entirety - that it was not just a pre-packaged arrangement that we bought from someone else - and so we took a more hands-on approach in planning the wedding and decided against hiring a professional. All the details surrounding the wedding reflected things that were personal to us.
We did our own invitations, programs and the works. My dad created ceramic necklaces that served as bonbonnieres for all the ladies and my brother made macarons to go in the place of a wedding cake. To pay homage to Sam’s Egyptian heritage, we named each table after a famous Egyptian and hired a belly dancer, who danced through dessert. We also provided handkerchiefs for people to wave at us as we shared our first kiss, and catching them in the act was definitely one of the highlights of the ceremony.
We fell in love with Butleigh Wootton not only because it was elegant, romantic and intimate, but also because it really reflected my love for history (it’s a heritage building) and in some perspectives drew parallels with the European architecture that Sam grew up with in Cairo. The Victorian/Italianate interior detailing was just so beautiful! The venue also provided an amazing backdrop during our ceremony and canapés in the garden.
DIY proved to be a lot of work and the 24 hours leading up to the wedding was a roller coaster ride. I spent the day before the wedding tying up loose ends, including arranging all the floral centrepieces and bridal bouquet, and at 11pm that night I was still sewing the hem of my ceremony dress and finishing up my reception dress. In addition, my brother’s macaron tower collapsed that night, and so we had to make a quick trip to a late-night cafe, where we bought two cakes and placed one on top of the other to create an incredibly messy two-tiered cake. It was really crazy.
The wedding, however, was absolutely gorgeous. The weather was perfect considering it was meant to be a cold and rainy winter day. The day was also full of surprises! Dad and I didn’t know what song we were dancing to for the father-daughter dance….until someone randomly selected a cha cha. At some point during the belly dance performance, a friend also got up to dance along. Everyone were enjoying themselves so much, no one wanted to leave.
People still remark on how composed I was given that a lot of things weren’t going to plan, but, in the end, I’m really glad we decided to take the DIY path. Everything felt natural, and all the little details and “imperfections” gave our wedding a unique character and really reflected who we were. The wedding was a culmination of all our blood, sweat and tears. When I look back to the wedding, I’m not just reminded of the actual day, but the planning process and all the hard work that’s come into preparing a foundation for our marriage. Honestly, I wouldn’t have had it any other way.
We did our own invitations, programs and the works. My dad created ceramic necklaces that served as bonbonnieres for all the ladies and my brother made macarons to go in the place of a wedding cake. To pay homage to Sam’s Egyptian heritage, we named each table after a famous Egyptian and hired a belly dancer, who danced through dessert. We also provided handkerchiefs for people to wave at us as we shared our first kiss, and catching them in the act was definitely one of the highlights of the ceremony.
We fell in love with Butleigh Wootton not only because it was elegant, romantic and intimate, but also because it really reflected my love for history (it’s a heritage building) and in some perspectives drew parallels with the European architecture that Sam grew up with in Cairo. The Victorian/Italianate interior detailing was just so beautiful! The venue also provided an amazing backdrop during our ceremony and canapés in the garden.
DIY proved to be a lot of work and the 24 hours leading up to the wedding was a roller coaster ride. I spent the day before the wedding tying up loose ends, including arranging all the floral centrepieces and bridal bouquet, and at 11pm that night I was still sewing the hem of my ceremony dress and finishing up my reception dress. In addition, my brother’s macaron tower collapsed that night, and so we had to make a quick trip to a late-night cafe, where we bought two cakes and placed one on top of the other to create an incredibly messy two-tiered cake. It was really crazy.
The wedding, however, was absolutely gorgeous. The weather was perfect considering it was meant to be a cold and rainy winter day. The day was also full of surprises! Dad and I didn’t know what song we were dancing to for the father-daughter dance….until someone randomly selected a cha cha. At some point during the belly dance performance, a friend also got up to dance along. Everyone were enjoying themselves so much, no one wanted to leave.
People still remark on how composed I was given that a lot of things weren’t going to plan, but, in the end, I’m really glad we decided to take the DIY path. Everything felt natural, and all the little details and “imperfections” gave our wedding a unique character and really reflected who we were. The wedding was a culmination of all our blood, sweat and tears. When I look back to the wedding, I’m not just reminded of the actual day, but the planning process and all the hard work that’s come into preparing a foundation for our marriage. Honestly, I wouldn’t have had it any other way.