Rachel & Anthony

I have been a wedding blogger for a long long time, well over five years now. And in all of that time I have never seen floral arrangements quite like those featured today in the simple, informal yet stunning wedding of Rachel & Anthony. They are quite frankly....breathtaking. Rachel has to be one of the coolest and cutest brides ever, choosing to pair her elegant glasses with a sophisticated Alice Temperley gown and fresh blooms in her hair. She is the very epitome of chic. There is something slightly raw and edgy about their choice of ex Butter factory setting, it makes the perfect urban-esque backdrop for such a dazzling array of flowers, love and laughter. Jonathan Ong's photography is beautiful as always and he will be in the UK in July and August if you are yet to book your photographer. Enjoy lovelies.

The Dress

Rachel The Bride: We wanted to keep the wedding simple - understated yet pretty. And I fell in love with the Alice Temperley dress when I saw it at Net-a-Porter. It was exactly what I was looking for, pretty without being constricted and over the top. I kept my accessories minimal as to keep the focus on the laser cut flowers that were hand-stitched on the dress.

The Venue

We initially planned for a garden wedding, but with Melbourne’s weather being so fickle, we needed a location with an undercover option. While doing some research online, we came across Butterland. Once a butter factory in Newstead, it was purchased by florist Katie Marx and her partner, furniture-maker Greg Hatton. Much like the venue, they were lovely and laid back. The venue projected a raw and rustic aesthetic, with the new owners adding their little touches such as wooden hexagon tiles for flooring. Beyond the factory was a newly built pegolla and a neatly maintained garden with fruit trees and vegetable patches. It’s was not a huge venue but it was ideal for what we wanted; an intimate country wedding.

The Decor

We kept decorations to a minimal as the venue had plenty of character. We knew that the flowers that Katie put together would bring much of the colour to the space. As designers we believe in the ‘less is more’ mentality so used a lot of restraint. We used lemons we collected from family and friends' trees as place settings and hand lettered signage and menus ourselves.

The Flowers

When we met with Katie she asked us to give her some visual inspiration. Together with photos of my wedding dress, Katie created us a concept which we loved. As designers ourselves, we know that it is important to trust your designer. We really trusted Katie to come up with something amazing and she didn’t disappoint. We had tall blossom branches along trestle tables with smaller arrangements of tulips, sweet peas, rhododendron, flowering gum, ranunculi, jasmine trails and other seasonal flowers in plum, green, white and soft pink. The flower bouquets consisted of peonies, garden roses, deep plum lilacs, sweet pea and jasmine vine. Not wanting to waste the flowers, we mentioned that people could take what they wanted home. Katie was so sweet as to setup a 'flower shop pop-up' in the foyer so people could get their flowers wrapped for the journey home. A truly amazing florist.  

The Fashion

In keeping things simple and relaxed, we had one bridesmaid and one groomsmen, we let them pick their own outfits for the day. It’s not hard to pair things with an off white wedding dress or a grey suit.

The Ceremony

The majority of our relationship has been long distance, but there have been certain friends who have been part of it since the beginning. One such friend was a pastor in Singapore. We were incredibly grateful that he and his wife could make it to the wedding and his personalised message on the day was perfect for us.

The Entertainment

Since it was a lunch reception and also because of space restrictions, we didn’t have a dance floor. Instead, we had a ping pong table for our guests to play!

The Food

Being a country venue, we looked for a local caterer. Katie pointed us to Spade to Blade, a caterer based in Daylesford that consciously sources local seasonal produce. Rather than a formal meal, we opted for sharing platters. Due to the long distance people would have to travel for a midday ceremony in the country, we asked if Gary could organise coffee and donuts. Not only did they manage to accommodate our request but they also brought their own donut maker to make fresh blackberry jam and chocolate-filled donuts! Their staff were friendly and ensured we ate during the reception. The wedding cake was a three-tiered Malaysian pandan (screwpine leaf extract) coconut chiffon cake baked by the groom’s mom, decorated with pansies and violas from Katie.

The Photographer

We only asked one photographer to shoot for us: Jonathan Ong. As a photographer, we love the perspective he finds in moments when he is shooting. As a friend, we knew it would be relaxed and free to just enjoy the day, knowing he would capture it all. We complimented this with disposable film cameras for guests to shoot from their own perspective at the reception. There were so many surprises and happy memories to be found when we got the photos developed.