We took one glance at this industrial-style wedding complete with blood-red roses and gothic candelabras and fell into a rather deep swoon. Upon emerging, we discovered that the lovely lasses behind it were equally divine. A fashion designer by day, Amy’s bridal look is nothing short of chic central. As for Mimes, she works in theatre so that dramatic suit is on point. The result? A heckin’ masterpiece of a day. One of our fave Sydney Photographers Miko, of Tones & Harmony, was on hand snapping pics. Scroll down for. more…
FAVOURITE DETAILS “We ultimately wanted to minimise waste, so instead of party favours we decided to put out containers for everyone to take home left-over catering, wedding cake and the homemade Croatian cakes my mum and aunty baked. The amount of grateful texts we got from friends eating cake for breakfast the next morning was a delight! We went paper-free on invites and designed a website. It was really nice to be able to share information and the history of the venue and some cultural aspects we had planned to include on the day to get people as excited in the details.”
DIY “DIY is an understatement when it came to this wedding. There isn’t much we didn’t design, make from scratch or upcycle. Signs, invite website, table settings, hand-cut linen for napkins, floral arrangements, lighting … the list goes on. We borrowed from family, gumtree’d and hired the few bits and pieces we were missing. We got Mimes’ dad’s woodwork skills straight to work on a few standout pieces. Alan restored a vintage wooden fruit cart he found on gumtree for the cake stand. We sourced old mechanic oil drums from my uncle’s workshop and he turned them into bar tables to add to the industrial feel.”
THE DRESS “I [Amy] felt a lot of pressure on what I would wear. It was the first thing everyone was asking me because I have always loved fashion. I couldn’t get past this underlying feeling that I may regret not wearing the ‘white’ dress, even though I was leaning more towards dressing as a modern bride. I wanted my outfit to be a reflection of fashion now. I look back at my grandma’s and mum’s wedding photos and you can pinpoint that time from fashion. I wanted an outfit that would do the same for my wedding photos in many years to come. These hesitations made me put off deciding what to wear till quite close to the wedding. I was so fortunate I didn’t need to book far in advance because of my career and my mum also working for years in bridal, we made my dress together. I designed a structured modern dress with a low plunge neckline and hand draped waist details that flowed into the skirt that would open when I walked down the long aisle.”
A TOUCH OF TRADITION “We wanted to incorporate traditions of my Croatian background but in new ways. Rosemary buttonholes or ‘ružmarin’ is a welcoming gift symbolising friendship, love and remembrance for an event. My cousins pinned these corsages on guests as they entered the space and our friend Josh who helped create the bar menu designed a signature cocktail featuring the herb to be enjoyed after the ceremony.”
A WORD OF ADVICE “My sister said early on that people are excited to help and that giving them a job will make them feel more connected to our day. It was the truth! Most people will be lucky like us and have endless friends and family who want to help. The smallest of details take so much time and we had a lot on our plate planning this event in a bare walls venue so we allocated jobs to anyone who offered. I can be quite particular to say the least, we quickly realised it wasn’t worth the stress to try and do everything ourselves. We now pass on this advice, ACCEPT HELP and give others the opportunity to feel apart of your day.”
STANDOUT VENDORS “All of our vendors were amazing, but these few just made our lives so easy. I was actually really nervous and uncomfortable at the thought of being photographed. I’m often on fashion shoots, but always behind the scenes. Miko from Tones & Harmony made those fears disappear, it was just fun to hang out all day and have him be part of our day.”
This smashing big day was originally published in Issue 28 of Hello May magazine. If you’d like to lay your mitts on a copy, you can pop over to our online store here. There is even a nifty little free gift involved, so hop to it. More Tones & Harmony goodness you are after? Click here for Andrea & Dale’s Hunter Valley wedding. But first…
CONTRIBUTING VENDORS Photographer Tones & Harmony Cinematographer Stephanie Maglicic Event Planner, Stylist, Florist & Stationery Juxtaposers Collective Venue Legs on the Wall (Studio One) Catering Red Ember Cake CakeVonDee Hire Items Jaques Party Hire Entertainment Beeswax and Bottlecaps Celebrant Cecily Hardy Rings Julia De Ville Grazing Table The Gift Of Graze Styling Supplies Reverse Garbage THE BRIDE (Amy) Dress Homemade Reception Outfit Homemade (pants) & Saba (Blazer) Leather Jacket Vintage Shoes Senso Handbag Farrah + Sloane Earrings Brie Leon Hair & Makeup Veronika Moreira THE BRIDE (Mimes) Suit Zara Leather Jacket Vintage Shoes Jack London Hair & Makeup Haus of Hopwood