When asked what marriage means to them, Annika and Luke had super-sweet words to share: “It means celebrating the amazing love and life the two of us have together,” Luke said. Aww! “It’s a commitment to learn and grow together, and to keep on celebrating all the wonderful things about our relationship,” Annika added. These two lovebirds, both chemical engineers who met at uni, clearly place importance on celebrating the good times. So, of course, their big day was one helluva love-filled party, complete with signature grapefruit cocktails, a big bridal “posse”, and a first dance to a mix of Father John Misty’s Real Love Baby and Groove Armada’s I See You Baby. We are SO here for it!
To make the magic happen, they hired a dream team – Annika brought Luke to tears when he first spotted her in Karen Willis Holmes, Grew & Co provided the ring bling, Kate Dawes Flower Design wowed with her bold blooms, and the uber-talented Stories by Ash took some seriously beaut pics! Scroll on to see…
THE VIBE “Elegant, classy and romantic, but still fun! We just wanted the day to be a happy celebration of our love for each other and the life we have built together. We kept the inspiration for theming to a few key colours that we knew would work well with our venue The Refinery and then just let the things we love govern the overall style.”
THE DRESS “I got my Anya gown from Karen Willis Holmes. I wanted something timeless and sophisticated, while reflecting my personal style and love for little interesting details. It took several months and a few boutiques before I found Anya, but seeing her sparkle in the natural light, I knew this dress was the one.”
FAVE DEETS “My bouquet from Kate Dawes Flower Design – I was/am obsessed with it! We also worked with The Refinery team to create custom cocktails for after the ceremony – the Mrs Knogsy, a grapefruit spritz, and the Mr Knogsy, a grapefruit negroni (Knogsy is Luke’s childhood nickname that has stuck)! Those cocktails went down an absolute treat after the heightened emotions of the ceremony. One of my favourite moments from the day was enjoying the cocktails with Luke, finally taking a moment after all the build-up to just relax and soak in the amazing thing we’d just done.”
REFERENCES “Instagram and Hello May of course! We noticed the “holy trinity” – our photographer Stories by Ash, celebrant Erin Woodhall and floral designer Kate Dawes – had worked together on so many real weddings that we loved, so this made locking in these three key suppliers a no-brainer.”
STANDOUT VENDORS “Ash of Stories by Ash – from the minute we contacted her, she was available, professional, kind and caring. On the wedding day, Ash was not only our photographer, but our friend, confidante and wedding insider expert (I’m sure the bouquets would have been held at all the wrong angles without her). We truly cannot express how incredibly lucky we were to have Ash by our side on the day, and the photos that she took are magical – they take us right back to all the feelings no matter how many times we look at them.”
WE’RE GLAD WE… “Had both our mums witness the marriage certificate signing. It was a special moment that meant so much to the four of us, and it was wonderful for us all to share it together.”
If you, like us, love these pics by Stories by Ash, make sure you click through to her Directory listing, where you’ll find links to more real weddings we’ve published. For more stunning brides in Karen Willis Holmes, head here, and for Grew & Co ring inspo, head here. Finally, if you spotted The Calile Hotel in this round-up and want to see more of the gorg space, head here.
CONTRIBUTING VENDORS Photographer Stories by Ash Florist Kate Dawes Flower Design Invites & favour tags Kristina de Hesse (family) Venue, catering, signage & menus The Refinery Cocktail menu & wishing well Blossie Printer Peterkin Cake Kristina de Hesse (family) DJ Alex Farquhar (Field Blend) Celebrant Erin Woodhall Rings Grew & Co THE BRIDE Bridal gown Karen Willis Holmes Veil Tania Maras Robes The Lullaby Club Shoes Loeffler Randall Accessories Dinosaur Designs (earrings) The Whole Bride (clutch) Luv Lou (sunglasses) Hair Amy Spry Hair Makeup Sarah Kelly Co Fragrance Le Labo Santal 33 Bridesmaid dresses Veronika Maine, Mossman, Fame & Partners Bridesmaid gifts Oroton (earrings) THE GROOM Suit & shirt Institchu Bowtie & cufflinks OTAA Shoes R.M. Williams Grooming Dieter Slicke Groomsmen suits Institchu