Liv and Michael had a few stop-starts on their way to the aisle, which is what led them to have a cheeky elopement before the BIG big day! “We had initially planned a surprise wedding at our ‘engagement party’ at Panama Dining Room and Bar (who we went with for our big wedding three weeks after our elopement, nothing but amazing things to say about them!),” they tell us. “COVID cancelled our party twice, one due to a snap lockdown, which was incredibly hard. After the second postponement, we decided to get married in a small ceremony in a Melbourne park, initially planned to be on our anniversary. However, COVID had other plans and we had to postpone that as well.”
But these two cuties just wanted to get married as soon as they could – enter the elopement plans! The lovely Nikki McCrone came along to capture the day (and did it beautifully, we might add), and Liv and Michael finally got to “legitimise our cat children”, they share. “Going through multiple postponements made us realise that while the wedding day is important, it’s what it symbolises that means the most, as that can’t be taken away.”
THE VENUE “We ended up going to Fitzroy Gardens a few weeks after lockdown lifted, and found the most perfect spot near the Dolphin Fountain. We knew we could get married anywhere, as we had my best friend Isabelle as our celebrant, so this felt incredibly right. As we had fewer than 50 guests, we didn’t have to pay for a park permit. We also contacted Parks Melbourne to ensure we had a few back-up plans if it rained, such as the Band Stand. For our reception, we wanted an easy and cool place to go to for dinner after the ceremony. Poodle was perfect for that, and we can’t wait to go back.
THE VIBE “After so much heartache following the multiple postponements, we just wanted it to be about us. There was an unintended green-and-red theme that happened among our guests, which looked great in our photos! Otherwise, we planned it around having a really relaxed, chill time with our closest family.”
THE DRESS “I was so excited to wear my pink Zimmermann dress, which had originally been chosen as my ‘engagement party’ dress before I was to change into my wedding gown in our initial plans. I found it online, on sale, a few weeks after we got engaged. While I also had a wedding dress for our second date, I always loved the idea of being a little untraditional and expressing my personality. The midi length was so pretty, I felt wonderful in it.”
FAVE DETAILS “I wanted lots of colour, and our florist Laura was able to create the most gorgeous bouquet, using my dress and earrings as inspiration. I LOVED my earrings – they caught my eye on Jimmy’s season of The Bachelor, Holly was wearing them. I tracked them down after a lot of sleuthing and managed to grab a pair when the company added a story saying they had found three extra pairs! I had literally had a dream about them, so I knew they were a fun detail that I wanted on the day.”
REFERENCES “I found Nikki McCrone, our amazing photographer, online, as she had photographed another surprise wedding. I went on her website and saw she had photographed another pink dress, and loved her vibe. We met online with three photographers all up, but in the end Nikki stood out by miles, being so genuinely excited about our day.”
MEMORABLE MOMENT “We walked from QT Hotel Melbourne to Fitzroy gardens with Nikki and Isabelle, our photographer and celebrant, and were able to enjoy each other’s company as we anticipated something we had waited for for so long. Our ceremony was so special. As we just had immediate family present, we were able to soak up the moment together, and it felt like we were the only two people in the world. I loved that we got to have this small day, as it really took away the fear and anxiety that we wouldn’t be able to get married.”
CONTRIBUTING VENDORS Photographer Nikki McCrone Florist Flora Mac Ceremony Dolphin Fountain, Fitzroy Gardens Reception Poodle Celebrant Dr Isabelle Carr (friend) Rings Cushla Whiting Getting Ready Venue QT Hotel Melbourne THE BRIDE Gown Zimmermann Shoes Bared Footwear Earrings Trove Hair The Blow Australia Makeup Mecca Maxima THE GROOM Suit Briggins Cufflinks Mont Blanc Shoes Bared Footwear Barber Rokk Man Barbers Melbourne
CONTRIBUTING VENDORS Photographer Nikki McCrone Florist Flora Mac Ceremony Dolphin Fountain, Fitzroy Gardens Reception Poodle Celebrant Dr Isabelle Carr Rings Cushla Whiting Getting Ready Venue QT Hotel Melbourne THE BRIDE Gown Zimmermann Shoes Bared Footwear Earrings Trove & Co. Hair The Blow Australia Makeup Mecca Maxima THE GROOM Suit Briggins Cufflinks Mont Blanc Shoes Bared Footwear Barber Rokk Man Barbers Melbourne