Stephanie & Matthew
Metropolis Events, Southbank, Victoria
Captured by White Vine Photography
Stephanie and Matthew’s eyes locked on their first day at university where they were about to begin their long journey of studies in Civil and Structural Engineering. They didn’t even get to the end of the first semester before they were off on their first date at Brunetti’s, Carlton and so began their love story.
Brunetti’s has continued to be their place of anniversary milestones, celebrations and place for late-night sweet cravings, along with a game of Briscola (Italian card game).
After six years of dating, Matt arranged for a surprise dinner and weekend away as part of a belated birthday gift at the Stones of the Yarra Valley. “After a beautiful meal and a few bottles of red, we headed back to our room on the estate where Matt had arranged an unexpected delivery of flowers and chocolates with a letter asking one question – ‘Will you Marry Me?’. History tells the answer to that one,” said Stephanie.
PLANNING A WEDDING
“Planning the wedding was an intense process as most couples would candidly admit, spanning across a 10 months. The amalgamation of our families different nationalities being Macedonian, Italian and Australian brought together a mix of traditions and culture we wanted to include.” Stephanie and Matthew were in pursuit of perfection with every detail and embellishment achieved through countless late nights, research, emails and coordination. “Even knowing the process could be described as exhausting whilst juggling busy careers, we would not have it any other way.” Certain activities of the planning phase were occasionally outsourced to family and dearest friends when permitted by Steph; she confesses to being a natural control freak.
GET THE PARTY STARTED
The day began peacefully at Matt’s house with light music, a few drinks and nibbles whilst close family and friends mingled together.
Meanwhile, over at the Steph’s house, the bridal party were up and about from 4 am with makeup and hair appointments. The family, food, music and dancing commenced with a bang at 8 am waking up the neighbourhood. Between Steph’s preparations, she managed to sneak downstairs to join in with celebrations and share some special moments.
CULTURES CELEBRATED
On the morning at Steph’s house, the Best man participated in a Macedonian tradition where he played the role of delivering the bridal shoes to the soon to be bride and ensuring that she makes it to the alter. This is one of the traditions that Steph wanted to maintain in her day. In the evening we had a mixture of traditional Macedonian and Italian music and dances which were blended throughout the night with everyone getting involved. This was another highlight of our evening where the true sense of two families coming together was evident with both sides getting involved.
“Steph’s grandpa was the only grandparent from both sides that was present at the wedding. During the morning celebrations, he was overwhelmed with emotion once he had a chance to absorb his surroundings and embraced Steph with tears.”
“The moment when my parents first saw me dressed in my bridal gown bought them both to tears.”
CHURCH ON TIME
Following the morning events, both Steph and Matt were off to the church, despite Matt’s limousines driver missing a few exits and taking the scenic route.
THE LOOK OF LOVE
A highlight of the day for Matt was watching Steph walk down the aisle, “I still remember the exact moment I took Steph’s hand at the altar and the look in her eyes as she could see into my soul. I will never forget that moment for the rest of my life.”
“When I finally took Steph’s hand at the alter and experienced the look, she gave me which made my heart melt!”
CEREMONY READINGS
Steph and Matt chose a selection of three readings for their church ceremony. “We were lucky enough to have been given a large selection of example readings from our priest which allowed us to select those which resonated most with us.”
First Reading by Andrew Veenstra (Matt’s 1st Cousin) was the “First Letter of St Paul to the Corinthians 13:4-7 -
Second Reading by Elizabeth Necovski (Steph’s sister and maiden of honour) was the “Letter from St Paul to the Ephesians”.
Third Reading by Joseph Ficarra (Matt’s 1st Cousin) was a selection of “Prayers of the People”.
PICTURE PERFECT
The ceremony was short and sweet followed by their first photos as husband and wife with their photographers White Vine Photography “These were our first moments as a married couple as we wandered throughout the gorgeous grounds of Melbourne University. Despite having a one-hour permit allowing photography on the grounds, the heavens decided to bless us with a shower of rain making the photographers work a bit harder.”
THE GOWN
Steph started her gown journey in a very unconventional way by visiting a fabric merchant and filtering through layers of alternative fabrics, laces and embroideries. “Once spotted, I fell in love with the beaded lace which became the feature design of the gown. The lace formed the centrepiece of my vision.” The slim bodiced gown was paired with the layered overskirt which met Stephs vision of a contemporary sweetheart. The introduction of chiffon layers within the overskirt provided elegant softness and balance with the heavily beaded lace. The gown was paired with champagne Jimmy Choo stilettos and subtle Swarovski jewellery.
SUITED UP
The Tom Ford classic tuxedo was the vision Matt had for many years, his Midnight Blue Tuxedo featured black satin details in the buttons, lapel and cuff. Matt chose a traditional tuxedo shirt with black insert buttons and cummerbund. His accessories included a Tom Ford large profile bow tie and Thomas Sabo timepiece. Leaving his favourite until last, a pair of Doucal patent black leather shoes.
THE BRIDAL PARTY
The colour palette for the bridesmaids was to compliment the silver tones of Steph’s gown. Bridesmaids wore mermaid style gowns with a sweetheart bustlines in a dove grey colour. The sweetheart bustlines were supported by elegant straps which matched the detailing around the waistline. Their look was complimented with thin and subtle silver jewellery and a soft pink leather mid-height shoe selected for comfort. Matt’s groomsmen wore classic midnight blue slim cut single vented suits which complimented the groom’s attire. Their ties perfectly matched the bridesmaid’s gowns being a gentle dove silver colour.
TIME OUT
Steph and Matt’s favourite memory of the day was their time spent at Brunetti’s in Carlton where they shared woodfire pizzas, played Briscola and indulged in a few café beverages.
Upon arrival at Brunetti’s we discovered that there was a mix up with our booking where our reserved table was not available. The Bridal party then went on the hunt for any spare chairs and essentially reorganised the whole restaurant sitting service to allow for two long connected tables to be made available. In good spirit, all the Brunetti customers were excited to witness a bride and groom.
“On our way to Metropolis, we managed to squeeze in an unplanned pitstop at the Treasury Gardens. The rain finally stopped, and the sun came out which allowed us to capture what turned out to be some of our most favourite photos of the day.”
BIG CITY LIGHTS
The venue, Metropolis Events, was selected for its size, location and incredible view of the city through the large arched windows which we loved. Unfortunately, with the number of people required to accommodate our large families, there are only a few venues available for such an event!
The excitement levels peaked as we were welcomed into the reception as Husband and Wife for the first time. From here the night flowed with constant dancing and partying until the venue turned the lights on. The first dance with Steph was an emotional and timeless moment with further highlights of the evening being the best man’s speech and rocking the dance floor with our closest friends.
STYLING
Our vision for the day was to achieve timeless elegance whilst maintaining simplicity in detailing combined with soft tones. With our wedding venue providing such great advantage points of the city via the grand arching windows at the Metropolis Events windows, we complemented the setting with subtle details. Examples of items we included throughout the day were blush linen napkins that matched our flower selection which was positioned on varying height stands and with the feature ceiling dome lighting backwash. Further, we found the most gorgeous candle for the church ceremony which both mums lit at the beginning of the nuptials. The candle was decorated with two cupids and signified the coming together of two families. Lastly, despite hours of searching for a small detail to add to the cover of our church booklet, we came across a picture of two bunnies embracing a small kiss. Coming from bunny owners, this seemed most appropriate to describe us.
CAKE
A striking 3-tiered cake, from Cakes of Distinction, featured sugar florals cascading down from the top tier and an ascending dotted pattern on the bottom tier. “Our favourite element of the cake was the application of the pearl coloured shimmer to all three tiers which made the cake glisten.”
YOU’RE INVITED
Giant Invitations designed Steph and Matts stationery with the brief to be a classic suite that reflected their day. Four separate cards were designed announcing all the information guests needed. They included invitation, directions, RSVP and invite for the morning celebrations. Printed on 250gsm natural uncoated card with debossed black text. Rose gold embossed foil featured on key elements of the invitations. We choose slight alternations within the text to soften the design by introducing italic and bold applications. Overall, the invitations suited the vision of the day which was sleek and classy.
FIRST DANCE
“Our memorable first dance was with ‘Perfect’ by Ed Sheeran and Andrea Bocelli. Ed Sheeran is one of our favourite artists and the lyrics were relatable as we both grew up together.”
“During the evening we had completed what we thought was the speeches for the night when we were surprised by Steph’s younger brother standing up for a speech which was very emotional. We managed to capture a fantastic photo of every female on the bridal table crying during the speech.”
ADVICE
“As the saying goes the devil is in the detail. We found that the more detailed/specific we were, the more invested we became with the outcome, which meant we were more passionate about its success. Our advice is to acknowledge you can’t fly like an eagle when your flapping with ducks. But on a serious note, take the hiccups on the day and just laugh harder than necessary to ensure the tears stay away. Further, we would encourage couples to write a detailed to-do list. During the process, it’s important to stay on track by continually ticking items off. The days seem to disappear so remember to use your family and friends to assist with tracking all the items.”
credit to
Gown Aldo Terlato Couture
Shoes Jimmy Choo
Photography Whitevine Photography
Ceremony Location Chapel of the Holy Spirit
Venue Metropolis Events
Reception Decorations Amica Event Hire
Flowers and floral decorations In Bloom Floral Designs
Cake Cakes of Distinction
Stationery Giant Invitations
Groom’s Suit Travellers Apparel
Groom’s Accessories Tom Ford
Groom’s Shoes Doucal’s
Groomsmen’s outfits Travellers Apparel
Bridesmaids’ outfits Daniela’s Boutique
Bridal accessories: Swarovski
Page Boy outfit Cherish Specialists
Engagement & Wedding Rings Charles Rose
Music Bloom Entertainment
Transport Krystal Limousines
Videographer Srbinovski Video & Photograph Productions
Hair Rads Hair On Blair
Makeup Beauty by Fulya Fikir
Gift Registry Myer
First Night The Langham Hotel
Honeymoon Europe
