Amy and Justin

City weddings with spectacular backdrops? Oh could anything inspire me more for a modern celebration? Amy and Justin’s Melbourne rooftop wedding was a beautiful, relaxed celebration with the most spectacular urban backdrop!

Amy tells of how she and Justin came to be. “We met at work about 7 years ago and haven’t looked back since. After two years, we left Melbourne and moved to Sydney together and have been here ever since. Justin proposed in the beautiful city of Shanghai, China at the end of a two week holiday. He hadn’t planned where he was going to do it and pulled out the ring when we were taking a stroll through a park which was a lovely surprise!”

Joseph Koprek captured today’s beautiful images- making sure the essence of not only Amy and Justin’s wedding, but of Melbourne’s lane ways and architecture was captured in each image.

Amy remembers, “We had a relaxed but fun morning getting ready, especially with Dana and Poppy (of Lady Day), who were doing our hair and make-up coming to us rather than the other way around.”

For her own look, Amy explains, “The beautiful dress which was made out of silk organza, with dark crystal beading was a real highlight and of course was made by no other than the talented Gwendolynne Burkin. It was a little tricky finding the shoes to match but eventually I managed to find the perfect pair of Gary Castles to go with it. Because of the detailed beading on the dress, no accessories were necessary but I did wear a pair of earrings with a smoky crystal that went well with the beading on the dress from Stephanie Browne. ”

Amy  says “The bridesmaids wore a knee-length ivory cotton lace dress with cap sleeves and black tie around the waist from Decjuba, completed with black patent leather peep-toe heels from Jane Debster.

To add to the relaxed feeling of the day, Amy and Justin met before the ceremony for photographs. Amy remarks “Our wedding was a relaxed affair (but done in style!) and being surrounded by all the wonderful people in our lives made it the most special day.”

The flowers were carefully considered and tied in with the soft, pastel hues of the wedding. Amy remembers, “We had the most beautiful flowers at the wedding. My dress was not a traditional white or ivory, but rather more of a ‘latte’ colour with dark beading so we made sure the bouquets (by Vienna Woods) complemented nicely.”

The wedding was held at Luminare. Amy recalls “Although we were based in Sydney, most of our family and friends live in Melbourne so we decided to get married there on the 20th of October 2012. We love Melbourne and felt that there was no other reception venue that captures Melbourne better than the stylish Luminare (www.luminare.net.au). It was the first and last venue we looked at because we knew it was perfect for us. Luminare is the quintessential Melbourne venue. The venue is not visible from the street – guests have to enter by going down an alleyway, up some loading dock elevators to end up on a rooftop where they encounter one of the most stylish and contemporary wedding venues around, complete with a 360 degree view of the city. The staff at Luminare, were all extremely helpful and professional, not just on the day but in the lead up to the wedding which helped make the day (and the weeks leading up to it) enjoyable and stress free.”

Of their photographer, Amy says “We booked Joseph Koprek in as soon as we got engaged about year earlier. We had not met him in person but given he had the reputation of being one of the best wedding photographers in Melbourne, we had no issues booking him in without an initial consultation. As we expected, he was very professional, easy going and made everyone feel extremely comfortable in front of the camera. His photos were amazing and we feel very lucky to have had him capture our special day.”

Amy remarks “Our wedding ceremony was also held at Luminare. They have a beautiful deck overlooking South Melbourne which was the perfect setting for us to exchange our vows. We had a string quartet (String Quartets Plus) play a rendition of ‘China Rose’ by Enya when I walked down the aisle.”

“The boys looked dashing in their fawn suits from Formal Red which worked perfectly with the wedding dress and colour scheme we adopted for the wedding.”

Amy says “As my family are of Chinese heritage, there was a tea ceremony symbolising the ‘exchanging of vows’ in the Chinese culture.”

Guests enjoyed drinks on the deck before moving inside to the beautifully decorated room for the reception. Amy remembers “Naturally the flowers were the centrepieces for our tables (set high on stands) as well as at the ceremony (by Flowers Vasette) and were based off the same colour theme as the rest of the day.”

Ab Fab Cakes created a four tier wedding cake. Amy notes “The four tier wedding cake complemented the bridesmaid’s dresses was which a nice touch.”

The reception started with a bang! Amy recalls “We had lion dancers from Hong De Lion Dance Association perform at the reception which brought a nice element of surprise for the guests.”

For their first dance, Amy remembers, “We danced to ‘Give Me Love’ by Ed Sheeran. We had a couple of dance lessons but made sure that we stuck to the basics with no fancy moves!”

Congratulations on your marriage Amy and Justin! Thank you for sharing your day with us! Thank you also to Joseph Koprek for sharing today’s images!