Leila and Matt’s Footscray Autumn Wedding

This gorgeous Footscray wedding of Leila and Matt is rich in Autumn hues and vibrant personality. The outdoor amphitheatre the couple chose for their wedding day set such a beautiful backdrop and urban scenery for their photographs, not to mention the stunning reception venue- a blank slate if you will for their personality infused wedding reception 9seriously, they had a cannoli stack instead of a wedding cake, you’re going to love this one!)

Leila tells the tale of how they met. “We met 7 years ago at a mutual friend’s birthday party. Matt and I hit it off and he soon asked me out on a date. He took me to a steak restaurant where you choose your meal from a platter of raw cuts of meat. The restaurant décor consisted of diagrams of cattle, which indicated where the cuts came from. I thought. Wow – this guy is different. Luckily I love a good steak! After what seemed like a whirlwind year of dating we decided to move from Melbourne to Sydney, where we spent four wonderful years, but eventually decided we wanted to buy a house and ‘settle down’ – Melbourne beckoned and we soon bought a ‘fixer-upper-a’ in Footscray … but that’s another story.”

Photographs today are by The White Tree (who coincidentally also kept guests on the dance floor as they played the tunes of the night!) I love the quirky, fun feeling to their photographs.

Naomi from Birchbox Flowers created the Autumn toned bouquets.

Leila chose a Carla Zampatti gown with a handmade hairpiece from Bridelicious. She remembers, “Lena makes the headpieces by hand and she was an absolute delight to deal with. ” Bridesmaid Emily wore a orange Zimmermann gown. Leila explains “ My friend Emily bought her lovely dress from Zimmerman for her graduation and I loved it so much I asked her to wear it for our wedding.”

Leila and Matt chose Footscray Community Arts Centre Amphitheatre  for their ceremony, Leila remarking “We love Melbourne, and we love the inner west, so we decided to share a little bit of the inner west with our guests. We chose to get married in the amphitheater at the Footscray Community Arts Center. The amphitheatre is set in front of the historic Henderson House, a lovely blue-stone building on the banks of the Maribyrnong. It has amazing views of the docks and Melbourne’s skyline. It really is a special and unique spot in Melbourne.”

Leila walked down the aisle to “In Your Light” by Gotye.

Of their photographer, Leila says, “The White Tree had me sold at ‘Back Street Boy poses won’t stand a chance’. We were delighted with The White Tree’s relaxed approach on the day and needless to say, even more pleased with the 500 plus wonderful photographs we received! The area around Footscray Community Arts Center is so interesting with the goods rail, shipping containers, the wharf on the Maribyrnong River and the old tool makers – which has an old fashioned ‘Griffiths and Baird’ sign painted on the facade – as I was soon to be Mrs Griffiths, this seemed particularity appropriate. The White Tree managed to capture the special qualities of the area and create wonderful wedding photos.”

Leila remembers, “There was a light shower of rain just before our wedding ceremony which created the most beautiful rainbow over the city. We could not have planned it better!”

Footscray studio Raw Materials Studio was chosen as the celebration venue! Leila explains, “This warehouse is an amazing space and provided us the perfect opportunity to add our own personal touches.”

For their first dance, Leila says “We love to dance! But dancing on a crowded dance floor is a little different to a first wedding dance, so we enlisted the help of an expert, Helen Curwood, who choreographed a very fun dance to ‘All I want is you’ – by Barry Lois Pollisar (from the Juno soundtrack). We adored the dance so much we decided to perform it when we first arrived. It really set the tone for a fun night and got people on the dance floor!! ” The White Tree also provided the band for the evening.

In lieu of a wedding cake, the couple ordered a cannoli stack from T Cavallaro and Sons.

For their special touches, they had to be creative, Says Leila “I work in a creative industry and Matt works in events, we really enjoyed shaping the event into a personal reflection of us. We spent many weekends: – Collecting; vintage plates – which we used to served the cannoli ‘cake’ and jars – which we used for candles and flowers. – Cooking; jams for our favours. We told our families what we were doing and they were more than happy to supply fruit from their gardens, which made the jams extra special. – Sewing; the drape for the ceremony backdrop and cushions for amphitheatre seats – Building; blackboards – to welcome the guests and provide directions and a letter-box for cards – Designing, printing, and folding; invites, program, jam labels, cake topper bunting, polaroid photograph to display of family wedding photos, photo guest book and thank you bookmarks. – Flower arranging; a friend bought loads of flowers for us at the wholesale flower market and we arrange them in a collection of vintage vases, jars, metal buckets and watering cans.”

Leila recalls, “We decided to have a welcome cocktail, which we served in jars with striped paper straws and ‘L&M’ flags. The recipe was developed during a slightly boozy cocktail trial night with some good friends. We called the cocktail ‘The Wedding Cake’ and decided to do away with the traditional wedding cake and opt for a cocktail with a touch of amaretto instead. Here is the recipe: The Wedding Cake Ingredients 20ml. Spiced Rum 5ml. Amaretto 60ml. Orange Juice 30ml Ginger Ale. Pour over ice cubes. Matt made the cocktail in a giant jerry can the morning of the wedding our guests loved it!”

Guests enjoyed a feast, Leila recalling, “Ed Dixon Food Design catered the event. The food was amazing, especially the huge paellas which were such a spectacle and tasted delicious.”

Congratulations Leila and Matt! Thank you for sharing your wedding day stories with us! Thank you also to The White Tree for sharing today’s wedding!