relaxed fitzroy wedding

Steph and Tim

I’m kind of loving the format of today’s wedding – coffee at a yummy bakery with their loved ones, a stroll to the church for the ceremony, a cocktail reception with plenty of dancing and then dinner at a favourite bar with the bridal party. It really is a wedding day shared with loved ones, not just two events and I love that the couple spent the day together while adding and mixing the elements of a wedding they loved and that fit.

Steph kicks off the day with their story. “Tim and I met over the summer school holidays when I was sixteen. I was new in town and went down to the local river with a friend for Australia Day. We met under a big gumtree that we can still single out today. We reconnected soon after Australia Day at the same friend’s boyfriend’s birthday party- both times finding an excuse to talk because of a bag of potato chips. Tim found lots of ways to make our paths cross after that: being the only one in our friendship group with their Ps able to offer me a lift to parties, needing to pick up his guitar case from somewhere when I’d happen to be there, or trying to get my attention by being out in his parent’s garden which was visible from the road as the school bus went past on its way to my school (which he for some reason thought I was on, though I never was)! We became best friends and have had highs and lows and countless adventures over the years.”

Sayher Heffernan captured today’s photographs – his ‘fly on the wall’ style captures always suck me in and make my lose myself in the wedding and today’s is no different.

“We began the day with coffee at Dench Bakery in Fitzroy North, who were beautifully accommodating and gave us our coffee fix for the day.”

Steph chose an Anna Campbell gown with flowers by Balwyn Events.

Steph and Tim chose Fitzroy North Community Church for their ceremony, Steph explaining, “The ceremony was held in the lovely warehouse-like Fitzroy North Community Church, which was the perfect, high roofed space to house our 200 guests and to exchange our vows in. We particularly loved the sharp whites and reds which framed the stage and the long aisle leading up to it.”

“The day was full to the brim of special moments, which we’re still talking about now. The few moments alone after the last bridesmaid had walked down the aisle, with my eyes closed so as to not get nervous, the joy of it all over took me. I walked down the aisle to Tim, smiling the hardest I’ve ever smiled, it was a magical moment. Friends keeping telling me there wasn’t a dry eye in the church, Tim’s included.”

“I walked down the aisle to Tim to the epically emotion provoking song ‘Time’ by Hans Zimmer (from the Inception sound track). One day during our engagement Tim came over and said “I’ve found the song I’d love you to walk down the aisle to me to”. I listened to it and loved it straight away.”

“Sharing our vows was intensely special. We wrote them together over the months leading up to the wedding and some how managed to articulate them just right. We felt it was important to have the meaning which marriage holds to us clearly conveyed in the ceremony. This was beautifully done by the friend we asked to take the service as well as through the songs, readings, prayers and our vows. It was so rich in meaning for us.”

The cocktail reception was at Northcote Town Hall. Steph says, “Our reception was a cocktail style luncheon at Northcote Town Hall, which was beautifully filled with light at that time of day. We wanted to have all of our loved ones there to share the day with us and wanted them to be able to mingle the afternoon away, as we’ve always enjoyed being able to get away from the table you’re allocated to sit at at our own friends’ weddings. The stage at Northcote Town Hall, with its beautiful mustard curtain, was also the perfect way to showcase our wedding band, The Twoks.”

“We really wanted everything to be “so Steph and Tim”, right down to the smallest detail. We had confetti cut out from old Penguins and atlases, as I love Shakespeare and Tim loves traveling. There were photobooks on tables at the reception capturing our journey from childhood to now. We even had lollies for dessert, just because we both have a sweet tooth and have always wanted our own lolly buffet!”

Of their photographer, Steph says, “We found Sayher through friends who’d been in bridal parties of weddings he’d shot. When we were looking for a photographer we knew we wanted someone who’d capture the natural moments of the day, not just the posed ones. We did a lot of research but he was by far the best, and thankfully available! We couldn’t have been happier with his photos!”

“So many friends chipped in to help make the day run smoothly, which left us feeling overwhelmed with thanks. It was a real team effort and we felt truly taken care of.”

“DIY was one of the best parts of wedding planning. We really wanted to save money by doing things ourselves, so instead of going with a reception venue, we just chose a venue and caterers and pieced it together from there. It meant we had to think about a lot of details you otherwise wouldn’t, but it was worth it and meant we could make it our own. In terms of decorations, we had DIY paper pin wheels, red and white tissue pom poms, lace covered jars as vases, hand stamped lolly bags, scrabble piece table signs, hand folder paper cranes made of old hymn book pages and I even painted over 40 picture frames red to use as sings at the reception venue. All our design and wedding branding work was done as a favour by a talented friend (Russell Lloyd), using photos from Tim’s proposal.”

“Another favourite moment was the groomsmen’s speech, delivered through song. They used the same tune they’d sung a speech to at Tim’s twenty first, but rewrote it with hilarious lines and embarrassing stories told through solos. Everyone was in stitches!”

For their first dance, Steph remembers, “Our first dance was to Muse’s “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You”. It couldn’t have been a better choice, and so appropriate that it was by Muse as many years ago Tim convinced me to love them as much as he does! Originally we weren’t interested in doing a first dance, as we were trying to pluck all of the traditional rituals from the day that were not significant to us. But, we knew Tim’s parents loved the thought of a first dance and the idea began to grow on us. I’m glad we did, as it was a special moment shared in front of our loved ones.”

“In the evening, Tim and I snuck away with our bridal party to finish the day with drinks at Polly on Brunswick Street, Fitzroy. This was great as it put a bookend on the day. Sayher took us for a walk to take some more shots as the sun was setting, which gave Tim and I time to debrief and soak up the joy of the day.”

Congratulations on your marriage Steph and Tim! Thank you for allowing us to share your wedding day! Thank you Sayher Heffernan for sharing today’s imagery!