Mhairi and Nick’s Fremantle Town Hall Wedding

Mhairi & Nick

If a couple can marry on the hottest day of the year and not look at all bothered by it, then I think there’s a special type of magic at play. Mhairi and Nick chose a sweltering 44 degree Fremantle day for their town hall wedding and every detail and moment fell right into place for a beautiful celebration. They chose Christine Lim to capture it all.

Mhairi tells the story of how she and Nick came to be. “Nick and I met in 2007 at the University of Western Australia during a Politics and International Relations honours class. It was nerdy and wonderful.”

Mhairi’s sister made her wedding gown, the bride tells, “A lot of the wedding was DIY. You know how they say ‘it takes a village to raise a child’? Well I am pretty sure it takes a village to host a wedding too! The most important part was my wonderful wedding dress which was made by my talented sister Sheona. Sheona is a final year fashion design student and was also one of the bridesmaids. She made the entire dress from scratch.”

Mhairi’s bridesmaids wore dresses in shades of cream and pale green from Flannel,  Zimmermann & Review.

Mhairi tells, “We had the ceremony at Princess May Park in Fremantle, right next to Clancy’s Fish Pub. It was a 44 degree day so our guests were able to go straight to the pub for an icy beverage after the ceremony. We actually got married under one of the old large fig trees that you find around Fremantle. It provided shade and a beautiful backdrop. Fremantle is a place that Nick and I have spent a lot of time together. Being near the water is important to us. Plus the sea breeze provided a welcome relief from the heat of the day!”

Mhairi walked down the aisle to “Our talented friend Stuart Orchard playing one of his own songs live.”

Joanne Armstrong performed the ceremony.

Mhairi and Nick loved the fact that their guests showed up for them, noting, “People traveled across the world and across Australia to come to our wedding (Canada, Scotland, England, Canberra, Melbourne, South Australia). The most special part of the wedding was having all of our friends and family in one spot. Perth is the most isolated city in the world and it meant so much to us that people made the trip.”

Mhairi remembers, ” The day was the hottest day of the year (44 degrees) and keeping cool was a challenge. It is hard to pose for photos while sweat is running down your back.”

Of their photographer, Mhairi tells, “Christine was a wonderful photographer, she was subtle and captured all the moments we wanted. She managed to find a beautiful balance between the posed formal shots and the more photojournalistic quality that Christine is so good at. I especially love some of the shots she captured of the bridal party in those moments between action.”

Fremantle Town Hall hosted the reception, Mhairi remarking, “We held the reception at the beautiful and historic Fremantle Town Hall. My lovely Mum made the chocolate mud cake and also handmade the table runners. I made the bunting that decorated the hall from the same material.  My talented friend Jenessa designed the invitations for me and produced a larger hand-painted version of a portrait of Nick and I that we placed at the entrance of the Town Hall as guests arrived.”

The floral arrangements were all made by friends, Mhairi remarking, “Two of my other friends made my bouquets and the button holes for the groomsmen. The day before the wedding I went to the flower wholesaler and bought a large amount of local nature flowers and greenery. I gave this to some friends who decorated the Town Hall with the flowers and vintage glass jars and vases that Nick and I sourced from op shops.”

“Another friend provided us with local honey for the bombonierre and Nick made small bottles of whisky (in recognition of my Scottish heritage) one night with one of his groomsmen (they drank a bit along the way too!). Nick and some of his groomsmen participated in the brewing of the beer for the wedding at Bootleg Brewery in Fremantle. The beer was served in recycled San Pelligrino bottles that another friend sourced from the restaurant he works in.”

The groom’s speech was a big highlight of the night, Mhairi remembering, “Nick (the groom) rapped his groom’s speech. He blew everyone away and received a rousing applause.”

Guests enjoyed a sharing menu, Mhairi telling, “Beaumonde Catering provided the catering for the event and were wonderful. Nick and I are vegetarian and we wanted something fresh and something everyone was able to share. They made these beautiful large sharing plates that looked spectacular in the middle of the table. They also put together a gorgeous ‘cheese tower’ from WA cheeses.”

The smaller guests settled into a corner with picnic blankets and board games.

Oh their first dance, Mhairi remembers Nick assembled a ‘super group’ of musically talented friends who were our wedding band. The band played ‘Shine on you crazy diamond’ while we had our first dance. Throughout the rest of the night they played an amazing mix of classics to get the dance floor started.”

A big thankyou to Mhairi and Nick for sharing their wedding with us! Thank you also to Christine Lim for sharing today’s wedding with us!