Tanya & Michael
I love the feeling of Tanya and Michael’s elegant Fitzroy gardens wedding. From the conservatory backdrop, to the nearby reception, the couple made the most of the stunning garden, wanting a day that was not only fun and relaxed, but a celebration of their loved ones and their support of their time together. Elleni Toumpas was there to capture the photos of their day.
Tanya tells the story of how she and Michael came to be. “We met the very first night I was in Melbourne. I was only going to be in Melbourne for a few months but now 6 years later I am still here and very happily married.”
Tanya chose a gown from Rachel Gilbert, noting, “I knew I didn’t want a traditional bridal dress. I just wanted an elegant fitted evening dress. Rachel Gilbert was the only shop I went into. This was the second dress I tried on. Loved it straight away.”
Tanya and Michael married outside of the Fitzroy Gardens Conservatory, the bride telling “We had the wedding in the Fitzroy Gardens. We booked the Conservatory just in case of wet weather (thankfully the weather gods were on our side) and so we could have some wonderful photos amongst the flowers as well. We looked at a few other venues but we just kept coming back to the beautiful serene gardens and so close to the city.”
For her walk down the aisle, Tanya remembers “We chose All You Need is Love by The Beatles. Played acoustically by a guitar and saxophone (Baker Boys Band). It was really fun and happy.”
Julia Doeven of Julia’s Celebrancy Services officiated the ceremony. Tanya remarking, “Our celebrant was also very special to us. She got to know us so well, she really cares about all the couples she marries and she made it beyond belief amazing! I had never really given much thought to what sort of wedding I wanted, until we started planning it. I was surprised as to just how much fun it was. I loved meeting so many talented people and watching everything come to life.”
“We wanted our ceremony to be fun and relaxed and be a celebration of not just our marriage but of all our amazing friends and family too. We had a very good friend from Perth read a poem that I had adapted about all the silly things we love about each other. Our amazing celebrant Julia did the rest.”
Tanya tells, “We had the most amazing photographer. From the moment we met her over a cider at the local we knew she was perfect. Elleni was so relaxed and it was like having a friend taking all these amazing photos.”
Little Twig Flowers created the bouquets of greenery with yellow billy buttons.
The couple chose The Pavillion, Fitzroy Gardens for their reception, Tanya explaining, “We really wanted to have the wedding and reception in the same spot so we could start the party straight away. We had a lot of interstate guests so we just wanted to make the whole thing easy. We then met with Vanessa the wedding coordinator at the Pavilion and we knew we had to have it there. Such a beautiful function area right in the middle of the gardens.”
“We really wanted to make everyone to feel special and we tried to include as many people in the day as we could. We had a friend make our cake which was really special We tried to use small local vendors for as many things as we could. Our florist did an amazing job putting fresh flowers and foliage throughout the reception centre, including a rustic ladder and vines on the ceiling to really give us a garden party feeling! ”
“We collected millions of jars and vases for the flowers and candles on the tables. Michael made the wooden menu holders. We also found a lot of local people on Etsy for other little details.”
For their first dance, Tanya remembers, “We chose Need You Tonight by INXS but an acoustic version performed by Husky. We really wanted it be a song that we loved and the acoustic version is easier to dance to. We just wanted it to be a simple and beautiful.”
Tanya and Michael chose Baker Boys Band to play the music for their day, noting, “We really wanted a fun intimate day. We wanted to make sure everyone enjoyed every minute. A band was really important to us and the Baker Boys provided such an amazing vibe and had the dance floor pumping! We also wanted amazing food and a great wine list which the Pavilion provided. ”
Congratulations on your marriage Tanya and Michael! Thank you for sharing your day with us! Thank you also to Elleni Toumpas for sharing today’s wedding with us!
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