Kim & Joel’s Seaside St Kilda Wedding

Kim & Joel

There was so much thought and care put into Kim and Joel’s seaside St Kilda wedding. From the moment the couple’s children took their place, to the reception starting well before the ceremony, the handmade details and the carefully planned (and unexpected) moments. All captured by photographers White Rabbit Productions.

As for how they met, Kim and Joel tell, “We met each other through work, we both work in IT. I was managing a web redesign project and holding meet and greets for potential vendors. JT was representing his digital agency.”

Joel adds, “I remember meeting Kimberley for the first time and being completely blown away by her big beautiful smile and smart and switched on mind. So much so that in the first business meeting of our respective organisations I could not look Kimberley directly in the eye the entire hour and half meeting as I feared that my instant attraction to her would become apparent when I wouldn’t be able to string a sentence together when spoken to!”

Kim adds, “I remember meeting JT for the first time in that same encounter and wondering why this guy whom I thought was handsome, polite and intelligent wouldn’t look at me! After feeling like kicking him under the table to grab his attention and after a detailed post-meeting debrief about out mutual love for Responsive Web Design I remember bouncing back into the office and telling Shelley (my Matron of Honour) that I had “just met my very own Christian Grey”! And then after working with each other on the project, we finally plucked up the courage to ask each other out on a date.

From that moment onwards, we have built a solid and strong relationship that is filled with love, passion and a mutual understanding and respect for each other.”

Kim chose a gown by Anna Campbell for the wedding, noting, “I wore the Skye dress from Anna Campbell’s Made to Measure Gossamer collection in blush. Because our ceremony was being held on the sand I wanted a dress that I could easily walk and dance in, a dress that would float beautifully in the ocean breeze. From the moment I came across Anna Campbell I knew I had to try one of her dresses on, and when I did I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face – they’re just a pleasure to wear, so soft, light and pretty. It was the only wedding dress I tried on where I felt beautiful.

The ladies at Anna Campbell were wonderful and a delight to work with, they scheduled all my appointments around my work and family commitments making sure that I could relax and take the time to enjoy seeing my dress come to life. They even made sure that there were some special customisations so my dress was truly unique, and I really appreciated the attention to detail.

Because our reception started before our wedding ceremony I also wore a reception dress, which was from White Suede. I chose White Suede because JT and the kids have given me a number of their dresses as gifts for special occasions over the years, so it meant a lot to incorporate those memories into our day.”

The bride and groom met before the ceremony, Kim remembering, “An incredibly special detail we included in our day was the reveal photo shoot. I remember making my way through the venue to the decking outside, the first thing I saw was everything setup on the sand for the ceremony, the arbour, chairs, our ceremony sign…my god it looked beautiful…and then I saw JT with his back to me, waiting for me to sneak up on him, I was in tears before I reached him….WOW….there were lots of happy tears!! Sharing that moment with JT and the bridal party before anyone else arrived was something I’ll never forget.”

Flower Jar created the bright and beautiful floral arrangements for the day, wedding planner Mackenzi Creations taking the lead and coordinating the day for the couple.

Kim and Joel chose West Beach Bathers Pavilion for the wedding, noting, “Both the ceremony and reception were held at the West Beach Bathers Pavilion. It was the perfect venue with its traces of art deco, but the real draw card was the panoramic bay views from the Grand Beach Hall.

The fact that the beach was our reception backdrop and we could step straight out onto the sand at sunset to be married was important to us. The ocean has played an integral role in our relationship. Our first and second homes as a family overlooked Port Phillip Bay. We’ve spent an incredible amount of time along the foreshore, including staying fit and healthy, swimming with the kids, enjoying sunset picnics together, laughing, and we’ve even shed the occasional tear there. It’s where JT and my daughter Izzy formed their friendship and close bond teaching her to skateboard. It’s where we brought our son Harry home from hospital the day after he was born. Where we became a family – lots of awesome memories.”

“Harry was our Page Boy but he wasn’t walking at the time of our wedding so he joined us after we had exchanged vows. He looked super cute and handsome in his custom suit which Travellers Apparel made as a wedding gift to us. I don’t think he really quite knew what was happening, but he had a hoot of a time playing in the sand and we will always have the photos to show him as he gets older.”

“Luckily I’m blessed with a very creative family who love a challenge, they created just about everything that made up our wedding day, and it was totally worth all the effort and time (let’s hope I don’t miss anything). Izzy’s flower girl dress was made by my mother who also made my wedding cake with my sister Stacey. Stacey also created ribbon chandeliers which were hung from the exposed wooden beams in the reception venue amongst the ceiling drapes and fairy lights. The inside ribbon chandeliers had festoon lights hung within them.

For the ceremony, my mother made the hessian aisle runner edged with lace and tulle drapes for the ceremony arbour which we then decorated with glass balls holding candles and hung with ribbon, and also decorated with vines and flowers.

My aunt Linda and mum made countless tissue paper flowers and tulle sashes which we used to decorate the ceremony chairs, and mum also made soft tulle table covers and soft tulle netting to decorate the tables and hang over the wedding cake.”

“Having our kids there on our wedding was very special. We were given the opportunity to declare our love and commitment to each other with them in toe. Izzy was our flower girl and she looked like a true princess in her dress (made by my mum Patricia).”

Kim walked down the aisle with her brother, remembering, “I walked down the aisle to a very non-traditional song, This Wild Life’s acoustic version of a Bring Me The Horizon song called Sleepwalking. Both JT and I love rock music and it’s a song we’ve danced around the house too, and sung at the top of our lungs in the car together.

I loved walking down the aisle and being given away by my big brother Steve. We were very close growing up, I idolised him, and I’ve always been so proud to be his sister. He was our father figure growing up, he taught me what a real man should be like, and I couldn’t imagine anyone else giving me away.”

“There’s a photo of Izzy taken during the ceremony where she is holding her hands over her mouth as she watched me walk down the aisle, I didn’t notice her doing it on the day as I was too busy staring at JT, it was only through looking at our wedding photos that I saw it, seeing the excitement and tears in her eyes was incredible.”

Lynton Round officiated the ceremony, the bride remembering, “Our ceremony was held on the sand at the West Beach Bathers Pavilion at sunset. We wanted the sun to be setting over the bay as we exchanged vows. Sunsets are incredibly romantic and beautiful, and that’s what we wanted for our wedding ceremony. We wanted that to be the lasting memory for our guests. My brother walked me down an aisle twinkling with fairy lights, towards my best friend and soul mate as the sun started to set over the bay, with an acoustic version of a rock song playing in the background – it doesn’t get any more romantic and memorable than that?  And for all our guests (that we know of) it was the first sunset ceremony they had attended, a truly unique experience for everyone.”

“My Matron of Honour Shelley read “On your Wedding Day” by Anon, she read it beautifully, it was a moving moment having my best friend not only be apart of the bridal party, but also perform a reading. And Anon’s words definitely ring true of your wedding day, and of marriage.”

Of their photographers, Kim remembers, “We came across Joel and Chloe from White Rabbit Productions after attending a friend’s wedding, we loved their photographer and their photos. But the photographer had already been booked for another wedding on the same day as ours. He ended up recommending White Rabbit Productions. Joel had actually been one of the other photographers at the friend’s wedding, so without realising it, we had already seen and loved a lot of his photography.

Once we met Joel and Chloe we knew we wanted them as our photographers. They’re passionate, energetic and truly respectful of people’s special days. Plus Joel will put himself in any position to get the perfect shot – I have vivid memories of him crawling around amongst the sand dunes!”

Kim’s sister and mum made the wedding cakes – including the tulle curtain which hung over them.

Of their first dance, Kim remembers, “We actually went all out with our first dance, dancing an Argentine Tango to 48 Roses by Mariachi El Bronx. We attended dance lessons at the You Can Dance Studio in South Melbourne. At first we thought we had bitten off more than we could chew, but we pulled it off on the night, and had a tonne of fun learning to dance together. We can’t thank Alex Kadamani enough, he was a lot of fun, we had lots of laughs, and he never doubted that we would look amazing and wow our wedding guests….and not fall on our faces during any of the lifts. And special mention has to go to my Mother in Law, Lee, who happily took on the babysitting duties whilst JT and I were attending our dance lessons, there were some very late nights!”

Kim tells, “I loved seeing the man of my dreams standing at the end of the aisle with the sunset behind him, exchanging vows, our first kiss as husband and wife, and celebrating with our family and loved ones, especially JT’s grandmother, and our kid’s great grandmother Bev, she is a beautiful soul, an amazing woman, and to have her at the wedding and tell her how much we loved her during our speeches meant the world to us all, especially JT.”

Congratulations on your marriage Kim and Joel! Thank you telling your stories for us today! Thank you also to White Rabbit Productions  for sharing today’s wedding.