Veronica and Paul’s Vintage Vibe Wedding

Veronica & Paul

Paul and I met through work and have known each other for over nine years now. Our love grew from friendship, and it wasn’t until five years down the track of working together that we started dating. It was hard to break out of the colleague/friend zone; there was lots of resistance from me! But I am glad that Paul was very persistent and obviously it was totally worth it!

The proposal was one of a surprise! We were on a weekend getaway in Melbourne to see a band. Paul took me to Eureka Sky Deck to watch the sunset before heading out to dinner; as we were looking our over the city skyline, he popped the question! As it was so unexpected – all I could say was “No Way?” several times before I said yes!

Our wedding was held at Clarkes Point Reserve, on a sunny afternoon with beautiful Sydney Harbour as the backdrop. A relaxed and unpretentious gathering of friends and family, our wedding was filled with festivities, DIY elements and a vintage vibe that perfectly depicted our style and personality. From the succulents in my bouquet and Paul’s casual attire to my tea length wedding dress, the music, food and atmosphere, it was just perfect!

We specifically wanted a Sydney wedding – as it is our home town – but we also wanted to make it easy for our family and friends to join us as it was important that our celebration of love was shared with those closest to us.

We got ready separately on the day – Paul got ready at a hotel in the city with his groomsmen and I was at our house with my bridesmaids in the morning. It was so surreal that we were all very relaxed – “one of the most relaxed bridal parties ever” said both our makeup artist and photographer! Once the bridesmaids had their makeup and hair done, they even had time to play some cards while waiting for me!

My dress and headpiece were something that I was really happy with – I loved the 50’s styling! I did feel the pressure to wear a traditional long dress, and some people couldn’t understand why I would want a short one!

After hunting around, I am so glad that I found my Henry Roth dress from Bridal Reflections. I handmade my headpiece to match the style that I was after. I also wore a pearl necklace that was a hand-me down from my grandma who unfortunately is no longer around to witness my wedding day.

There were a few personal details throughout the day that we loved. One of them was having my friends arrange and perform our favourite dance song,“Feel So Close To You” by Calvin Harris, into an acoustic chill out version for me to walk down the aisle to.

Another was having an old fashion pop-corn machine cart at the ceremony – which totally added the festive atmosphere that we were after. It was such a simple idea but very effective, and our guests totally loved it!

We decided early on that we wanted something stylish but casual. Paul specifically really wanted a cocktail instead of a sit down reception so that our guests could mingle; we also wanted lots of dancing.

A blank canvas venue with a view was the ideal – and somewhere that wasn’t not licensed so we could bring in our own alcohol and caterer. We took our cultural differences as a catering theme and had two buffet stations; ‘East’ with Asian inspired cuisine such as dumplings and duck pancakes, and ‘West’ which included a ‘Build Your Own Burger Bar’.

For the reception, we were lucky enough to have a friend who is a stylist who was able to bring in a mix of vintage and industrial furniture to make the blank space just the way we wanted it. To add to the décor of the space, we also spent lots of time preparing our DIY Bar.

In terms of decoration, I have always loved the look of things with a vintage vibe and fairy lights. These elements naturally worked their way into the look and feel of the wedding! We prepared our own cocktail list and signs and we handmade, with the help of an electrician friend, the illuminated ‘BAR’ sign ourselves – a feature we were very proud of!

The overall wedding experience was stressful at times during the planning, possibly due to the fact that both Paul and I are in the event industry and perhaps because I had placed pressure on myself to create a wedding that everyone would enjoy while pleasing both ourselves and our parents.

But on the day, all those things didn’t matter at all. In saying that, nothing went wrong (or we didn’t notice it anyway!) – we were lucky to have friends and vendors that we could trust!

All in all, we have memories of a perfect day – a day celebrating our love and the start of our lives together. And all these moments were captured by the very talented Mick Habgood, who was able to capture so many of the candid moments between of the two of us and our guests.

Ms Chinoiserie Says: Congratulations Veronica and Paul; your vintage vibe theme certainly suited your fun-loving nature; love the idea of the burger bar!