Melanie & Hamish
It was the stories of how Melanie and Hamish honoured not only their family heritage but also their own beliefs that made me fall in love with their relaxed Kidogo Arthouse wedding but then? Then I saw that bouquet, and I knew we had to share this special day. The couple worked with Peggy Saas to capture their day.
Melanie tells the story of how she and Hamish came to fall in love. “I (Melanie) moved from Melbourne to Perth on the 19 January 2013 for a lifestyle change and to further my career; I had also completely sworn off men at the time and was set on focusing on my career only! On Saturday 26th January 2013, approximately 6 days later, I met Hamish. He was having a boat party out at Carnac Island, and the rest as they say is history!”
Elvi Design created Melanie’s custom lace wedding gown, Melanie remarking, “My dress was designed by Elvi Design in Perth WA. I always knew that I wanted a simple, elegant, long sleeve laced dress. Sandra and Birgitta at Elvi knew straight away what I wanted and drew it straight away at our first consultation and I was sold from the first few minutes! I went to a fitting every 3-4 months and loved all the fittings, I loved watching the dress come to real life at every fitting. Sandra and Birgs always had the best advice.”
Kidogo Arthouse was chosen as the venue for the day’s festivites, Melanie explaining, “Hamish and I wanted to have our ceremony and reception at the same venue and close to the ocean. I stumbled across the Kidogo Arthouse in Fremantle whilst doing a random Google search. Hamish and I went and saw the venue, we both instantly fell in love with it. The old limestone building, whitewashed walls and the exposed timber beams reminded me of buildings when I used to live in Kenya. The art gallery was just beautiful and we knew it was the perfect fit for our special day. As the countdown for the wedding was on, Joanna (owner of Kidogo) also suggested the outdoor deck overlooking the ocean which was absolutely perfect for drinks and canapés between the ceremony and reception.”
Melanie and Hamish were married by Liz Hayes, the bride remembering, “I wanted the ceremony (and reception) to be one big family and friend gathering. Hamish and I didn’t have any personal vows or readings. We just wanted to be married! We both know how we feel about each other, and so do our friends and family. We focused more on our celebrant reading our funny stories about us and what our family and friends thought of our relationship. Liz Hayes, our celebrant, was absolutely fantastic! She knew what kind of ceremony we wanted, and delivered it perfectly. There were lots of laughs and tears when she read out all our stories of how we met, how we get along, what we do in our spare time!”
Of their photographers, Melanie notes, “Peggy and Lifa were absolutely amazing!! Peggy was aware that Hamish and I did not want any posed photos. We didn’t even realise that they were following us around until we saw the wedding photos 8 weeks later. Peggy captured our wedding just PERFECTLY. She was an absolute dream to have on our wedding day.”
The couple worked with stylist Stacey Clark Weddings , floral designer Botanica Naturalis and caterer Kent Street Deli raving about them all. “My AMAZING bouquet; a one-of-a-kind creation by Anna from Botanica Naturalis. Stacey Clark and her team for bringing my dream of Australian native greenery styling concept to life. Kent Street Deli for providing the TASTIEST canapés and dinner for the wedding; we received lots of compliments after our wedding about the food.”
“My mum, grandmother and aunty (from Canada) made traditional Kiribati (Sri Lankan celebratory rice dish) for entrees during dinner service and Jane (Hamish’s mum) made our wedding cake and cakes for dessert. Jane makes the BEST chocolate cake and she has made it for us many times before, and it was just fitting for our wedding cake.”
Melanie and Hamish added traditional elements to the day to make it theirs, Melanie explains. “We included an Acknowledgement of Country, paying respect to Aboriginal Elders for where our wedding events were taking place. Acknowledging country was important for us. We also made sure to include traditional Sri Lankan Kiribath and Jane’s Chocolate cake as our way of letting our immediate family make a contribution for our wedding. My favourite way to unwind is oysters and champagne, so we made sure to have an oyster Shucker. Neil Forbes shucked fresh oysters for our friends and family during evening drinks and canapés.”
Of the first dance, Melanie remembers, “Hamish and I chose “Better Together” by Jack Johnson. We both love the honest lyrics of the song and we just bopped along, we made our first dance up as we went on the night!! The song resonated with Hamish and myself and how we feel about each other.”
Congratulations on your marriage Melanie and Hamish! Thank you for sharing your day with us, and thank you also to Peggy Saas for sharing this gorgeous wedding!
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