Maddy & Sam
There is something about the bright charm of Maddy and Sam’s colourful Melbourne rooftop wedding that I find utterly enchanting. It’s the most beautiful blend of colour and personality and beautifully captured by Will Hartl – This Day Forward.
Maddy tells the story of their day. “We met on Emirates Stakes day in Torquay, Sam had popped into the Torquay pub with a friend to place a bet on the race and I was there having some drinks with some friends. Sam’s friend Haig, who was with him, was also a friend of mine, so he introduced us. The rest of the night we didn’t leave each other’s side.”
Maddy chose a lace dress from Lover as her wedding dress, noting, “I saw it online and knew it was what I wanted, I had gone shopping with bridesmaids and tried on the big bridey type dresses but they weren’t for me, I knew I wanted something elegant but simple. I flew to Sydney and went to their store in the Strand Arcade with a close friend of mine for backup. As soon as I came out in the dress my friend Lucy said “I think that’s your wedding dress” I agreed, I bought it that second and then we went to a bar to celebrate with some afternoon champagnes. It was a really fun and stress-free experience.”
Maddy walked down the aisle to Cat Power’s “Sea Of Love”.
Maddy and Sam chose Circa, The Prince for their wedding, noting, “We decided on Circa The Hotel which is so beautiful and because of the outside Deck overlooking St. Kilda is so gorgeous on a spring afternoon. As well, the food is absolutely amazing. We wanted to keep our wedding in the city because Sam and I love Melbourne and we wanted it to be easy for our guests to get there and home.”
Of their photographer, the bride remarks, “I have known Will since I was 15, so it was an easy choice. He is so creative and very talented. He has a great understanding of light and he was so easy to deal with. The photos turned out great and we couldn’t be happier.”
Maddy put plenty of her own talents into the day, explaining, “I am an illustrator, artist and a graphic designer. So I love colour and all things arty and fun. There were illustrations everywhere, from the invitations to the place cards, the seating chart and the menu. I designed and illustrated everything myself so it was a very fun, relaxed and personal atmosphere.”
“The main thing that took the most time was the guests’ placecards. I wanted them to double as a bonbonniere so I put quite a lot of time into them. I painted each guest’s portrait on high quality watercolour paper, they were all painted doing something they loved, ie. gardening, cooking or playing cricket. Some guests were painted within a personal joke. I also employed my bridesmaids’ help to paint the hand made wooden place card holders. I had some friends help to paint the table centrepieces, which were wooden tiles, painted with a design that connected along all the tiles when placed together.”
Maddy tells, “My sister in law Carla, makes amazing cakes, so we really wanted to have her make our cake for a little more personal touch to that side of things, She did a beautiful white chocolate naked cake, it was simple but so gorgeous.”
“My favourite part of the wedding planning experience was sitting with Sam in the evening, drinking wine and chatting about what we were going to do for this or that..it was fun coming up with ideas together.”
Of the first dance, Maddy remembers, “We danced to Etta James – At Last. You can’t beat a timeless classic. We did a really slow Waltz. Sam and I are not the best dancers so we didn’t want to be too fancy, however we did manage to pull of a lift and a few awesome turns on my behalf.”
“The day was an absolute hoot, no dramas and just a whole bunch of smiling and laughing till our cheeks hurt. The staff at Circa were so great and so friendly, they made the day so easy. We did go downstairs and party until around 3 am which was great, I changed into a more casual dress so we could dance and really go nuts.”
Congratulations Maddy and Sam! Thank you for sharing the stories of your day with us! Thank you also to Will Hartl – This Day Forward for sharing today’s celebration!
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