When it came to planning their wedding, Maria and Frazer opted for a day that was a “fun and inclusive wedding with a modern feel”. Their champagne and marble Melbourne wedding ticked all the boxes for a day that was personal and reflective of exactly who the newlyweds are. They chose Gold & Grit to capture the magic of their day.

The couple met one Melbourne night, at a bar where Frazer worked. The bride remembers “We met one night while Frazer was managing a bar in Melbourne. We felt like we had an instant connection as if we had known each other for years. No numbers were exchanged that night but we both knew that we would see each other again. It was a couple of weeks later that we met again at the bar and we enjoyed each other’s company so much that it wasn’t long before we met up outside of the bar to attend a local artist’s exhibition at a gallery together. We shared a kiss later on that night and the rest is history.”

Mariana Hardwick made the bride’s elegant long-sleeve gown. She tells “I knew I wanted a standout dress & also something quite unique with long sleeves & some form of detail. The overall experience was so lovely, I went with my Mum, Josie, to Mariana Hardwick.

I grew up in the northern suburbs and I live close by so I’ve always gazed at the window displays. It felt very natural to go there for my first experience as a bride to be. I was actually quite decisive with my dress choice & I had a wonderful bridal stylist, Linda. She calmed my nerves and made me feel totally comfortable and at ease with the experience. The ‘Ingrid’ gown was a dress like nothing else I had ever seen before. It was ticked all the boxes. I went back two weeks later with one of my bridesmaids; Stacey & she immediately loved it. I knew it was time to lock it in!”

The bride paid special attention to her heritage, explaining “My Maltese culture is very important to me and I wanted to somehow incorporate some aspects of this. I chose to wear some Maltese jewellery for the day. My Mum’s beautiful square citrine gold earrings, which matches my citrine engagement ring perfectly, a ring and a bracelet I got in Malta when I was there on a very special holiday with my Frazer and my parents a few years earlier. I also felt a need to wear a garter even though we didn’t want to do a garter toss.”

Maria & Frazer held their ceremony at Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne, noting “We have always loved the Botanic Gardens so for us it was an easy decision to get married there. We actually visited the gardens on the same day exactly one year before our ceremony to get an idea of what it might feel like and how the weather might be on the day.”

The bride walked down the aisle with her father to Van Morrison’s “Crazy Love”.

A four-legged friend made a special appearance. “Our cute little dog Lenny was a very special part of our day. He means the world to us to it was really important that he was there with us. He also provided great entertainment for our photographer and our guests!”

Kate Morgan officiated the ceremony, Maria remarking “We wanted to have a very relaxed and unstructured feel, reflective of us as a couple. Where everyone could feel very comfortable & truly enjoy the beautiful setting of the Royal Botanic Gardens. Our guests also had the pleasurable view of Melbourne’s skyline behind the bridal party. We felt that our music choices for the ceremony also ensured that there weren’t any structured or traditional aspects, as we wanted songs that had sweet, fun & uplifting elements to them. We chose our Celebrant Kate Morgan because she is very kind and down to earth. She did a fantastic job and really contributed to the atmosphere that we wanted to create.”

“For our bridal party we had three people on each side. Frazer’s best man was his brother Kelvin and the other groomsmen were close friends from growing up in New Zealand. My maid of honour was Tara and my bridesmaids were Carla & Stacey. We all went to the same high school. Tara and I properly connected and became close friends after working together years later.”

Of their photographer, Maria tells “Our Photographer Stina from Gold and Grit was actually the best! She captured every moment of the day so beautifully and you can truly feel the true raw emotion from the day when you look at the photos. The scenery in all of the photos was so incredible too.”

Guests congregated at the glam Showtime Events Centre to kick off the evening’s festivities. Maria noted “Our favourite part of the wedding planning would have to be our dealings with our reception venue, Showtime Events Centre. They made everything so easy and ensured that the reception would be absolutely seamless, so our regular meetings were actually very fun and made us truly feel excited as well as at ease with our upcoming wedding.”

The champagne and gold styling theme included a marble wedding cake by Don’t Tell Charles and sweet heart-shaped cookie favours by  Sweet Bakes. The bride explained ” We also wanted the wedding to feel like it was personalised and reflective of our style and taste and that our guests would see that represented throughout the entire day and night, right through to the music played, table settings & wedding favours. Our main colours that were seen throughout the day were gold and marble along with white and greenery coming through in the flowers. All of our stationery and invitations followed the theme.”

The reception was filled with tall arrangements by Bouquet Melbourne. “We loved the combination of white and greenery. The colours complimented the day perfectly. For the bride & bridesmaids bouquets I wanted nice full bunch with nice wild look about them.

At the reception, we had tall gold table toppers with lush foliage, including white lisianthus, white snaps and accent blooms. We also hired gold chair sashes which complimented the theme of the wedding and the room so well!”

 

For their first dance, the couple chose “Let’s Stay Together” by Al Green.

Maria and Frazer enlisted pros for their night, with Mercury DJ Hire making sure the dance floor was always full (even for the littlest guest) and Simon MC running the show. Maria remarked “Initially we didn’t understand the importance of an MC and were going to have a family member do the MC job for the night. After meeting with our DJ, Daniel Mercury, he suggested looking into a professional MC. We set up a meeting with “Simon MC” and we never looked back. He is absolutely amazing at what he does. He’s so professional and personable and played a big part in making everything run so smoothly”.

Congratulations on your marriage Maria and Frazer! Thank you for sharing your beautiful day with us and thank you to Gold & Grit for today’s stunning photographs!