Vic & Ryan

It was love at first sight for Vic and Ryan, or rather it was a hopeful first sight from the new bride. Who remembers “We met at RMIT in Brunswick. Ryan walking up the stairs and I was watching down below. We caught each other’s attention with a memorable glance and I thought ‘I hope he is in my class’…and there he was day one, sitting to my right in class.”

The couple carefully planned their relaxed Trofeo Estate wedding to ensure it represented every facet of who they are together – they skipped the bridal party, they included a donut wall, danced the night away with a pre-planned dance routine and even had a custom leather tie made for the groom. Their day was beautifully captured by Christopher Robert.

The bride chose an elegant long sleeve gown from Fame and Partners  She notes “Being a non-traditional bride made for a tricky search! I had drawn a dress I had in mind and took on a task to find it. I wanted something super simple, no fuss, inexpensive (key word there) and a dress that felt like ‘me’. After going to several shops and browsing endless websites to find a dress that didn’t cost a deposit on a house, nothing felt right. I didn’t have much time left (under 3 months to go to the wedding) with some healthy panic – I found it, the exact dress I had drawn, on the Fame and Partners website!

It’s risky stuff buying something you’ve never tried on but I had faith the universe had my back and sure enough, it did. I think if you over complicate something, it becomes stressful and will always feel forced. Trust your gut and keep true to who you are.”

The groom chose a brown TopMan suit and had a leather tie custom made by Kimshu. Vic remarking “The special touch was in the custom initials embossed at the end of the tie. Every visible detail was planned, even down to the triangle socks which matched our triangle arch at the ceremony. The watch he wore was a gift from me and it had our wedding date engraved on the back of the face.”

The couple chose a favourite song, sung live by Wendybird,  for the bride’s walk down the aisle. “We had the talented Wendybird sing ‘Home’ by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros live at the ceremony. Both my Dad and Mum walked me down the aisle – both raised me and love me so it made sense that both ‘gave me away’.”

Anthony Cribbes officiated the ceremony, Vic remembering “The ceremony had to be fun and unique. We didn’t want the same readings or paragraphs that could be read at another wedding, It didn’t seem personal to do it that way.
Our celebrant, Anthony Cribbes was vibrant and passionate. He created a personalised ceremony for us and he added in-jokes (that were actually funny) and had our guests clapping and cheering. Instead of a reading, we had some close friends come and pray over us some words for our marriage. The words were up to them to say something from their hearts. Again, keeping it personal.”

The bride created her own bouquet for the day, remembering “We used a lot of simple green plants in earthy coloured pots and my bouquet was made of artificial flowers and leaves. I wanted to follow my now sister and mother in law as they both had fake flowers at their own weddings.

“I visited a local fake flower shop in Mitcham, VIC and the selection was crazy! So many to choose from. Luckily I took along my great friend Shaina who helped with the decision of which bunches to choose. I took it all home and put my bouquet together myself with some scissors, patience, twine and super glue. I still have it now looking the same as it was on the day, which is a surprise. Did I mention my Dad threw the bouquet to the men at the reception? Needless to say, the bouquet became a part of the greatest mark that even the sport of football will ever see.”

The couple opted out of having a bridal party explaining of their decision “We chose to be non-traditional and not have a bridal party. We believed a wedding is about the couple making a decision to be together and wanted to respect the purpose of our wedding day. Instead, we involved our nearest and dearest in other ways as this meant more to us. We were also very cost conscious and those who have ever been in a bridal party or have had one know that they’re certainly an extra expense!”

Of their photographer, Vic tells “Chris is a very talented, easy going and professional photographer who captures all those moments you love to look back on. He made us feel comfortable and we are incredibly lucky that he was our photographer for the day. We knew we would get along just fine we when he said yes to an espresso martini at our meeting. Other than saying we didn’t want ‘posed’ photography, we didn’t give him too much more direction. Chris just gets it and you don’t need to tell him to capture every detail. He gave us so much more than just photos, he gave us a story.”

“If we had to choose one photo as a favourite, it would probably be a photo of us in the bath tub. Because Ryan loves a bath and how many people get a wedding photo in a bath?”

Vic and Ryan chose the beautiful Trofeo Estate for their wedding, noting “We chose to have our ceremony and reception in the one place. We wanted our guests to relax, eat and drink right after the ceremony without having to worry about commuting to another destination. I will say a special mention to the staff at Trofeo Estate, they were so caring to our guests and professional. 10 out of 10 for service, food and their estate wines.”

 

The first dance was nothing less than an amazing routine, Vic explaining “We asked our DJ to mash up a few songs for us and we created a routine over the top. We had 2 of Ryan’s friends join us half way during the routine (a surprise for our guests) and we finished the dance together. Our theme for the night was R&B and the tone was certainly set from the first dance!”

Congratulations on your marriage Vic and Ryan! Thank you for sharing your beautiful day with us and for Christopher Robert for sharing today’s stunning photographs!