Deb & Tim

When I first saw the magnificent red gown of today’s bride, I was already smitten, but combining that deep marsala tone with beautiful Autumnal colours? That calls for a celebration! Captured by Kylie Knight this elegant Autumnal wedding makes the most of the glorious golden city sunset and Mother Nature’s backdrop to celebrate this very special union.

The couple met at work, the groom a potential housemate that didn’t quite go to plan. Deb remembers  “Tim and I met at work around 12 years ago. I was looking for a housemate to move into our share house and happened to meet Tim who was interested. After a few catch ups for lunch, Tim told me he couldn’t move in just yet as he had developed feelings for me and wanted to date me instead!

The bride found her marsala gown at Rock on The Hill choosing Heather Sellick to alter it to fit her like a glove. She tells “A traditional white dress was never something I’d imagined for myself, however aside from this I’d never really given too much consideration to wedding dress ideas and so was anticipating a difficult few months of searching. After scanning many wedding dress shapes I put aside some time to visit stores to get a better idea of what options were out there for a non-white dress seeker.
The very first store I walked into had a beautiful cherry coloured dress that stood out. I tried it on, loved it and it also fit beautifully! It was so encouraging to find something so amazing so quickly and made a great start to the day. This dress to me almost seemed too good to be true, I particularly loved this colour and couldn’t imagine finding a better colour and style match! ”

Deb and Tim met before the ceremony for a first look, Deb remembering “There is so much anticipation and plenty of nerves that lead up to just about everything on the day! To have our ‘first look’ and have a few moments to be together before the formalities began was romantic and comforting.”

Beautiful bouquets of Autumn hues brightened up the occasion, created by My Flowerhouse, Deb explains  “The flowers chosen were a focused around a combination of hues similar to the colour of my dress. I particularly love proteas and so had to have some proteas in there, and also went with some less traditional wedding flower choices and interesting leaves. I felt the flowers needed to add some lift to what was a fairly darkly coloured bridal party and included some golden yellow, greens and grey elements to do this. I’m so happy with the result, Leyla from My Flowerhouse was amazing – she understood what we were going for and brought her skills and inspiration.”

The bride walked down the aisle to Lamb’s “Gorecki”, an old favourite.

The day was all about modern elegance with old world glamour, Deb remarking “I think this was reflected in the attire and venue choices. The venue was gorgeous with chandeliers, fireplaces, a beautiful spiral staircase to a roof lookout, as well as a grand entrance staircase leading to the garden. Neither Tim nor I are particularly traditional and were reasonably relaxed in our approach to the wedding formalities. We wanted a relaxed atmosphere and after being together for so long we wanted our big day to be a fun celebration for everyone.”

The Mandalay played host to the ceremony and reception, the homestead providing the style and feel the newlyweds wanted. Deb telling “We found ourselves looking further away from Melbourne, however living close to the city we thought it practical to keep the wedding local and as accessible as possible.” She continues “We found The Mandalay wedding reception venue which also was recommended by a friend. The style of the venue was exactly the level of elegance and warmth we hoped for, with chandeliers, fireplaces, beautiful bay windows and a piano. It was an autumn wedding and we very much wanted an outdoor ceremony weather permitting. The Mandalay has a lovely garden in the front with an area for an outdoor ceremony which fortunately we were able to use as the weather was gorgeous that day!”

Of their photographer, Kylie Knight, Deb tells “Our photographer Kylie Knight was incredible, she did some impressive work in capturing our day! She is a gifted photographer producing amazing photos, and who is passionate about her work, conscientious and reliable. She didn’t miss a beat! I found she has a great creative eye with great ideas and attention to detail, she was relaxed in her approach yet gave clear directions when necessary to help everything go smoothly. She also was a relaxing and comforting presence for us. A photographer is such an integral part of your day, they are with you in some of your most emotional and intimate moments. Kylie was the perfect person to have with us, both on account of her friendly nature and her exemplary skill! We couldn’t be happier – very highly recommended!”

The kindness of vendors, of people around her is something Deb will always treasure. She explains “I loved the willingness of people to help with their time and resources, it is such a lovely thing to be reminded how people really will help wherever and however they can. We also loved the generosity and kindness of strangers. Throughout the preparation for our wedding, we felt the happiness and warmth from perfect strangers who were thrilled for us.”

Deb notes “My favourite part of planning this wedding is that we did it together and to us it was a wedding we are really proud of! It was exactly as we hoped – everyone had an amazing time and many people have commented it was a very ‘us’ wedding. I’m really pleased that we found our way to that end point without excessive over-planning or over-thinking too much of it. I feel like many of the ‘big’ decisions were surprisingly quick and easy. I think there were many enjoyable aspects of the planning, however I am a full time student and our wedding took place toward the end of semester leaving me little time to relish any particular planning detail!”

Of their first dance, Deb remembers “We went with Adele’s cover of The Cure’s Lovesong for our first dance. It is a beautiful song and Adele has an incredible voice. Toward the end, everyone joined us on the dancefloor which pretty much started from there!”

The party did not stop, guests headed to The Purple Emerald Lounge to dance away the night. Deb remarks “This bar had a great atmosphere, was loungy and relaxed with a dancefloor and was well set up for a private party! Delicious food was served all night, and the host Phil was also wonderful and very accommodating. Everyone had an amazing time and some were still there at the sufficiently late closing time!”

Congratulations Deb and Tim! Thank you for sharing your beautiful day with us! Thank you also to  Kylie Knight for sharing today’s stunning celebration.