Kim & Derek

In the urban streets of Melbourne, Kim and Derek were cheered on by well wishing strangers and a kind busker! With their wedding a stunning combination of modern styling and DIY touches, their families came from near and (very) far to celebrate the big day! Sarah Godenzi Photography captured every moment.

Kim was holidaying in Canada when she managed to organise a ticket exchange with a local for a football game. Little did she know how her life would change, she shares, ”I went to Derek’s work for the tickets and off to the game I went. Later the following week I decided that I was going to ask this tall, dark and handsome out for a drink. We met up on the Friday night and chatted the night away. The remaining 2 weeks before flying back to Australia were spent together going to ice hockey games, touring the local area and just hanging out. I flew back to Australia and on route decided I would apply for a working holiday visa and head back to Canada for an adventure. Upon arriving back in Canada we continued to hang out and 4.5 years later here we are!” Derek proposed while the couple were back in Australia for a visit, in spectacularly romantic fashion! Kim remembers, ”After dinner whilst we were all sitting around catching up Derek pulled me to the middle of the living room, dropped the knee and asked me to spend the rest of my life with him. I really don’t remember what he said between the exhaustion from travelling and the emotions but there were tears… a lot of tears. Derek wanted to propose in front of my family because he said that I miss out on a lot of special moments with my family now that we live overseas, so he wanted to share the special moment with my mother and family.”

After their engagement, Kim began looking for a dress quickly, so that the bride’s family could join in the fun while she was in Australia. She shares, ”I didn’t really know what I was looking for in a wedding dress! As soon as I put on the Lovers Society Wyatt gown I fell in love. The shape of the St Prin earrings reminded me of eucalyptus leaves with the added elegance of the pearl. My other jewellery I kept very simple wearing a cuff my mum and dad gave me for my 18th birthday. After my father passed my mum had his wedding band melted down and made into a ring for myself and my sister, that also being something that I hold dear and wear everyday so I have a part of him with me always.” The bride wore the same veil her sister had worn, which was made by their mum. She also wore her late grandmother’s ring and her other late grandmother’s handkerchief, embroidered with the couples initials. The groom wore a custom three piece dark blue suit with dark brown shoes, matching belt, socks with Canadian maple leaves and a paisley pocket square, along with his great grandmother’s cross pendant that was engraved with wedding dates dating back four generations.

The couple wanted an indoor/outdoor feel to their ceremony, and discovered Melbourne Town Halls Portico. Private from the hustle and bustle of the city, but with gorgeous architecture, they were instantly sold! Sharing of the moments before the ceremony, Kim remembers, ”We hit early peak hour and started running behind schedule. Once we finally arrived we had to park round the corner on Collins Street instead of out the front of Town Hall. Because we were behind all our guests were standing along the edge of the balcony watching below. Not wanting to be seen I hid around the corner waiting for the all clear to walk to the door. I remember feeling like a little kid playing hide and seek and am sure I looked pretty weird creeping around the corner of the building in my wedding dress.”

Sharing of the ceremony, Kim says, ”We both wanted to keep it really simple and let the joy and happiness of the day speak for itself. We didn’t feel that we needed to get all sappy and reiterate the fact we love each other, we just wanted each of our guests to feel that for themselves.” The bride walked down the aisle to ‘Forever Starts Today’ by Tim Halperin. She tells, ”After losing my father several years ago, my mum and uncle had been by my side every step of the way so I knew I wanted to ask them to walk with me down the aisle.”

The flowers were a big feature of the day! Kim tells, ”I really wanted to incorporate a lot of greenery into our flowers but also loved deep and rich red and pink tones. When talking with Petra from Pomp and Splendour she was super excited about my vision and I put all my trust that they would create something spectacular, which they did beyond all expectations. When we were discussing flowers Petra had mentioned using Mr Lincoln roses which was one of my father’s favourite roses so I knew they had to be included. They came up with a wild and unstructured garden style feel with summer flowers and botanicals. An abundance of texture and a wide variety of flowers, including dahlias, summer garden roses and David Austin varieties, Mr Lincoln rose, seeded Eucalyptus, olive leaf, succulents and unusual flowers.”

Capturing all the beauty was photographer Sarah Godenzi Photography. The bride shares, ”I honestly cannot put into words how beautifully amazing and talented Sarah is! Planning our wedding internationally definitely threw us some challenges however Sarah was so open to my vision and added an element of extra excitement for the day. At times I totally forgot we were even having our pictures taken. She made us feel so content and comfortable the entire day! When we were all walking through Hardware Lane all the diners started clapping and congratulating us, all of them complete strangers. There was a busker playing a guitar, once he saw us he stopped mid song and started playing ‘Here Comes The Bride’. It was awesome and really special and caught perfectly in photo.

Some of the more meaningful moments of the day were very close the the bride’s heart. She shares, ”My biggest one was going with the fernery theme. I was adamant to include one of my dad’s beloved staghorn ferns that he grew and have been a huge part of our family for years.” The bride and groom did a lot of the decoration and detail themselves, with help from family. They tell, ”I designed and created our save the date cards and formal invitations along with one of our favours. We created our fern wall backdrop and welcome sign along with additional furniture and a few other little decoration details. We kept the decorating pretty simple.”

Looking for a venue by the water in Melbourne CBD threw up some challenges, but Kim and Derek found the perfect spot. They tell, ”We didn’t want a beach wedding so we started looking for alternate venues along the river that also had an open air aspect, which in turn was a little difficult. I just happened to stumble upon The Woolshed, Docklands, and then remembered spending time after work there before moving to Canada. We really loved the fact it was on the water without the beach, easy for us and guests to get to. After looking at pictures we decided to book a time to go and see the room. Upon walking in I just immediately felt it was perfect. The mixture of wood and metal along with the L shaped balcony overlooking the city and the water was just awesome.”

The groom chose their first dance song, hearing it while the couple were listening to the radio while travelling. They share, ”The words of the song are beautiful and after listening to it a few times we fell in love with the song and it just spoke to exactly what we were feeling so decision made. We picked ‘Diamonds or Twine’ by Ryan Hurd which is a country song about falling in love.”

Thank you to our gorgeous bride and groom for sharing your beautiful wedding day, and congratulations! Thank you also to Sarah Godenzi Photography for your stunning images!