Bec & Rich

We’re all about doing it your own way here at Polka Dot Bride and today’s wedding? It is exactly Bec and Rich. They dressed together, spent time before their ceremony having photographs together, booked their favourite cafe for their vows, held their ceremony after dark, including their four-legged friend Harvey as the only member of their wedding party and announced a very special surprise during their speeches! We also have a give a special shout out to the groom’s dapper suit, an ode to The Suit Issue if we ever saw one! The day of urban style captured by  Pure Mac Photography.

The pair met their local gym! “We didn’t know either one of us was available until we noticed each other on Tinder! ” remembers Bec. “Rich didn’t swipe right so I FB messaged him to find out why and he said he was too scared! We then started dating the old fashioned way, he even opened the car door for me on our first date. Such a gentleman.”

Bec and Rich decided to get married after a long battle with IVF.  Bec shares their tale “We had been having a very stressful 2018 with 3 failed IVF attempts. After the third failed round we both decided to re-shift our focus onto the things we could control in our lives and make sure these things had positive outcomes. One of those things was the think about putting the money we were spending on IVF towards a wedding. My family hosted our family Christmas a couple of weeks before Christmas and during that lunch Rich and I broke a Christmas bonbon and the gift inside was a red plastic ring! Everyone laughed and said it was a sign. I thought nothing of it at the time. A week later, Rich and I had booked a romantic night in a fancy hotel in Melbourne along with a romantic dinner at a fancy restaurant. We always make a toast and cheers with our first drink and before we did so I said that the toast needs to be a worthwhile, positive toast…this is where Rich proceeded to pull out a cute black velvet pouch which had the red plastic ring inside! He proposed and amongst tears of laughter at the ring and tears of pure joy, I said yes. The next day we went to the Australian Diamond Company and designed the engagement ring together. We were engaged on the 21st of December and married on the 30th of March 2019.”

Bec and Rich dressed for the day together at Park Hyatt Melbourne. “Our photographer also stayed at the same venue so she came and took photos of us helping each other getting ready” explains the bride.

Bec chose a strapless gown by Lexi from One Night Stand Boutique. She tells “I did not want the fancy wedding gown as we both decided on having a very low key wedding and due to having only a few months in between engagement and wedding I didn’t want to waste too much time looking for a dress. I went to One Night Stand Boutique in Hawthorn (hire company) and the first dress I tried on I committed to. It was a dress by designer ‘Lexi’ and the dress was called ‘Lola’. Rich was there to help me choose and he loved it straight away.” 

“When we walked into Calibre at The Emporium, the suit designer of the store was there” tells the bride of Rich’s choice to wear a checked suit. “When we told them it was for our wedding the suit designer immediately showed us his brand new design. As soon as Rich put it on we knew he had to get it. It was so different and no-one would have imagined Rich would wear something as daring. It was a grey check suit.”

There was one floral detail of the day, the bride carrying a bouquet by Melanie Callander, telling “I wanted to go with a native Australia vibe with natural colours.”

Laneways filled with graffiti turned out to be just the backdrop for Rich and Bec’s portrait session. The bride remembering “We had planned to go to the Fitzroy gardens for formal photos but the weather was horrendous. Mickala Thomas (our photographer) suggested graffiti lanes would suit our style due to my dress and hair so we went the most popular lane in Melbourne – Hosier Lane.”

Of their photographer, the bride tells “Mickala was super relaxed and made us both feel comfortable in front of the camera. She went above and beyond to create a relaxed atmosphere during the formal photos understanding we both weren’t keen on photos at all and that the weather was dreadful. Both she and her husband drove us to the wedding! Once at the wedding we barely noticed she was there and the photos that she sent through of the whole event were amazing.”

Bec and Rich chose Au79 Cafe for their ceremony and cocktail reception. “My favourite part of planning was doing it all with Rich,” remarks the bride.

There were three entrances so three processionals! Rich walked in after the couple’s only wedding party member – their dog Harvey, while Bec was escorted by her father. Bec shares “My Dad, Colin walked me down the aisle and the song was “Never Enough” by Loren Allred (from The Greatest Showman). Rich walked down the aisle to ‘Out of Time’ by Bradley Cooper (from A Star is Born) and Harvey ran down the aisle to ‘Who Let The Dogs Out” by Baha Men”

Bec and Rich chose Melissa Polimeni to officiate their evening ceremony, telling “We wanted the ceremony to be short but very sweet. We had no readings but we both wrote our own vows. It was so special to be able to read our personal vows to each other.”

The cocktail party reception kicked off with plenty of speeches.

Having battled IVF for some time, there was a very unexpected surprise announcement to come from the groom. Bec explaining “The most special moment of the whole wedding was when Rich made his speech and announced that we were expecting a baby (conceived naturally) in October. Everyone knew of our trials and tribulations with IVF so when the announcement was made there was not a dry eye in the venue.”

And then celebrations began. “We having all of my family and friends enjoy the festivities and make the most of the party vibe.” tells Bec. “I loved my grandma Gwen dancing the night away with her walking frame. Rich’s mum Christine and best friend ‘Bestie’ getting the whole guest list to do the ‘nutbush’ dance.”

Yay congratulations Bec & Rich (and congratulations on your impending arrival!) We’re so thankful for your stories. Thank you also to Pure Mac Photography for today’s images!