Kitty & Andrew

We’re always big fans of stories, but it is truly something special when we know the bride or groom and get to share their tale. Today the gorgeous bride? None other than one of our merry Polka Dot Directory members, the wonderful Kitty Kulman! You might think a celebrant, who has seen hundreds of weddings, might have a distinct thought or two about how to plan her own wedding day. And I can safely say, she did, and the result? It was beautiful. It was family filled, laughter-filled, and so very reflective of the lives that these two, together with their children share.

“We wanted a very relaxed and fun day,” explains Kitty who chose  One White Day to capture their day. A country hall turned wedding venue, the quirky Projekt3488 setting the scene for this very special wedding to unfold.

It was fifteen years ago that these two first laid eyes on one another, we’re going to hand it over to Kitty to share the tale. “We met one random night in a pub in Brisbane nearly 15 years ago. Andrew was over from Perth for a week of work and Kitty was out with a mate. We connected and spent as much time as we could together for the remainder of Andrew’s time in Brisbane. After a long-distance thing Kitty moved to Perth to be with Andrew.”

With many years and two children under their belt, it wasn’t until they attended a friend’s wedding that Andrew decide to pop the question. “We had just spent the evening at a very good friend’s wedding. Andrew got talking about how amazing it was in the cab ride home. He kept going at home and got down on one knee next to me in bed and said that he really wanted to marry me. All very spontaneous. We didn’t tell anyone for a few days. I actually went into Prouds on Monday morning to buy a ring as a placeholder as I didn’t think our family would believe me!”

The groom dressed in a blue suit he’d had made the year before in Malaysia, the couple’s son, Harrison attending his father as the best man in a matching bowtie.

The couple’s almost-three-year-old daughter, Evie, was Kitty’s maid of honour for the day.

Not happy with anything she could find in store, Kitty enlisted Andy Truong to make her dream wedding gown. She tells “I had tried on a few dresses and didn’t get that feeling of ‘this is it’ and everything felt so over the top. I decided to visit a dressmaker and the experience with him was completely different and amazing. He wanted to know me, know about our relationship and where we were getting married. He sketched up something and I thought it was great. Then we went shopping together and found the fabrics that would bring it all together. I knew I wanted colour and something very different and he made the vision I didn’t know I had come to life. An experience I would highly recommend.”

Kitty walked down the aisle, after her maid of honour with her father to “La Mar” by The Beautiful Girls.

Although Kitty and Andrew chose Melissa Polimeni to perform the legalities of their day, they had some help of a different kind to tie the knot.  Kitty shares “I am a celebrant and when I performed the ceremony for my friend, I mentioned that I really only needed to say the legal bits and someone else could perform the ceremony. He remembered that and one night over a few drinks approached us and asked if he could marry us. We were ecstatic. We wanted something fun and personal and we knew he was the perfect person to bring that to the ceremony, having known us since we first became a couple. So Daniel, the godfather of our daughter, and AB, the godfather of our son, got up after the preamble and surprised everyone by taking over. It was hilarious and an amazing ceremony. We didn’t have any readings but read vows to each other that we had kept secret. Our children helped keep the ceremony relaxed by wandering around, giving us hugs, and convincing us to assist them with stealing food off the grazing table!”

Planning a day that was relaxed was so important to Kitty. “We wanted it to be relaxed and easy without too many formalities. Just a really awesome party. Andrew and I had been together for nearly 15 years and were already deeply committed. I really wanted everyone to have a welcome drink and we had a bar attendant to serve everyone an espresso martini on arrival. I organised a bus service to pick everyone up staying locally and then take them home. This included our little ones being taken back to the house after the ceremony to be looked after by a nanny.”

Kitty was a little stumped when asked for her favourite moment because they all rank for her! “Everything. Everything was amazing. My hair, makeup and dress made me feel fabulous. Seeing Andrew and finally getting to marry him was a dream. Having our children a part of it was special. Having an epic night with our favourite people was just perfect.”

Kitty had fallen in love with Warburton venue Projekt3488 and soon convinced Andrew it was “the one”. She explains “I came across Projekt3488 during my research and thought it would suit the relaxed style we were after. I convinced Andrew to check it out, and even though he thought it was a little bit too far out, he came and saw why I wanted to visit. We decided on the spot and booked it in nearly 18 months in advance. The gardens were spectacular and the seated area for dinner was exactly how we wanted it.”

That amazing bouquet? One of the few floral details for the day and put together by The Redwood Florist. Kitty telling “My flowers were a late addition. The venue didn’t need anything extra in terms of centrepieces and Andrew wasn’t fussed about wearing anything. I actually looked into flowers to include the parents and make something for them. I thought it would be cute for my daughter to carry some flowers on a hoop, but wasn’t going to have any myself. Louise convinced me to have a bouquet, and I finally agreed under the condition she made the bouquet epic! Boy did she deliver. They were next level amazing and I was so thrilled to have them and make my entrance with them.”

“Mark is amazing. We had actually seen some of his non-wedding work first and thought it amazing” remarks Kitty of the couple’s chosen photographer.  “Sadly our original photographer was unable to be there on the day. We didn’t hesitate when asking Mark. He made us feel so relaxed and we loved that there was a mix of posed and non-posed photos, helping keep with the relaxed feel we were after.”

Guests enjoyed a grazing table by Graze By Emily Jane to kick off an evening of celebration. “We had a grazing table for entree so that everyone could mingle before being seated for dinner. We didn’t have speeches other than Andrew’s thank you to everyone. Dessert was a dessert station – no cake. Everyone was up and dancing and drinking.”

“The day goes SO quickly. All of a sudden it is time to go home. Try and spend some time with each other during the afternoon/evening and just enjoy that you are married. Things will not go exactly as planned but trust in all of your suppliers to make it all happen.”

There was no DIY at this wedding, a reality, when there are two full-time jobs and children, involved remarks Kitty. “We outsourced pretty much EVERYTHING. We both work full time and I was in the peak of wedding season and knew that I couldn’t devote time to anything. I was so lucky to know and have worked with so many amazing vendors” tells Kitty. “Everyone knew me personally and it was so easy to just book people in and know that they would do the best job to make our wedding a fun and relaxed one.”

Guests forced the newlyweds onto the dance floor.  “As we didn’t want formalities we hadn’t planned this” remembers the bride. “But no one wanted to take to the dance floor until we did. Andrew asked the DJ to play Wicked Game by Stone Sour and we just danced.”

A big congratulations to you Kitty and Andrew! We are so excited we were able to share your day! Thank you to One White Day for today’s gorgeous images!