Romantic Fitzroy Wedding At St Andrews Conservatory

Kati & Josh

“Reading out our vows was pretty special. We had been through some really dark days and I came out of that with a really strong love and admiration for Josh. It was really special to say all the things I wanted to say to him in front of everyone who matters to us.”

A wedding doesn’t have to be all the latest trends, sparkles and pizazz. It just has to have soul, moments, a story. For Kati and Josh, who chose the city streets of Fitzroy for their day, they had all that and more and the vows, just as they should be, were everything these two wanted.

With the talented Kyra Boyer, Kati and Josh dreamt up a day that was “relaxed, fun and heartfelt”. With their three much-loved children taking their centre stage roles, amazing food, a boy band inspired first dance, and the most emotional of ceremonies, it was blissfully beautiful and just the kind of tale we want to tell. Over and over again.

Let’s dive into how these two came to be! In the bride’s own words “We met at the gym! We spent a while being good friends but we both knew there was much more there.”

Kati had a vision in mind for her gown, finding her dream dress at Zavana Bridal. She shares “My dress was a capped sleeve, trumpet shape, beaded Zavana dress. I didn’t want a ball gown or anything too lavish. This dress is elegant and classic, and the open back and low neckline made it fun and flattering as well.”

The couple met before the ceremony for a first look, the bride remembering “The first-look photos were really special and an amazing moment to spend with Josh before being in the spotlight”

The couple were thrilled with their choice of photographer Kyra, sharing “Most of the time we didn’t notice Kyra taking photos – which is exactly how we wanted it! She captured all the raw candid moments of the day in such a natural way. She has done family photos for us previously and we just knew her style was exactly what we wanted for our wedding. She listened to our ideas, gave her experienced insight and made us feel so relaxed and comfortable. Her attention to detail – lighting, colours, and those magical moments – made our photos incredible.”

Kati and Josh worked with Classic Bouquets on the flowers for the day. “We wanted fairly unstructured flowers with a mixture of light and deep colours to contrast the black and white attire.”

Kati and Josh wanted to find a venue that was wheelchair accessible but also allowed them to celebrate in the one space, they landed on St Andrews Conservatory. Kati explains “St Andrews Conservatory is a beautiful space with really striking lighting and charm. Josh had an accident in 2017 that left him in a wheelchair, so having a venue that would be easy for him was paramount. We needed something that was all indoors at the one venue and all accessible. The food was incredible and the atmosphere is cosy without being at all cramped.”

Kati and Josh have three children, and their presence on the day remains one of their favourite parts. Kati sharing “We loved having our kids involved – Noah walking me down the aisle, Isla writing one of the readings, and Remi lighting up the room.” The bride and her son chose an acoustic version of Vance Joy’s “We’re Going Home” for the walk down the aisle.

“We wanted our ceremony to be personal and heartfelt” remarks Kati. “We wrote our vows and included aspects that were meaningful to us. Our kids are a massive part of our world so we wanted them involved too. Our son walked me down the aisle, and our eldest daughter wrote her reading for us. There were many tears and laughs throughout the whole ceremony!”

The ceremony wasn’t just emotional for Kati and Josh, tells the bride “My son cried the biggest tears during the ceremony – he just adores Josh with all his heart and he was so happy that we were getting married. As soon as the celebrant mentioned our family he burst into tears and didn’t stop crying. There is a beautiful photo of him wiping his tears with Josh’s Pa’s giant handkerchief. It was so beautiful that he connected and understood the significance of the day for our family.”

As the sun set, guests celebrated inside with a cocktail reception.

The first dance? Cheesy boy band perfection tells Kati. “With Josh being in a wheelchair, the usual ‘first dance’ was quite tricky. Rather than force something for tradition’s sake, we decided to have some fun with it. Our song was Backstreet Boys – “I Want it That Way”, and we made up a rather cheesy ‘boy-band’ style dance. It was a lot of fun!”