Oh, we love every part of the wedding of Pippa and Joel. Because it’s got it all. A stunning location (Zonzo) amazing photography (by Sofia of Enchanted Wedding Photography) and beautifully curated details. And yet, this day still felt warm, it still felt intimate, it still felt personal – just as Pippa and Joel had dreamt of. “Creating an intimate and fun atmosphere was important to us and that’s exactly how it felt on the day!” reminisces bride Pippa.

A random meeting in a nightclub brought these two together, tells Pippa, ” I adored him straight away – I just had ‘that’ feeling that this was something different – crazy it was straight away, but it was there.” And it culminated, five years later in a tropical, beachside proposal. “We got engaged on a beautiful holiday in Fiji” remembers Pippa. “Joel organised a picnic lunch for us on a private beach (in typical Joel style!). It was the perfect little setup but the weather had other ideas… the sky was turning very grey and about two minutes after he proposed a huge storm came through and we had to jump straight back on the boat and take a very rocky, rainy trip back to our hotel; Pip crying, both laughing and swigging champagne through a very funny trip home – it was a very memorable day!!!
When we got home from the airport, Joel had secretly arranged for my family and closest girlfriends to be in our apartment when we walked in – surprise!! They had cheese and champagne there to celebrate with us – it was the best way to come home and celebrate!”

The groom donned a classic black suit custom made by Melbourne tailors Arthur Galan.

Unable to find the gown of her dreams, Pippa chose Tanya Didenko Couture to design her something completely custom, sharing “On the hunt for a wedding dress, I went to many shops and tried on countless dresses but nothing felt like “the one”. So instead, I took elements of different dresses I liked and went to a designer to discuss creating a custom dress from scratch. Based on recommendations from a friend, I went to Tanya Didenko and she was just amazing to work with. We discussed the elements I wanted to base the design on and she drew some sketches – I knew she was going to nail it and she guided me through the entire design process bit by bit, so I could see it come to life and also make changes along the way. It was such an exciting process, I can’t thank her enough!”

Stunning Yarra Valley winery Zonzo was just the ticket for Pippa and Joel’s big day. “We always knew we wanted a winery wedding and after looking at quite a few and doing our research, we chose Zonzo. Being in hospitality, great food, wine and service was important to me and Zonzo has that in spades! Not to mention how beautiful the surrounds are – after visiting, it was a no brainer.”

Pippa and Joel chose a modern colour palette of modern black and white, brought to life with beautiful floral arrangements by Sugar Bee Flowers. The bride sharing  “I had a clear idea of creating a romantic and modern feel. I also got some great advice to pick a feature or two with your floral arrangements to make an impact in the styling. I’m so glad I did this and used giant hanging floral bombs hanging from the rafters above the entire length of the dining tables that created a magical atmosphere.
I decided on a colour palette long before the wedding and it never changed! Zonzo recommended Sugar Bee Flowers, also based in the Yarra Valley and Youki was so lovely and amazing to work with. I wanted to hero different types and shades of pink roses, white orchids, mixed with pampas grass and greenery and it was so pretty. She had so much patience with me going back and forth with tweaking ideas. In the end, I was so happy! They did an amazing job.”

Pippa walked down the aisle with her mother to John Mayer’s “xo”. “My sister suggested it and when we listened to it, we both just knew it was right. It even brought me to tears picturing the moment in my head. It was made extra special with our talented friend singing to an acoustic guitar, and as soon as I heard him start playing, the tears started rolling! I was lucky to have my beautiful mum walking me down the aisle, hand in hand and it was such a special moment I’ll always cherish”

Although the wedding was formal, the ceremony? Completely relaxed thanks to celebrant Marry Me Megan. “We just wanted a paired back intimate ceremony that was all about love” tells Pippa. “We shared our vows and it was very raw and very us. We chose Megan Watson as our celebrant who was just amazing. From the first meeting, we felt like we had known her for years. She understood our vibe and what resulted was such a perfect balance of a few good laughs, a lot of love and a few tears, too.”

Pippa and Joel fell in love with the work of their photographer at a friend’s wedding, explaining “We chose the very talented Sofia from Enchanted Weddings. After seeing her shots from a friend’s wedding, I knew that she was top of my list. Both I and Joel wanted our photos to be as candid as possible and I think she nails this. She made us feel so comfortable on the day, and guided us when she needed to but allowed us to just be natural and do our thing. She has such an eye for detail and captures all the small special moments in between the obvious. We couldn’t be happier with our photos!”

That beautiful cake? Made by our very own Miss Ladybird Cakes,  a member of the dream team carefully curated by Pippa & Joel, the bride sharing “Being in hospitality with a background in event planning, I was always going to be particular in my choice of vendors. In the end, I went off a lot of research as well as recommendations from friends. In the end, our whole team were women (bar the Band) and it was a bonus to be supporting women in small business – I was so lucky to have these amazing suppliers do their thing and do it damn well.”

Pippa and Joel chose Studio Sly to create custom black and white stationery pieces for the day. “We wanted to go for a romantic but modern look and feel. We created a contemporary style using black stationery to balance out the more feminine colours.”

Pippa and Joel had a distinct vision in mind for their day, and every part of it was nailed beautifully. Tells the bride “Our biggest thing was creating a relaxed, upbeat and warm vibe for our guests – from the very beginning everyone was welcomed with a glass of champagne to set a festive vibe from the get-go. We were intent on adding lounge furniture to the outdoor area and having the DJ play in this area post-ceremony to get the party started. In the reception space, I had a vision from the very beginning of creating a really special moody and intimate feel. This was achieved with large hanging feature florals, intermixed with hanging light bulbs and lots of candles. Entering the room was another wow moment. When dusk came, and people sat to feast, the space truly looked and felt like a magical wonderland!”

The wedding speeches turned out to be one of the couple’s favourite wedding day memories, thanks to the groom’s mother! “Before the wedding, we’d said to our family and friends to keep the speeches quite short – there’s nothing worse than speeches going on and on and guests getting bored! ” laughs Pippa. “So on the day, as Lynda got up to speak she had what looked like one piece of paper and said “I promised Joel and Pip I would keep this short, but….” and let go of rolls and rolls of a paper scroll that went all the way down to the ground! It was hilarious – of course, it was a joke but it was such a funny way to start her speech!”

“Weirdly this was one of the hardest things to decide on!” says the bride of the first dance. “We listened to so many songs and danced around our lounge room but so many of them felt overdone and a little cliche. We also knew a formal dance wasn’t for us, we just wanted to get up and have a bit of fun. So in the end, we chose “Stuck in the Middle With You” by Stealers Wheel – a song from a great memory; a great date night full of good food, laughter and wine at one of our fave locals. It was just us! I think you can get caught up in what is ‘wedding appropriate’ but it’s important to also choose things that truly reflect you and what you’ll have fun with!”

And because we can’t get enough of these two, we’ve even got their beautiful wedding film to share, captured by Annette & Dani.

A big congratulations to you both Pippa and Joel! Thank you for sharing your beautiful day with us. Thank you also to Enchanted Wedding Photography for sharing such a beautiful day!