There’s something so fun and special about hearing all the details from a wedding vendor’s own wedding. We sat down with Ryan who is one half of the talented wedding entertainers, Paper Hearts, and got him to spill! Ryan shares with us exactly how his wedding day went down, what was memorable on the day and during the planning, and what it’s like to work with your spouse.

Tell us about your wedding to the gorgeous Amelia, your wife, business partner and the other half of your wonderful music duo Paper Hearts…
Amelia and I were married on the 7th of April 2018 in Bondi NSW. Our ceremony was held at Ben Buckler on the north head of Bondi Beach NSW, overlooking the iconic beach and Bondi-Coogee coastal walk. We chose a coastal-chic wedding theme/dress code and thankfully the weather was a perfectly sunny 27 degrees, which was a little sweaty in my suit jacket but absolutely magical. 

After some post-ceremony drinks on the north head, guests walked down along the beach promenade to our canapés/reception venue, The Blue Room Bondi. With its amazing views of Bondi Beach, we knew this was the venue for us, with Bondi being our home for the seven years leading up to our wedding. It holds such a special place in our (paper) hearts.

What made it memorable – the good, the bad, any mishaps?
So many things made it memorable – the people, the music, the location, the food, the weather, the vendors… we had around 90-100 of our closest family/friends celebrating our wedding with us. There wasn’t anything bad that happened, although there were a couple of mishaps, and she might kill me for mentioning this, but Amelia actually forgot to pack her “wedding underwear” in her overnight bag so when she arrived at the ceremony, my mum discretely walked up and passed her the correct undies to pop on in the back of the Kombi prior to walking down the aisle (all out of view, of course!).

What was the best moment of your wedding day?
The best moment of our wedding was without doubt our ‘Bridal Party Entrance’ with a 60 minute straight dance-floor session to kick-start the reception. We extended our canapés hour to join guests outside as the sun was setting, and we surprised our guests by hiring the amazing Hot Potato Band. They are a seven-piece roaming brass band. They led our bridal party out into the crowd and had everyone on their feet dancing from start to finish (and this is before we had even eaten entrees).

They brought so much energy and were a real surprise element – our guests had no idea it was coming, which was so much fun for us too! It’s still talked about when we reflect on our wedding with family/friends.

Now, looking back, what is the most memorable thing about your wedding planning experience?
Working in the wedding industry for a number of years, we are lucky to have worked with many incredible vendors and we’ve forged some wonderful friendships within the industry, so choosing our team of suppliers was actually a real joy for us. If we were starting fresh with no prior vendor knowledge we would have been looking at sites such as WedShed, IvoryTribe, and, of course, Polka Dot Bride, that promote a curated selection of amazing wedding suppliers.

Conducting the ceremony was our good friend Gary Mooney who set a relaxed/fun tone right from the start, and having one of our very own Paper Hearts musicians Steve sing us down the aisle was a moment we’ll cherish forever.

Steve also performed solo acoustic for our canapés hour and as a trio for our reception with Angus and Andy, our band mates when we lived/worked weddings in Sydney who absolutely nailed it as we knew they would. Willow & Ink provided some beautiful signage at both our ceremony/reception, and the lovely Little Lane Events took care of our ceremony styling and drink station where we had champagne, beer, water and some special Gin+Tonic following the ceremony. Our stunning flowers were by Poppies & Lace Flowers, and capturing our day we had Alex Jackson on photos and White Shed Films on videography.

Verdict on working with your husband or wife… Tell us the truth!
Great question… as well as being a romantic married couple, Amelia and I work together, live together, raise a child together, and pretty much do everything together. So my advice would be to choose your partner wisely (haha). Somehow we’re not sick of each other and we’re both still alive? It must be true love! I think the key is defining each others’ roles within the partnership and finding the methods/strategies that work best for you as a team. There are always challenges but working through them together and supporting each other is what it’s all about for us.

What advice would you have to grooms on their wedding day?
The morning is very different for grooms than it is for brides. It took me less than 30 minutes to get dressed and ready, whereas the girls had hair and makeup (thanks to Make Up Mode) for a number of hours.

I invited some of my closest friends for a morning swim at the beach, followed by breakfast at a local cafe, which was a really special morning I look back on fondly. So my advice would be to gather some friends/family and go for a run/walk/swim/bite to eat to give you something else to do and to think about in the lead up to the big moment. I think this really helped to calm my nerves and get me in the right headspace for the big day ahead.

About Ryan of Paper Hearts: Ryan is one half of Paper Hearts, a boutique wedding entertainment business specialising in acoustic duos and DJs for loved-up couples in Melbourne, Sydney and beyond. Ryan met his now wife Amelia through mutual musician friends in 2011 and the pair fell madly in love. Sharing a passion for epic vocal harmonies & live music, Paper Hearts was born. Their musical marriage blossomed into an actual marriage with their own wedding to follow in 2018, held at the iconic Bondi Beach NSW.