Elegant Rooftop Garden Party Wedding

Kate & Julian

“Our theme was an elegant rooftop garden party. We wanted it to look effortless and not overdone. And with just a hint of that old school 1920s art deco charm.”

We really could not have picked a more cityfied wedding today than the epic rooftop celebration of Kate and Julian. With the Melbourne city skyline as their decor and the bright lights of the city as their disco ball, they celebrated just as they are, with their very favourite people and every moment? It’s an utter delight.

Kate shares “By day it was an exclusive fancy garden party in the heart of the city, followed by a sit-down shared-plate feast for dinner. By night it was an all-out dance party, with live interactive entertainment, kicked off by our choreographed first dance. We dance the night away surrounded by the city lights and a clear night sky above.”

Now get settled in, because with delicious food from the folk at Ed Dixon by Cookes Food. “The food & service was A-grade. The guests were raving”, and with captures from Michelle Jarni, this is a wedding you’ll fall in love with.

Kate and Julian first met through a mutual friend, tells the bride. “We were set up by a mutual friend who gave Jules my number. He RANG to introduce himself, which impressed me straight off the bat, and we organised to meet for a breakfast date a week later… It went well! 6 months later we were living together.” Julian popping the question on a romantic city dinner. “Jules surprised me with dinner at Vue De Monde the night before we were to fly out for our Indonesian holiday. Halfway through our degustation dinner, we went out onto the balcony to check out the beautiful city views. It was a chilly night in August, so there was no one else out there and he managed to distract me from the view for long enough to ask me to marry him. It was perfect and we celebrated well into the night together with cocktails! The next day we were off to Indonesia on what turned out to be the perfect engagement celebration holiday!”

The most romantic of stories? How Julian made sure he upheld one special tradition, says Kate. “By the time the wedding rolled around we were in the habit of making a particular juice every morning as the first thing we ate. On the morning of the wedding, Jules didn’t want me to have to go without, so he still made it at home and then dropped it off at the hotel concierge for me. Along with a beautiful letter & a box with some small gifts & sentimental items inside. Was the perfect way to start the day and get the tear ducts warmed up for the long day ahead!!”

The groom dressed in a Godwin Charli suit he already owned, the suit bringing in beautiful black-tie style.

The bride wore a simple gown designed by One Day Bridal. “I wanted my whole look to be effortless & classic. My dress was plain and simple, but elegant. I slightly altered the back as I wanted to show a little more skin & feel a little sexier. I wore simple, yet sparkly, jewellery and shoes, and a bracelet my sister gave me on the morning of the wedding which matched perfectly.”

The bride was accompanied down the aisle by her father. “My Dad walked me down the aisle which was pretty special as he couldn’t walk without a frame at that time and is mostly bound to a wheelchair now. The song was “Simple Things” by Ziggy Alberts, but slowed down and sung acoustically. My hubby is an ocean lover and it just seemed to suit perfectly.”

The flowers, styled by Bunched Together, centred around white roses and plenty of greenery, the bride sharing “It was all about the greenery for us. The venue already had quite a few pot plants with different trees & palms spread around. The rest of the venue was scattered with a mix of lush green foliage and soft pastel and white coloured flowers. The marquee had 2 large hanging foliage installations to help bring the garden vibe inside for dinner.
Our bouquets were a little more polished than the rest, with long-stemmed white roses which were perfectly classic for our ceremony.”

“With dramatic views of the city behind us, we wanted our ceremony to be short and sweet,” explains Kate of the couple’s decision to hire celebrant Libby Briggs. “Our celebrant shared a brief version of our love story and she also introduced each of our wedding party to the other guests to tell a little bit about why they were standing there with us on such a special day. Real tear-jerker! With that done it was just down to the vows and I do’s!”

The beautiful rooftop space? It’s Tonic House! “We got married and had our reception all in the same venue. We LOVED the rooftop! With the market lights strung up and skyscraper views, plus the marquee at the rear to house our sit-down feast, nothing else compared after we saw Tonic House.
As it’s not a conventional function venue we pretty much had to hire everything in, right down to the friers in the kitchen, but it was worth it! We even had an afterparty in the venue’s cellar.”

One of Kate’s favourite details of the day? “We did it right at the end of our ceremony, straight after we walked back down the aisle as husband and wife. It was something fun and great to signify the end of formalities & kick-off cocktail hour for the guests with the primo champagne flowing!”

The newlyweds loved their chosen photographer. “Jules knows her through work, she shoots corporate videos for his business. That’s how we found out she also does beautiful wedding photography. Not too posey or photoshopped, which is the vibe we wanted. She’s also just a legend and she ran with the day perfectly!”

The decor on the day was kept very simple. Kate says “On the card table I included a black and white photo of my parents from their wedding day. My mum passed away when I was a little girl, so it was just a little something to be able to have her there with us on the day.”

Guests gathered for an intimate marquee reception catered by Ed Dixon by Cookes Food. “Our caterer/event coordinator was amazing! Ed Dixon had looked after many of my work functions and they did not disappoint with my wedding. The venue was limited in terms of access and communication, and Ed Dixon handled them perfectly for us and took a lot of the stress out, managing bump in and bump out of all vendors like the pros they are. Not to mention the food & service was A-grade. The guests were raving.”

Advice for couples yet to tie the knot? Kate says “It’s impossible to please everyone with the invite list/seating chart (if you have one), you do you and try not to get caught up in the politics of it too much! It’s your day & they’ll end up swapping seats on the day anyway! ha!
Also, don’t put too much pressure on choosing “the perfect song” to walk down the aisle to. I flat out didn’t hear a thing on the day, was too busy trying to race my Dad and his walking stick down the aisle to get to my handsome hubby-to-be!”

“We got engaged in August and married in Feb, so it was a very quick & stressful turnaround! But I loved being able to create a special day that truly represented us as a couple. Good food, fun, full of love, a few of the finer things in life, but not too overdone.”

The first dance? One of Kate’s very favourite memories of the day. “The song was “Beyond” by Leon Bridges. I just stumbled across it while trying to find songs for our big day and the lyrics just stood out for me. I played it to Jules and he agreed. It’s a beautiful song and well suited to us and our story.
Our first dance was choreographed, which Jules was actually all for. It’s probably one of the best memories of the day for us. We had an absolute ball performing it on the night and regularly find ourselves trying to recreate the dance moves in the kitchen while cooking dinner! Some of the best footage in our wedding video was of that dance, including a little flash-mob cameo from our wedding party towards the end.”