Erica & Hugh

The streets of Melbourne are always hard to beat when it comes to a wedding, and for Erica and Hugh, they made the most of the back streets of Brunswick, by choosing urban winery Noisy Ritual as the venue for their big day. And this? This, as evidenced by the images caught by Kyra Boyer was a day filled with love. Filled with stories, a laid back vibe and so much bright and beautiful colour, it was, as the newlyweds say “Relaxed, fun,& simple” adding  “we weren’t committed to a particular style or theme, just wanted to bring our friends and family together”.

University-led these two together. “We met in our first year at the University of Melbourne in 2010. Hugh was doing a music degree and Erica was doing an arts degree and taking some music subjects on the side. We met when Hugh ‘interrupted’ a catch-up Erica was having with a mutual friend. It turns out we’d seen each other the year before at a different event and had other mutual friends and that we were doing a couple of subjects that were the same, so we started hanging out at lectures and going to Music Student Society BBQs. We also have MSN messenger to thank to help us get to know each other better!”

And the proposal? Much like their life together, it was a team effort! “Erica is a bit embarrassed about how this came about, but at the end of the day, we made the decision together. Despite Erica stealing Hugh’s thunder.
We were going on our first proper international holiday together to New Zealand in late 2018 when a few months earlier, Erica asked Hugh if he had been thinking about getting married anytime soon (at that stage we’d been together nearly 8 years). Hugh said that he’d been planning to propose on the holiday later in the year. Erica was a bit unimpressed by that as it’s a bit predictable so she called him a ‘basic bitch’ (mean, we know). Fast forward to the night before the holiday and Erica asks Hugh if he’d gotten her an engagement ring (Erica is a brutally honest person as you can tell), but Hugh said that he hadn’t because his feelings had been hurt. So Erica was a bit sheepish and we talked about going to buy a ring together while we were in Auckland.
Two days later, we went ring shopping and picked something out together and then sat together in Albert Park in Auckland and decided we were engaged.”

Erica chose a simple gown by designer Grace Loves Lace. She shares “We had about a year between getting engaged and the wedding so time was a bit limited. I chose the Leon dress from Grace Loves Lace, which had a high neck and an open back. I’ve always liked the look of lace and wanted something comfortable, but also complementary to my figure.

The GLL showroom on the Gold Coast was the only place I went to try on wedding dresses. At the end of the day, you could try on a hundred dresses and still not make a decision! My best friend/Maid of Honour and I had a fun day trip to the Gold Coast and we tossed up between two styles I liked before settling on the Leon.”

Erica and Hugh chose urban winery Noisy Ritual for their wedding. “We wanted to streamline the day, especially for the older family members and with about 85 guests, it was straightforward to do. We chose Noisy Ritual because it was flexible enough to have an area for the ceremony which could then be quickly converted into the dance floor and space for the band. Despite not having a sit-down meal, there was plenty of seating. The space is open and has a great atmosphere with lots of plants and wine barrels.”

Let’s talk blooms, the bright and beautiful floral details styled by Good Grace & Humour. Erica says “I thought it was cool that a lot more Australian natives are being used in wedding floristry and loved the idea of including that. Especially because Hugh is quite allergic to a lot of flowers I was conscious of avoiding your usual fragrant flowers, to begin with.

When I first started talking to Megs at Good Grace and Humour I gave her an idea of the colours I was after and all the other styles I had seen her do. I found out that a lot of the flowers I liked weren’t going to be in season in November, so I was happy for her to devise something along the lines of what I was interested in. What she came up with was above and beyond what I could have ever imagined. The colours and textures were amazing.”

“I wore a light grey suit from Montagio Custom Tailoring in Sydney,” tells Hugh. “It was my first time having a suit tailor-made, and I was extremely happy with the look! I had a plain white shirt, a green Zenetti tie, and dark brown Aquila dress shoes. My best man wore the same thing, except he wore a pink shirt.”

The bride arrived by Jaguar. “My dad is a really big fan of old British cars. So the main thing we wanted to do was drive a Jaguar from the 1960s. He’s always looking for an excuse to spruce it up, so it was lovely to see it driven to the wedding” she tells.

“I remember the moment Erica walked down the aisle looking stunning” shares Hugh. “I felt so lucky to be marrying this incredible woman. My 89-year-old great uncle, who hadn’t met Erica at that point, was sitting in the front row. He’s a cheeky bugger, and when he saw Erica for the first time he looked at me and said “Well done!”. The reception afterwards was a lot of fun, and I had a great time!” Erica walked down the aisle with both her mum and her dad to “These Arms of Mine” by Otis Redding. “It seemed a bit old fashioned to just have my dad when my mum has been such a big part of my life.”

Erica and Hugh were married by Jac the Hitcher in a ceremony they designed to be easy and relaxed. Erica explained “We never wanted the ceremony to feel too stuffy or formal, mainly a large celebration of our relationship given we had been together for over nine years.

You have to do the mandatory legal bits and pieces, but we wanted someone to tell our story with a few funny bits along the way. That’s why we were drawn to Jac, who is a fantastic storyteller and was able to keep us at ease through the whole process. Erica’s mum read the passage on marriage from ‘The Prophet’ by Kahlil Gibran, which helped balance the most ‘comedic’ side of things with articulating the commitment we have made to each other.”

Erica advised “Know that the stress is worth it and where possible enjoy the process of planning the wedding. Erica (especially) was so wrapped up in the stress that it became very difficult to be motivated and excited by it. But the moment you step into the venue and see all the people you love and the outcome of all your hard work it makes it so worth it and you’ll be overcome with joy. Also if you’re the main organiser in the couple, try hard to get out of your head and let other people help”.

Of their photographer, the bride says “Kyra! What a star. We were drawn to her because her photos have such life in them with all the vibrant colours, but they’re not too dark, which you see a lot these days. She’s really fun and gets the job done (that lady doesn’t mess around)”.

Guests celebrated the newlyweds with a tasty cocktail reception catered by Fat and Skinny Catering. “A shout out to Fat and Skinny Catering who were all smiles all day, such a pleasure to have them there.”

 

There was no formal first dance for these two, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen says, Erica. “We hadn’t even planned a first dance… (we’re both awkward dancers) so everyone had started dancing and we were gradually edging towards the dance floor when “Signed Sealed Delivered” by Stevie Wonder came on. We both love the song and Hugh had played it with his band. We started dancing and everyone naturally formed a circle around us which was lovely.”

There was much merriment as the lights came on and the night went on, and even the groom got in on the music action, thanks to the band Soul City – Blue Avenue Entertainment laughs Erica. “Well because Hugh is a percussionist and drummer, once the band found that out, they couldn’t help but get him on the drums for a few songs! I think the band were surprised that it sounded good!”

A big congratulations to you both Erica and Hugh! Thank you for sharing your beautiful day with us. Thank you also to Kyra Boyer for sharing today’s beautiful story!