Kathryn & Rhyss

If I had to choose one word to describe the wedding of Kathryn &  Rhyss, it’d be “delightful”. These two chose a blank canvas space for their day (the stunning Wool Mill) and transformed it to a space that went from holding a very emotional ceremony to a dance all night long party.

We wanted a classic modern wedding filled with beautiful flowers with a twist” explains Kathryn. “We wanted people to fall in love with it (like we did)!” The couple chose Marie-Luise to capture every moment and from the bow ties to the champagne tower, the custom floor decals to the (beautiful) dance the groom organised for his new wife, this is a story for the ages!

As for how the pair came to meet? Kathryn reminisces “Rhyss and I met at work in 2008, and although I wasn’t a big fan at the start, he won my heart with his caring nature and generosity towards others (and such a cute tush).”

The groom was dressed by Institchu. Kathryn noting “Rhyss looks gorgeous in a navy suit! We loved our personalised experience at Institchu on Lonsdale Street in Melbourne CBD. Rhyss chose a customised wool navy suit with our wedding date stitched into the inside breast. Classic clean lines, crisp white shirt and a box tie.” Rhyss finished his look with his late grandfather’s cufflinks.

One maybe not so funny story Kathryn has for the day? “When the groom and the 9 groomsmen have to get their final suit fitting done the night before the wedding and then decide to go out and have a “quiet” beer to unwind ends up turning into the groom getting home at 5 in the morning needing to be up by 7, (it) did have the bride’s nerves running a lot higher than they should have been. Thankfully Rhyss was fine and the day ran perfectly and we were able to laugh about it afterwards.”

Kathryn had a distinct vision in mind for her wedding gown, working with Lookbook Bride to make it happen. She explains  “I’m a big believer in finding outfits for weddings that are timeless, comfortable and suits your body. It’s super easy to get influenced by trends and I knew I didn’t want to make a decision I was going to loath in a few years’ time.

Classic, ageless and head-turning… I wanted my ‘Met Gala Moment’. My wedding designer Deanne Nissen from ‘Lookbook Bride’, who was able to work with me to create my stunning gown with a detachable cathedral length train.” Kathryn added her great aunt’s ruby ring as the finishing touch.

Kathryn and Rhyss chose The Wool Mill for their wedding, noting “We really felt it was important to find a venue that could support both the ceremony and the reception, that way our guests could enjoy themselves instead of having to go home for a few hours in between. The Wool Mill was the perfect location, set relatively close to home, the venue was unlike we had seen at other weddings. It was a blank canvas that we were excited to create into our own. The space was set up perfectly with the ceremony being held upstairs and the reception downstairs along with the bar area. Being able to overlook the reception area from upstairs created excitement along with an easy transition to the latter. It allowed for all of us to move around freely to get drinks, dance and celebrate the day and night.”

Says Rhyss “My most fond memory was seeing my beautiful wife walking down the aisle and after 12 years of being together finally being able to say “I do” was amazing. ”  Kathryn walked down the aisle with her mum to Jack and Jordan playing Elvis Presley’s “I can’t help Falling In love With You”.

The ceremony was officiated by Sarita The Celebrant. The bride remarking “We really wanted a relaxed ceremony that really showcased our love, nothing too formal. Luckily we paired with Sarita the Celebrant who completely understood our style and was able to create a personalised experience, showcasing our love and happiness throughout the years Rhyss and I have spent together.

It was really important for us to write our own vows. Rhyss and I have been together for such a long time, and we wanted to express our love and promises to one another.”

The beautiful blooms for the day were styled by Anatomy of Flowers. “Our florist Anatomy of Flowers did an incredible job creating combinations of beautiful white blooms with lush green foliage. The attention to detail and ensuring the flow and presentation were incredible. It helped turn our blank canvas into a beautiful landscape like it was out of a catalogue.”

The newlyweds kicked off the celebrations with a champagne tower, thanks to their wedding planners Nudo Events. “Our top three details would have to be our neon sign that we were able to use for both ceremony and reception with the words “It was always you”, along with our champagne tower and floor decals of famous quotes on the floor in both areas were amazing and had everyone talking. We couldn’t thank Nudo enough for nailing these amazing details.”

“Our amazing photographer Marie from Marieluiseweddings was able to capture every moment for us” says Kathryn. “She definitely had her work cut out for her trying to get a bridal party of 16 but was able to deliver to perfection. We were also able to sneak off to the Carlton Gardens with Marie and get some amazing pictures taken and sing some amazing songs in the limo also.”

The styling was a beautiful blend of classic and modern, says Kathryn. “We organised from Refresh Hospitality a delicious share plate menu to help everyone mingle, and all night cocktails gave everyone the extra confidence to hit that dance floor, and hot chips in the last hour to sober up everyone. The team at Nudo (the incredible stylist and wedding planners) were able to execute the styling perfectly. From the flowers, our quote floor decals, our round champagne tower, our custom neon signage ‘It was always you’ (from Custom Neon, table styling, stationery and much, much more! We couldn’t have been happier. White was our colour of choice for most of the styling, including the bridesmaids, flowers, cake and stationery. We really tried to find details different from the average wedding. We chose out of the box flower combinations and used stock such a Vellum to make our Wedding invite look different to the norm.”

Guests were gifted homemade limoncello as wedding favours, and for the non-drinkers, personalised fondant cookies.

“Get off Pinterest!” laughs Kathryn. “Honestly, there are some amazingly beautiful weddings on Pinterest, which is normally well over the typical wedding budget, or just wedding ideas that have been done a thousand times. I recommend you looking through Instagram to find inspiration from stylists, florists, graphic designers and different wedding venues to find budget appropriate details to elevate and wow on your special day.”

This truly was a vendor dream team for the couple who were thrilled with choosing Nudo Events as their planner and  Refresh Hospitality to cater to the celebration. “We loved every vendor and they truly made our wedding day such an amazing moment in our life. It started with Nudo and a blank canvas and they were able to get us in contact with many other vendors. Nudo also turned our dreams into a reality and not once let us down, to our florist being able to detail flowers in such ornate ways, Sarita ensuring our ceremony was calm and relaxed, to Marie Luise and Love Soldier Weddings for capturing the most amazing moments throughout the day, to Refresh providing hands down the best food and drink packages imaginable and to Jack and Jordan and their amazing vocals and song choices were incredible. We truly can not thank the vendors enough for all working together and executing the best wedding day we could have ever possibly imagined.”

“The blank canvas concept was unique so we could make it a more personalized experience allowing us to celebrate with friends and family more intimately.
We didn’t have to stress and panic over anything leading up to the wedding. Nudo helped facilitate everything and also gave us a constant budget rundown which eliminated any surprises at the end. By Nudo doing this we could actually enjoy the lead up to our wedding also which was a big positive.”

The groom’s words of wisdom for you? “I got told that during the day take a step back and just soak it all in because it does go quickly. This was great advice for 2 reasons. Firstly getting drunk the night before and only having 2 hours sleep in 48 hours it was greatly needed but I was also able to be a spectator for 15 minutes at my own wedding and share a quiet drink with my groomsmen and also my wife.”

The newlyweds took to the dance floor as Jack and Jordan performed Ed Sheeran’s “Perfect”. “You couldn’t wipe the smile (or tears) from my face, it was such a surreal experience.” reminisces the bride. The groom also arranging a moment that Kathryn will never forget. “Rhyss had also been planning from the moment we had booked with Nudo and our live band Jack and Jordan to have a special father-daughter dance for me. My dad had passed away several years ago but Rhyss wanted to ensure I still had a special moment. He asked 4 close male figures in my life if they wouldn’t mind sharing a dance with me to honour my dad to a song Jack and Jordan had learned at Rhyss’ request called “Butterfly Kisses”. It was a complete surprise and there was not a dry eye in the room.”

The couple’s delightful wedding film? It’s the work of Love Soldier Weddings (settle in for this one!).

A big congratulations Kathryn and Rhyss! it was such a delight to share your wedding. Thank you both and thank you to Marie-Luise for sharing today’s celebration with us!