Michelle & Rhonda

Michelle and Rhonda wanted a day that was simple, that was filled with loved ones, and was walking distance from home.”Our style was very deliberately simple, stylish and all about having a lovely long Sunday lunch (with the nuptials thrown in) with our nearest and dearest friends and family” explains Michelle. The couple, who chose Where The Heart Is to capture a day on the green, complete with rainbow wedding cake and plenty of merriment.

Rhonda popped the question during the festive season and totally caught Michelle by surprise. She explains  “Rhonda planned an elaborate proposal that involved Father Christmas.

It was the 12th of December and I thought Rhonda and I were going out for lunch. Just before we were due to go, there was a knock on our door and to my surprise, Father Christmas was standing there. I was fairly unimpressed, thinking it was some kind of scam. I was even more unimpressed when Rhonda invited him inside, I thought she had lost her mind inviting a stranger (dressed as FC no less) into our home (we live in the CBD after all!)

At that point, I thought something was up, but only thought that it was one of my friends playing a prank. He then sat himself down and asked me if I had been a good girl (eye-roll) then when I said I had asked me what my Christmas wish was. I asked for a gender-equal world, thinking aha, that will stump you. He didn’t miss a beat and said he had gender parity in Santas workshop, there were as many girl elves as there were boy elves. Hmmm. He then asked Rhonda what her Christmas wish was. She turned to me and said all I want for Christmas is to make Michelle my wife.

To my continuing chagrin, I totally missed what she said. Then I saw tears in her eyes, and she repeated it (how awful of me) and of course I said yes. Then she gave me our “engagement rings” which FC had in his red bag. Two toy mood rings. I had often said I didn’t want an engagement ring, so that was her answer. Very cute. What I also didn’t realise is that Rhonda had lined up Matt Cook our darling friend and photographer to take candid photos, and for our neighbours to come over with champagne. I never did get that lunch, but I wasn’t unhappy!”

Rhonda and Michelle had just one wedding party member – their godson. Michelle explaining “We had our godson Matthew (then 15) as our escort and ring bearer. We bought him dress pants, shirt, tie and waistcoat. We loved that he wanted to wear a rainbow kerchief in recognition of our rainbow marriage.”

Let’s talk attire, Michelle tells “Rhonda wore a beautifully tailored suit. Off-white long line jacket with matching short-sleeved top underneath. I wore a blue-silver long length dress with a beaded bodice. We wore matching beaded flat shoes, Rhondas were black, mine were silver. Shopping was simple and done in a day – for Rhonda. We simply went out, found what she wanted and bought it. Mine was simpler. I saw my dress on eBay and knew immediately that was the one, so I bought it. Absolute bargain! I carried a vintage silver glomesh purse and no bouquet.”

Advice for you from Michelle? “A wedding day is just that. A day. Focus on the life you will have together and when people say that the wedding day passes in flash, they’re right!”

“We didn’t have an aisle,” explains Michelle “we walked into the bowling club together with our godson Matthew. Our ‘walk-in’ song was “Bitter Sweet Symphony.”

The entire day was held at City of Melbourne Bowls Club. “We live in the CBD of Melbourne, so wanted to have our wedding in Flagstaff Gardens so we could walk to and from our wedding. We got married on the bowling green of the City of Melbourne Bowling Club and then had our reception there too.”

 

The couple were married by Jason Tuazon-McChenye “We wrote our own vows, we wanted them to be funny, poignant and to really reflect the many years we’ve already had together and the kind of life we will always have together.”

“We didn’t plan on having any attendants on the day. But after we announced we were getting married, Rhonda’s sister Glenda and our friend Robyn, both jokingly said ‘can I be the flower girl?’ So we said no flower girls, but you can be our witnesses. BUT! You can’t just do that, now you have to give a speech. Which they both groaned at doing. Unbeknown to them, we got giant “Flowergirl” badges made for them to wear on the day. It was cute.”

   

The couple’s chosen photographer, doubled as a dear friend, making them so comfortable on the day. “Matt is our dear friend and is quite simply the most magnificent photographer of women I’ve met. He is funny, makes you feel at ease, makes you look good! and is really unobtrusive. I am always surprised by the shots Matt gets because I am just completely unaware of him being there. We didn’t want a lot of posed shots, and he delivered beautifully. Matt has helped us preserve some beautiful memories of a terrific day.”

As guests celebrated inside for lunch, the tables were topped with arrangements of native blooms by Chloe Lashay. Michelle noting  “I have an amazing group of talented women in my life, including Chloe from Chloe Lashay Floristry. Chloe and I met at work years ago and I call her my adopted daughter. All I knew was that I wanted giant pink proteas on the tables and outdoor area. I used Pinterest where I was able to share images with Chloe and she did the rest. I had long room length tables (our long lunch was family feast style) as well as outdoor tables so Chloe took care of it all. She blew me away with how perfectly she was able to read my mind!”

Says Michelle of the couple’s chosen dream team “We didn’t have vendors, we had friends… that’s what made our day so special. Every single person involved in our wedding is known to us and is a part of our lives. That is what was so special, it was a day of love all around.”

Rhonda and Michelle, such a big congratulations to you both. Thank you for taking the time to share your story with us. And thank you to Where The Heart Is for sharing today’s beautiful celebration.