For Madison and Nick, it was a few brief meetings while at university, that led Madison’s crush to bloom. “We met during our first year of university. We weren’t studying the same subject, but a friend of mine was studying with Nick. I think I had seen him around with her and their other classmates and at a few uni parties. I eventually told my friend that I had a crush on him and that was it.”

And today, we get to share their elegant, classic, chic monochrome black tie wedding day in the spirit of The Black & White issue, of course! Captured by Ben and Ebony this was a day full of beauty (the reception? Pure black and white bliss!) – but also, full of feeling “The lighting was dim and warm and the atmosphere was pure joy” remembers Madison.

It was a beautiful celebration of a proposal that took place on Nick and Madison’s ninth anniversary. Madison telling the tale “It was coming up to our 9th anniversary and Nick was getting a lot of pressure from family and friends (and me) to propose. We had just brought our first house and I was convinced that Nick would propose when we moved into the house.
The Saturday night before our 9th anniversary, which was the coming Monday, we went out to a nine-course degustation to celebrate. The evening passed with no proposal, further convincing me that it would happen when we moved into the new house.
On the Monday evening of our actual anniversary, I had a long day at work and came home around 8 pm. Nick, as a joke, had prepared a candlelit McDonald’s dinner (as we both have a terrible love for McDonald’s). We were enjoying dinner when Nick handed me a card. We liked to buy each other singing cards for special occasions and Nick had found a Mexican style singing card, that wasn’t for an anniversary, but he had made some adjustments to it. Inside the card was a message which read “Dearest Madi, here’s to you my lovely girlfriend* wishing you a happy 9th anniversary. Love, Nick”. I hadn’t quite noticed the asterisk next to the word girlfriend and before I had, the felt taco that was stuck to the front of the card had fallen off and underneath it had the words “*will you marry me?”. As this was all happening Nick had somehow disappeared and reappeared with a box and got down on one knee and asked me to marry him.”

Nicholas and his groomsmen wore black tuxedos from Penguins Formal Wear. Madison telling  “Nick wore a classic black tuxedo. We both wanted a black-tie wedding and this was a natural choice.
Nick had actually had a tuxedo jacket made for him on a boys trip to China, however, it didn’t quite match the groomsmens’ tuxedo’s, so he ended up getting the same as them. We went with all of the groomsmen to try on the suits and it was a really fun experience.”

The bride, who wore a blue heart in her pocket owned by her aunt, found her ballgown wedding gown at Luv Bridal & Formal. She tells “The dress I chose was simple, yet classic. It was made of this amazing thick pearl white satin. It was a strapless, fitted style at the top, with a large skirt that came out at the waist. I added loose off-shoulder sleeves and it had pockets which was a fun addition. In my pocket, I had a blue heart that my aunt had worn on her wedding day. I also wore a long veil with a satin trim and pearl stud earrings. My shoes were also a pearl satin colour, a simple strap across the toes and around the ankle, with chunky beading and crystals across the toes. The process of buying the dress was really enjoyable.

The dress I chose was from the first store I went to. I went to only one other store and ended up also loving a dress there. It came down to 2 dresses, but I can’t now imagine wearing my second choice. Around 10 pm, when the dance floor started, I changed into a more casual, pearl colour midi dress by One Fell Swoop.”

Madison and Nicholas chose Lamonts Bishops House for their day, Madison noting  “The venue is a hidden garden and old federation style house in the middle of the Perth CBD. From the outside, you wouldn’t even know it is there. It is a luscious green garden setting, with the backdrop of a city skyline. The rose garden (where the ceremony was held) is covered in festoon lighting and green grass flooring, surrounded by beautiful roses and brick features. The reception was in an open marquee on the paved area next to Bishops House and overlooked the rolling greens lawns and beautiful gardens.”

“Yes. I walked down the aisle to a live acoustic cover of “Take Me Home,  Country Road” by John Denver” remembers Madison.  “This is Nick’s favourite song. My Dad walked me down the aisle and it was one of the best moments of my life.”

Madison and Nicholas chose Anna Balston to perform their ceremony. Madison noting  “The ceremony was quite emotional (to both mine and Nick, and the guests’ surprise).
I wanted it to be really personal and not generic. Our celebrant was amazing, she had met with us several times and had us fill out questionnaires which she used to prepare a really personalised, special ceremony. It was both funny and really heartfelt.
Nick and I both wrote our own vows, which we hadn’t heard until the day. We had both joked and made bets on who would cry at the alter. In the end, we both did, and so did most of the crowd. It was really nice and I think was reflective of the love we have for each other and the close relationships we have with everyone who came to the wedding.”

Poppys Flowers styled the fresh flowers for the occasion. “For the bouquets, we chose an off-white, almost light blush pink rose” explains Madison. “The colour was actually called Quicksand. I loved that it had hues of subtle blush pink, which looked amazing next to the green gardens and was a nice contrast against the predominantly black and white colour scheme.”

The newlyweds were thrilled with their choice of photographer. “Ebony was amazing. She is so friendly and down to earth and is really relaxing and comfortable to be around. Her pictures are insane and I’m not sure what magic she used to make us all look so good. Ebony loves black and white, as do I and her black and white pictures are amazing. My Dad commented that they look like something out of a New York magazine. They are incredible.”

Guests celebrated the newlyweds in a grand reception inside a clear marquee, the styling, of course, completely keeping with the monochrome black & white style. “The reception styling was incredible” raves the bride. “I had pictured what I wanted and was nervous it wouldn’t all come together as I had hoped. But it was actual perfection. Everything from the placement of the flowers, to the lighting, to the decor was like something from a magazine. I wish I could be there again and soak in every detail.”

Madison and Nick credit the smooth running of their day, and the beautiful details thanks to wedding planners Confetti and Co Events. Madison explaining “Confetti and Co (our wedding planners) were the best. Sarah and Holly couldn’t be nicer and they absolutely nailed the brief. My advice for future married-to-be is to get a wedding planner – you will not regret it.
There was not one thing that went wrong on our wedding day and it was absolute because of them. The day was simply perfection. They also made the entire process really easy and fun and gave us great ideas and helped us with the hard decisions. Sarah even gave me an old stage mom trick to help me stop crying right before the ceremony, which I will never forget.”

Madison’s memorable moments of the day? “My brothers wearing matching velvet tuxedo jackets. Nick’s Dad’s speech, which was so bizarre, yet hilarious, people are still talking about it. Watching friends and their parents absolutely tear up the dancefloor.”

The newlywed’s first dance was casual, but utterly romantic tells Madison. “We had our first dance to a cover of “Can’t Help Falling in Love”. We hadn’t taken any dance lessons, as we didn’t want it to feel awkward or staged. We chatted and laughed through most of it and Nick gave me a couple of spins. We didn’t have it last very long and towards the end, my Dad took over and we had a father-daughter dance to “Close to You” by The Carpenters (my Dad’s choice). This was also not rehearsed and was really nice.”

And to make sure the dance floor was packed all night? “Despite its very elegant, black-tie style, we absolutely had to have a late-night cheeseburger snack. We arranged for 100 McDonald’s cheeseburgers to be delivered and served at around 11 pm. I was convinced they would never come, as I had arranged an air tasker to collect them and drop them at the venue. To my absolute delight, I saw them being carried around on trays to very happy guests. Nick made sure to keep 2 and we ate them back at the hotel.”

A big congratulations to you both Madison and Nicholas! Thank you for sharing your beautiful day with us. Thank you also to Ben and Ebony for sharing today’s beautiful black and white wedding with us!