When the brief for a wedding day is informal, unfussy and comfortable with lots of good food and drinks, you know it’s going to be a great one. Pair that with the bride and groom’s best friends acting as their “celebrants”, and you’ve taken things to the ultimate level of fun and memorable! Patsy and Michael married at their local pub (the Post Office Hotel in Coburg) with a big, lively dance floor, icy poles for dessert, and chips and gravy for a late-night snack, then walked home afterwards. Snapping all the joyful moments along the way was photographer Nikki McCrone.

Patsy and Michael met more than 10 years ago at a pub, at a mutual friend’s farewell party. “We chatted during the night but didn’t go out our first date until we were tagged in a photo together on Facebook (it was 2011, okay?).” Michael added Patsy and asked her out to the footy. Collingwood won by over 100 points and their fate was sealed.

For the couple, there was no ‘proposal’. “We had been together for nearly eight years by that point and would talk regularly about our future together,” explains Patsy. One afternoon we were out having coffee and decided, yeah, let’s get married.”

Patsy knew she didn’t want to wear a white dress on her wedding day as she doesn’t often wear white in her day-to-day life. She ended up finding an incredible silk brocade dress by Oscar de la Renta on the sale rack at Myer. “It was tea length so I knew I wouldn’t be fussing about it on the day, and it had pockets.” She also wore big gold earrings by Christie Nicolaides. Helen at Human Salon did Patsy’s hair, and makeup was by Grace Hudson.

Michael wore a blue suit and rose tie from M.J. Bale. He knew he wanted something cool enough to dance in, and M.J. Bale had a great range of lightweight wool suits.

The couple tied the knot at the Post Office Hotel in Coburg and say they couldn’t have chosen a better venue. “We lived around the corner at the time, and the Postie was our local. We had tried every beer on tap and every meal on the menu, so it was a no-brainer to get married there too,” says Patsy. “The function room is relaxed, yet beautiful. The staff were extremely helpful in getting everything organised. And the food was delicious and plentiful! There’s nothing sadder than a wedding without enough food, and being Greek, I knew I could trust the Postie to get people FED!”

The flowers on the day were arranged by Pomp and Splendour. Patsy and Michael’s brief was simple: lots of colour and a huge floral arbour. “Even though we didn’t provide a lot of direction, they were able to create something incredible – they did not need any hand-holding, and for that we are incredibly grateful!”

Not only did their friends Josh and Giselle agree to be their “celebrants”, they surprised Patsy and Michael with the greatest wedding gifts – tattoos with their names!

Patsy’s dad walked her down the aisle to ‘Walk of Life’ by Dire Straits. “He used to make wedding videos in the 80s, and he would always use that song!” explains Patsy.

The couple actually had two ceremonies. The first was a legal ceremony at the registry office, with just close family.

The following week was the big party at the Post Office Hotel, where their best friends became fake “celebrants” and hosted a completely symbolic and legally non-binding ceremony. “It was memorable, touching and fun,” says Patsy, “We are so glad that our ceremony was performed by two people who know us well and could speak with love about our relationship. Josh and Giselle had the audience in stitches.”

Capturing all the special moments of the day was Nikki McCrone, who was the first vendor Patsy and Michael locked in. “We had seen her at two other weddings and knew that she was organised, relaxed, and had a great eye for posed and unposed photos.”

Nikki met the couple for a beer before the big day, and even scoped out the venue for locations beforehand. Patsy and Michael say she put them at ease and got the best out of two people who hate posing for photos!

Patsy also mentions that Nikki captured the mood so incredibly well. “Nikki is a mad dog and we cannot recommend her enough.”

On planning this wedding, Patsy says that one thing that made it fun was leaving out details that didn’t matter to her and Michael. “We didn’t have a colour scheme or any signage, we didn’t print off special menus – we just used the menus provided by the venue. We didn’t even have a cake, as the Postie organised icy poles for dessert.”

The couple chose not to have a first dance, instead they got all their guests up to have a go at the Zorba.

Another dance floor treat? Chips and gravy! “At 11.30pm, hordes of staff descended on the dance floor to hand out individual serves. Our friends still talk about it!”

Patsy and Michael’s advice for soon to be marrieds in the midst of wedding planning? Do what YOU want to do. “People will make it seem like you need all kinds of stuff to get married – signage, special fonts, a signature cocktail, matching dresses etc. You don’t need any of it if you don’t want it!”

A big thanks to Patsy and Michael for sharing their fun-filled, special day with us. We love that you included the details that were important to you and ditched the ones that weren’t. We’d also like to say thank you to the talented Nikki McCrone for the stunning images in this feature.