A wedding, to me, is the ultimate celebration when a community comes together. And for Ellie and Julian, while their day is beautiful; while it is stunning in its urban black tie elegance – it isn’t that, that makes us fall in love with it. It’s how Nonna helped them sterilise and bottle Julian’s favourite red wine vinegar and olive oil as favours.  It’s the special piece of jewellery Ellie wore down the aisle, it’s how above anything else, what these two treasure most about their day is the moments, the conversations, the laughter and the tears. That to me? Is when a wedding turns from just a wedding (as if there is “just a wedding) to something life-changing.

And in his usual life-changing magic of documenting moments, Briars Atlas was behind the camera for this one. To capture the story of a couple who met while they were both studying architecture at university. They tell “We were introduced on a trip to Anglesea for a mutual friend’s birthday, our connection was instant, but we didn’t start dating right away. We became great friends and spent a lot of time together. After a couple of months, we confessed our feelings and things grew from there.”

Julian decided to pop the question on a planned holiday to Europe (which was inevitably cancelled thanks to the pandemic!) The pair made the most of their time off and instead made plans for a trip to local Apollo Bay, and that is where the moment happened. “On the second day of our trip, Saturday 21 November 2020, we got up bright and early and took off for a day full of hiking and exploring The Great Otway’s. Just after lunch, at our third stop, we decided to go off the walking path and relax in a very peaceful and more secluded part by the water. I was looking out to the water babbling about how peaceful I was, how it was the most peaceful I had been all year and telling Julian to look at the reflections of the water when he called out my name, whilst on one knee with a ring in his hand.”

The day was captured beautifully on film by Where The Heart Is.

Julian opted for a classic black tux, complete with bowtie, and he found his match at Oscar Hunt. He shares “I wanted a formal vibe, something sharp and classic with a modern twist. I wore a tailor-made Oscar Hunt suit. I enjoyed the process they had and their attention to detail. All the staff at Oscar Hunt were accommodating and hospitable from the moment we walked through the door and they continued to work on the suit until it was perfect.”

Ellie was lucky enough to work with Melbourne designer Jason Grech on a custom gown. “My brief was a modern take on Audrey Hepburn/Grace Kelly style. The dresses I tried were beautiful but never felt right – I started to feel as though nothing would suit me. Finally, I met Jason Grech and instantly felt that Jason understood what I wanted out of this experience and what would work for me. I enjoyed the process and time I spent with Jason, he went above and beyond to ensure I had my dream dress.”

The couple kicked off the day with a ceremony at St Patricks Cathedral, Melbourne, before they headed to the National Gallery of Victoria for their reception.”We had previously discussed getting married at St Patrick’s cathedral and having our wedding reception at the NGV, so when it came time to decide these were the only venues for us. As we are both architects, it was important to us to choose buildings that were architecturally significant and meaningful to us.
We love to explore galleries in every city we visit, it’s one of our favourite things to do! Ellie’s Nonna and Nonno also got married at St Patrick’s cathedral and that held sentimental value as well.”

Ellie walked down the aisle with her father, in an emotional moment with her father, tells Julian, “Ellie walked down the aisle with her father to Canon in D, it was an emotional moment when I saw her as the doors opened.

Ellie was very close to her Papou, she had asked him a long time ago if he would walk her down the aisle one day, however, he sadly passed away before the wedding. She walked down the aisle with a necklace he always wore and was given to her when he passed and he was very much there with her in spirit.”

“The ceremony was an explosion of emotions, and a sensory overload in the best way possible. Everything we thought we would feel and experience we did and it was worth all the excitable nerves and anticipation. The ceremony was traditional and personable. It shone a spotlight on our journey as a couple and our love for each other. It was one of the highlights of the day.”

Julian’s favourite shot of the day? “The one where we are walking down the aisle and we both have the biggest smiles on our faces and we look out and see all our friends and family. It is an epic shot, we are almost out the door and I can remember at that moment feeling extremely happy and content.”

Want to see if these two recommend their photographer? Oh for sure they do! “Oli is a legend. There is no other way to put it. We took a long time to find a photographer that got us and when we met with Oli we knew that he needed to be a part of our day. We adored him so much that if he was unable to photograph our wedding we would have asked him to be there as a guest!

Not only did he capture the most incredible moments of our day, provide much entertainment and genuinely show us love and care throughout the whole process, but he also helped us meet so many other epic people along the way who contributed to our wedding in a big way. Oli goes above and beyond, he is the real deal. He truly elevated our day and we are so grateful for him.”

Luckily for these two, a keen sense of style made wedding planning a breeze. “The wedding planning was really fun for us, we are both very organised people and are always on the same page with things. We have very similar tastes in art, architecture and design and we took the wedding planning on like we would any project. It was very satisfying ticking items off our list and seeing our wedding unfold into the epic day it was.”

The most golden advice from these two is “Marriage and planning a wedding is wonderful, fun, exciting, and rewarding. Love each other always, unconditionally – stand by each other and support each other in all things, and always remember that communication is key. Things may not always go to plan so let it wash over you and trust that things will work out in the end. Always remember why you are doing this.”

This was a wedding with an epic dream team that deserves every bit of applause and praise. “Every single vendor who was part of our day was not only incredible, caring and supportive but professional, talented and special to us. To have a wedding in the middle of a pandemic, in such uncertain times and for it to go off without a hitch was not just by fluke. It was due to our incredible and talented vendors – each and every one of them.”

There are far too many amazing moments to count. We worked hard to bring each detail together to reflect what we both wanted out of the day and highlight our relationship and story. The stationery which was done by Jannelle at Elle Creative Studio was so personal and reflected our taste precisely. The elegance of the flowers by Isabella at Bellewood Flowers complimented everything they touched.  White, cream and champagne roses with a hint of baby’s breath and a splash of greenery were the brief. The flowers tied in well with our overall colour scheme and complimented the venue and attire which speak for themselves.

But most importantly, and what will forever be ingrained in our memories are the moments we shared with our loved ones, the conversations, the laughter, the tears, the dancing, it was all so beautiful and to share those moments with the people we surround ourselves with was one of the best parts.”

The favours paid homage to the couple’s family and their love of good, homemade food.  “We decided we wanted to do something personal for our bomboniere. We were excited by the idea that all our guests would be able to leave with something that was a part of us, and our background.

Both coming from European backgrounds we have been fortunate to grow up with lots of homemade and homegrown foods. One of our favourites is Julian’s Nonna and Nonno’s red wine vinegar, it’s a staple in our kitchen. Paired with olive oil, we created mini bottles for every guest to take home and use. We are so grateful to our nonni for contributing to our day and for all the late-night sterilising, filling, and branding of the bottles – it was a real family affair.”

Guests were welcomed into the reception by one very, very special musician. “Julian’s Nonno plays the piano accordion and we had asked him if he would play a song as we enter the reception. It was a magical and special moment that we will never forget. It ended with a big group hug and a lot of happy emotions. It’s not often you get times like this with your grandparents and we are forever grateful to have shared that moment.”

The best part of the night? Hands down the speeches! “The speeches were so special, we had Ellie’s dad and older sister and Julian’s parents and older sister and cousin. It can be daunting for people to do speeches and we appreciate everyone who spoke. It was so heartwarming to hear all the words people said about us, and how they completely summed up not only us as individuals but our relationship together. It was very moving and we are thankful for every single word shared.

Our first dance was incredible and special, we were both so nervous about doing it but it was a highlight. It wasn’t just dancing on the day but the nights we would spend at home practising together and laughing at each other as we would stuff up the steps or trip over the couch.”

“Although we have only been married for 8 months, here are some words of wisdom to future couples. Marriage and planning a wedding are wonderful, fun, exciting, and rewarding. Love each other always, unconditionally – stand by each other and support each other in all things, and always remember that communication is key. Things may not always go to plan so let it wash over you and trust that things will work out in the end. Always remember why you are doing this.”

The first dance song was a classic choice “All of Me” by John Legend, tells Ellie  “We are not the most incredible dancers – so we were told. We were gifted some dance lessons for Christmas at Pivot Dance Studio with the wonderful Rodney.
The lyrics resonated with us and we knew it was the song for us!
The nerves were kicking in when it came time to dance, but with our friends and family cheering us on we felt in our element and it became another highlight we will never forget.”

The final highlight of the night? The dance floor thanks to Groove Junction Entertainment. “Dancing with everyone on the dance floor was such a highlight. It was so much fun we had an absolute ball. We didn’t think the day could get any better, it was full of so much romance and love but Thando and the band finished up the night and blew us all away at the reception, it was one of the most talked about memories for most people who attended who said they didn’t leave the dancefloor the whole night and praised Thando and the band for their epic performance.”

Congratulations Ellie & Julian! It was such a treat to be able to share so many beautiful details of your day. Thank you both and thank you to Oli of Briars Atlas for sharing this one with us.