There are few places we’d rather be on a beautiful summer’s day than the after, and Katie and Jack’s wedding reception, right on beautiful Perth’s Swan River certainly ticks all the boxes for a summer day you want to bask in the glow of.

Captured beautifully by  Art & Kisses, Katie admits she spent way too many hours on TikTok down the “untraditional wedding” hole, finding ideas for the pair to make their wedding exactly what they wanted. “It was important to us that our day didn’t just feel like just another wedding, we wanted our guests to have fun and make this a day they would remember. We didn’t want to spend money on materialistic things, but more on the venue, music, food and drinks to make sure our guests enjoyed themselves. We wanted to make our day as untraditional as possible” she explains. “We are very low-key, laid-back people so a formal wedding, in a popular wedding venue was never going to be for us. We knew we wanted a cocktail wedding, and knew we wanted our guests to have a really fun day with as little formalities and traditional aspects as possible.”

The couple’s paths first crossed at Benny’s Bar in Fremantle in the early hours of one Sunday morning. “I was leaving for the night as Jack was arriving, we locked eyes, Jack asked if I wanted a drink and I guess it was safe to say, the rest is history!” laughs Katie, Jack popping the question in “typical Jack style”.  “We headed down south for a little weekend getaway which wasn’t usual for us. We woke up Saturday morning and went for a walk down to Smiths Beach, got a coffee and walked up to the viewing platform. It was a beautiful, cool, still June morning so I was taking a little Instagram story video, meanwhile, Jack is on one knee waiting for me to turn around. When I eventually turned around, Jack asks “So, what are your thoughts” in true, laid-back Jack style.”

Art & Kisses not only captured the sills of the day, but Katie & Jack also chose them to do their wedding day film. Says Katie “We couldn’t have been happier with our photographer and videographer, Art & Kisses. From enquiring, right through to post-ceremony, they were incredible, always attentive, and making us feel comfortable and at ease.”

Jack chose neutral-toned pieces from MJ Bale and Bowtie & Arrow. “We wanted Jack to be comfortable, he is a fairly low-key, relaxed kind of guy, so a full tux in the middle of Perth Summer wasn’t going to fly with Jack” explains Katie. “We decided on a nice chino pants, suspenders, and beautiful sage jacket with a brown loafer shoe.”

Wanting something simple, yet beautiful, Katie found her gown at Karen Willis Holmes. She shares “I went dress shopping alone initially, I can be easily persuaded by other’s opinions, so I wanted to get a feel for what I wanted on my own. I very quickly realised I loved the modern, simple, classic, timeless style of strapless and a simple off-the-shoulder sleeve. I went to about 10 different shops around Perth and found a lot of dresses I tried that looked really beautiful in their way, but I eventually decided on a gorgeous dress from Karen Willis Holmes. The girls at KWH added detachable straps so I could have a more elegant look for the ceremony and a strapless number for the reception. I also changed my look for the reception by removing the dress straps, putting my hair up into a messy ponytail, and changing my earrings. I loved being able to very simply change up my look!”

 

The couple opted for a first look. which Katie marks as a highlight of the day. “We spent the night before our wedding day together which we both loved. Going to bed and waking up together and in our bed was so nice, we got to spend the morning together in our own home, got a good night’s sleep and spent time alone together before the big day!

We did a first look at my sister’s house where the bridesmaids and I were getting ready. This meant we were able to get some beautiful, candid and in-the-moment photos of our raw emotion of seeing each other for the first time. It was so special having that time together for the two of us before the craziness of the day began. I also think this took a lot of pressure off the ceremony where you’re seeing each other, and everyone else and doing your vows. The first look meant we were able to take the ceremony in, look around and see the beautiful friends and family that are there to celebrate us.”

And after the first look, it was time for the first round of celebration. “After our first look, the wedding party got cars to Matilda Bay all together for some drinks before the ceremony. It was nice to spend time together with the wedding party before the ceremony. It also took some of the pressure off the ceremony and meant we were able to take everything in at the ceremony and just be present at the moment.”

“We came across Art & Kisses on Instagram as they had done another wedding at our ceremony location” explains Katie of the couple’s photographer. “I loved the photos and video they did for the other wedding so I reached out to Stacie, and as soon as we set up our first zoom meeting with her, I knew she would be the photographer for us. She was professional yet laid-back and calm and we instantly clicked. Both Stacie and Ryan were incredible on the day, they made us feel so comfortable and so at ease! Feeling calm and having a stress-free day was so important to us, and they certainly bought those good vibes to our day!”

Katie and Jack chose the beautiful Tropical Grove Gardens, UWA for their ceremony.  “We wanted something different, somewhere really beautiful, but not a common wedding venue. Jack is quite private, so the idea of a public venue where there was a chance of bystanders or strangers being present wasn’t for us. We came across Tropical Grove and instantly fell in love. It was such a beautiful, peaceful, intimate location, surrounded by palm trees, gum trees and birdlife. It was the perfect location for us!”

“We had a seat in the front row set up for Jack’s Nan who passed away in 2022” remarks the bride. “With a photo and Nan’s cardigan draped over the chair. This was a surprise for Jack on the day which made it even more special.”

“Dad and I walked down the aisle to “Love Like This’” by Lauren Daigle” remembers Katie, “We wanted something different and not a common ceremony aisle song. We heard this song a few days before the wedding and thought it was perfect! Dad, Jack and I were all sobbing as we walked down the aisle, it was a really special moment.”

“We didn’t invite anyone that we didn’t feel necessary, we took the emotion out of it and didn’t invite anyone because we “felt obliged to”. It made our day so much more special having those we truly loved and wanted to be a part of our day there.”

The couple chose Tina Buri to perform their ceremony, something they considered carefully as to how it would flow on the day. Katie explained  “Our celebrant, Tina Buri was much the same, always checked in throughout the planning process, and made us feel so comfortable in her presence and bought all the good vibes to our day.

We did a few things at our ceremony that were quite untraditional that we loved and would recommend to any other untraditional couples out there;
1. I had three bridesmaids and Jack only had two groomsmen. The idea of needing to have a matching number of bridesmaids/groomsmen in the wedding party felt outdated
2. We had our wedding party sit in the front row instead of standing with us
3. We had our family and friends on opposite sides so when I looked into the crowd, I saw my Mum, Dad, friends and bridesmaids smiling at me which instantly put me at ease if I felt nervous
4. We didn’t sign the marriage certificate during the ceremony but did it privately after with our Mum’s post-ceremony. This really helped with the flow of the ceremony.”

Katie’s advice to you? “Do what you want to do. It’s your day and you need to create a day that best reflects you as a couple, so other people’s opinions shouldn’t matter. Right from the beginning, set a list of three things that are important to you, and a list of things that don’t matter as much. For us, the music, venue and general vibe of the day were most important, we wanted our day to be different to other weddings, in a beautiful venue that wasn’t common, with good music, and just a great, fun vibe for our guests. We knew materialistic things like stationery wasn’t as important, so we knew where we were happy to spend the money, and where we weren’t. It made it so much easier for planning!”

The beautiful blooms on the day were put together by Petals by PMP.  “Our florist, Dani from Petals by PMP was amazing, we gave her a very basic brief of our style and what we wanted, and she delivered! Dani completely exceeded our expectations! We went with a modern, minimalistic vibe, neutral, earthy + white tones. We were so happy with all the flowers, they were stunning and the exact vibe we were after! Danni was incredible, we provided her with a very basic brief, and she delivered the most stunning florals, more beautiful and more perfect than we ever could have imagined.”

“We printed personalised thank you cards, put them in an envelope and printed a polaroid of the guest on front of the envelope with their name, then pegged it onto a mesh board. I am so happy we did this, it was the first time many of our guests had ever seen something like this which made it so special (it also doubled as a wedding favour and thank you card post-wedding)!

We did DIY stationery and menus. This was probably the least important thing to us on our day, in the week before the wedding, a friend of mine made our menus in Canva and I printed them at home. I think if there are areas that are less important to you, and you know you can save some money by doing it yourself, then do it!”

The couple handed the planning of their day over to wedding planner Atelier Weddings & Events, a decision they highly recommend. “Sharene from Atelier Weddings & Events was amazing, our day would not have run as smoothly as it did, without her! She went above and beyond to make sure our day was perfect!”

The couple held their reception right on the water at The Raft. “We wanted somewhere central, somewhere with modern interiors and a unique element but we also didn’t want a blank canvas. We decided on The Raft. We boarded the tender at Elizabeth Quay, the moment we walked off the tender onto The Raft, we looked at each other and smiled, we knew this was the perfect location for us. The DJ was playing great music, the Perth City skyline in the background, the beautiful Swan River surrounding us, the location could not have been more perfect!”

“Our wedding was a cocktail event which we loved! It provided the exact vibe that we wanted for our day, it was laid back, fun and informal. We got all our formalities over within the first two hours, and it was just a big party with all our favourite people!”

“Our first dance was so typically us” laughs Katie, “I nagged Jack for weeks leading into the wedding, asking if we could at least practice once. It didn’t happen, and our first dance was fumbly, awkward and just so typically us. It was perfectly imperfect! We danced to Ronan Keating’s ‘When you say nothing at all’.”

The dance floor was not just about the newlyweds, explains Katie “We did a mother/son and father/daughter dance together. I found a lot of weddings can really revolve around the bride, and I never understood that, so I knew if I wanted to do a father/daughter dance, it made sense that Jack and his Mum had a dance too.”

Jack’s favourite part of the day? “Looking into the crowd and seeing all our favourite people so happy and having the best time. The day reflected us perfectly as a couple, it was such a fun day, and partying into the night with our best friends and family was so special.”

Congratulations to you both Katie and Jack! What a joy of a day to be able to share. Thank you to you both and thank you to Art & Kisses for sharing all the beautiful images with us.