Full of mid-century modern and retro twists, Shannon and Bethany’s Melbourne wedding is nothing short of delightful. It starts at the grand old dame of a cinema, a nod to Shannon’s career as a film editor and an iconic Melbourne venue, where guests were greeted with champagne and popcorn to witness the vows before the celebration continued at an urban farm (The Farm Cafe) – this time a nod to Bethany’s adoration of animals.  And the entire thing, caught on camera by Kyra Boyer is a dream. From Bethany’s tea-length wedding dress to the vintage car, they travelled in. From the vows in front of the velvet curtain to the beautiful blooms that featured everywhere. Lovers of times gone by? Settle in, this one has plenty in store for you!

After meeting at university during O week, Bethany and Shannon immediately hit it off, sharing “We secretly (our friends might perhaps say not so secretly), crushed on each other and after a booze cruise hookup decided to start dating.”

Shannon had planned to propose in Sydney on a weekend away, until COVID cancelled the plans. “Shannon instead organised a beautiful high tea delivered to our apartment and proposed after we had filled ourselves to the brim. I was so excited I started hugging and crying too and forgot to say yes! He had to ask twice to make sure.”

Grand and beautiful The Astor Theatre hit right on the theme for Shannon & Bethany’s wedding ceremony. “Shannon is a film editor and we had many special dates to cinemas. With its beautiful art Deco styling, we knew the Astor Theatre would be the perfect venue for our ceremony. We were so grateful the staff were able to accommodate our wedding. Our guests also got popcorn and drinks to enjoy during the ceremony.”

For his wedding day attire, Shannon chose a “Tailored charcoal suit from InStitchu. I also wore a brown tie and gold tie bar from OTAA. The tie bar is part of my everyday attire and would need to add this to the ensemble.”

The beautiful vintage Chevy used as a wedding car? Bethany’s fathers!

Aren’t the flowers incredible? Shannon and Bethany booked Salt Flower after seeing their work at a friend’s wedding. “I wanted seasonal flowers in warm colours to highlight the beauty of autumn at the farm” explains Bethany. “Orchids are my favourite flower so it was wonderful to have them included on moss balls – a few guests even managed to take the orchids home and keep them growing.”

Bethany found her gorgeous frock at Kitten D’Amour. She shares “They’re an Australian-based company that produces beautiful vintage-inspired clothing. I knew I wanted something A-line and tea length (I wanted to be able to dance!). I stumbled across my dress when doing some unrelated window shopping in Melbourne Central.

For accessories, my veil was from Grace Loves Lace – I originally bought it for my little sister for her wedding but she decided not to wear it. The veil had gold glitter through it and received a lot of compliments. The shoes were from Charlie Stone Shoes, another vintage reproduction brand. I always wear brooches so knew I had to wear one with my dress – I chose a gold filigree fox by Erstwilder. My watch was authentic vintage and my engagement and wedding ring were from Bocaj Narima.”

Bethany walked down the aisle with her father to Billie Eilish’s cover of “Something” by The Beatles. “Sticking with the midcentury theme!” note Shannon & Bethany.

“My aunt (and godmother) and Shannon’s grandmother acted as our witnesses.  Having our family involved and contributing helped make the day special.”

Bethany had her bridesmaids wear coral orange dresses from Heart My Closet. “My younger sister Lauren and best friend Ruby were my bridesmaids. I ended up having to get custom-made dresses as I received the news I would be an aunty soon after the wedding! We ordered from Heart My Closet and the seamstresses were able to adapt the dress I chose to a maternity style for my sister.” Shannon’s groomsmen matched his attire in InStitchu suits.  “My friends Bertrand and Donal were the groomsmen and they also wore tailored charcoal suits from Instichu. They also wore gold tie bars to tie the groomsmen together.”

Remembers Bethany “The advice we were repeatedly told by other couples was to make sure we spent time together at the wedding. The day is so busy and goes by so quickly. We took that advice to heart and it meant we were able to enjoy ourselves and make memories.”

 

With another example of finding amazing vendors through friends, Shannon and Bethany found their photographer Kyra Boyer at a friend’s wedding too. “We first saw Kyra’s work at our friend’s wedding. We loved how she captured the love and joy at their wedding. After doing some online research we knew she’d be perfect for our special day. We have only wonderful things to say about all our vendors, (especially Shannon’s mum, who made the cake). We would say that Kyra’s photography would be a definite standout. Everyone who’s seen our photos has commented on how stunning they all are.”

Where do animal lovers celebrate their reception? On a farm of course! “I’m a veterinarian and we’re both animal lovers, so having The Farm Cafe at Collingwood Children’s Farm as our reception venue was a dream come true. I did some of my placement there as a student so it holds a special place in my heart. Shannon was a little sceptical when I first suggested it but was won over by the locally produced vegetarian food options and selection of Australian wines and Moon Dog beer. The ice cream cart was also a winner. We were both very distracted by the baby ducks on our first tour with our wedding planner Amanda.”

The beautiful vintage-inspired cake was made by Shannon’s mum! “Shannon’s mum is a cake maker (her business is The Cake Maker’s Daughter) – she produced our beautiful vintage piped wedding cake. She made sure it was Shannon’s favourite flavour – white chocolate mud cake.”

There was plenty of DIY to be found! “Shannon’s editing skills came in handy for some graphic design work. We made our invitations look like old movie tickets. We also made our favours – little succulents in mini vases with a Catherine Holm pattern – our balcony had a lot of little plants cultivating for a few months! Shannon also designed our seating chart and place cards”

The couple’s favourite part of wedding planning? “Spending time together. We did a lot of the DIY crafting together while watching silly TV shows. We’d also go for a walk together most evenings when the weather was nice and discuss how plans were coming along.”

“For our first dance, we chose Lady Gaga’s cover of “Your Song” by Elton John” remembers Bethany. “I attempted to teach Shannon to waltz about two days out from the wedding and realised I’m not a great teacher… luckily he’s a good student and practised without me!”

One of the newlywed’s favourite memories of the night? “Shannon’s best man pushing people to get off the dance floor when the ice cream cart opening was announced.”

Congratulations on your beautiful wedding day Shannon & Bethany. What a joy to be able to share your day. Thank you both and to Kyra Boyer for sharing this beauty with us!