Sparkling champagnes and golds, a spring pastel colour palette and a sequinned upcycled wedding dress – what more could Kate and Chris’s guests ask for? This glittering party wedding was part marriage celebration and part love party in their new home in the marvellous city of Melbourne. With the help of Kat and Scout from It’s Beautiful Here, this beautiful wedding was immortalised on film.

We love a good Tinderella story at Polka Dot Wedding, and like many modern couples, Kate and Chris met through Tinder. “Our first date went for hours—much longer than originally planned. From coffee to lunch, we kept talking and having a great time together. Only ending in the end as Kate was meeting a ‘friend’ (meeting her next Tinder date), which I walked her to,” Chris explained.

On Kate’s 30th birthday, Chris took the day off work to organise a scavenger hunt picnic around Toorak and the city. They walked around collecting bread, wine, and cheese and ended up at the Melbourne Botanic Gardens to enjoy their prizes. “After setting everything up in the Rose Pavilion (quickly as Kate was getting hangry), I got her to close her eyes, saying I had one more present. When she opened them, I was in front of her on one knee with the ring. And, of course, she said yes!”

Chris wore a custom-fit charcoal suit from InStitchu. “I wanted something I’d be able to wear again and yet still be special. And the book-themed lining definitely made it unique!”

His wedding party consisted of his two best friends, Conor and Jakob, who both wore dark suits and satin powder blue ties.

For her outfit, Kate chose this beautiful sequinned champagne-coloured dress, the sparkling jewel of every movement. She found the dress secondhand online at Stillwhite, and after some alterations, it fit her perfectly!

In her wedding party, Kate had her sister Sara and her Maid of Honour Kat wore powder blue dresses to match the groomsmen’s ties.

All of their wedding florals were left up in the talented hands of Studio Hollingsworth, who pulled together these beautiful displays of seasonal flowers. “There were two floral displays on top of the bouquets and corsages–featuring peonies and other seasonal flowers. Viv did a great job.”

Panama Dining Room in Fitzroy was their venue for the day, with large windows overlooking the city and wide open space for them to work their magic. “The staff were amazing, and the food (what we got to eat of it) was delicious. We were able to decorate with candles and a homemade photo booth, and the plants already in place made it seem very chill but formal.”

Kate walked herself halfway up the aisle before Chris joined her, and they finished the final bit together to the tune of “Love Is In The Air” by John Paul Young. “My favourite part was watching Kate walk towards me across the room. Also, the vows we both said – both of which nearly had me in tears,” Chris shared.

They wanted the ceremony to be as relaxed and celebratory as possible, so they could get the party started. “We each said vows (including ninja vows) but our celebrant Nat Sproal was incredible and helped us keep to our ‘toit nups’,” he explained. “Nat was brilliant at setting the tone for the evening.”

Kate’s favourite part of the day was the ceremony. “Standing up during the ceremony with my love, holding hands while Nat read out her speech. The feeling of overwhelming love and admiration I felt for Chris while we were surrounded by our loved ones. It was a truly special moment I will always treasure.”

The top five favourite things that made their wedding so special were:

“1. Having all my friends and family there,

2. All these important people making connections with each other,

3. Seeing the past months’ work all culminate in a lovely evening,

4. People said it was the best wedding they’d ever been to,

5. Seeing our grandmothers having tea together on the dance floor.”

Photography duo Kat and Scout from It’s Beautiful Here captured every moment of this couple’s day. “Both Kat and Scout from It’s Beautiful Here were so warm and welcoming and helped us both feel at ease. They also took some incredible photos throughout the whole process, from getting ready in the afternoon to late at night partying on the dance floor.”

The music for the party section of the night was extra special, as Kate and Chris had requested everyone who RSVP’d yes to submit a song they wanted to hear on the night. “We wanted to make sure that everyone got involved so on our rsvp requested everyone to submit a song. We then made a Spotify playlist based upon these submissions to get everyone up and dancing!”

Their first dance was the “Starlight” by Muse, a band they have a mutual love for. “Our first dance was lovely but very unpracticed.”

For the reception they DIY’d a photo booth with a blue sparkling backdrop and cardboard props made by Kate for guests to enjoy throughout the night.

Join us in giving a huge congratulations to the happy couple – Kate and Chris you did an amazing job bringing this beautiful, sparkling party wedding to life! Thanks to It’s Beautiful Here for capturing and sharing this story with us.