Kris and Ben’s vibrant Marrickville Town Hall wedding party was a celebration unlike any other. A blend of creativity, love, and community that transformed the historic venue into a vibrant stage for their love story. From the moment the red curtains opened to reveal the couple hand in hand, this DIY wedding broke all the traditional rules. Their guests were greeted with the unexpected joy of mingling with the newlyweds before the ceremony even began, setting the tone for a day filled with personal touches and heartfelt moments. With handmade details, a surprise ceremony reveal, and a one-of-a-kind wedding cake piñata, Kris and Ben’s special day was a true reflection of their unique personalities and the deep connections they share with their family and friends.
We are sure you’re going to love hearing all the details from Kris and Ben today on Polka Dot You!
We met via an online dating app 8 years ago.. The proposal was a surprise. I had no idea it was going to happen. Ben decided to propose to me a few days before my 40th birthday, but on a very casual Thursday evening, at home. I was getting ready for a casual dinner out and running around trying to prepare our spare room for my best friend Sarah who was arriving the next day ahead of the big birthday party that coming weekend. I had no idea Ben was trying to pop the question while I was asking him to vacuum and tidy. Eventually, I came downstairs to find him on one knee patiently waiting. Ben later told me it was the most rushed and inadequate vacuum job he had ever done, with one eye on the staircase and an ear out in case I came downstairs before he was ready in position.
We knew we wanted a party vibe, the dress code was formal, but we kept everything else very casual. The colour palette was purples and blues. My Nanna’s favourite colour was purple, so this was my way of having my Nanna with me on the day.
We hired furniture to fill the large hall, and sectioning areas. We decided we wouldn’t have a sit-down meal, with assigned seating, so we created areas of casual tables and chairs, several high-top bar tables and stools, and then a lounge area with royal blue velvet lounges and armchairs. Everything was set up to face the stage at the front of the hall.
I found a vintage 1950’s lilac gown from Forever Vintage in Paddington, Sydney. The dress was altered to bring the hemline up and remodel the bodice. I knew I wouldn’t be wearing white, but I hadn’t decided to focus only on vintage, until I saw this lilac dream! Wearing a vintage dress was special, thinking about the past life it may have had was exciting.
If you decide on vintage though you need to be aware that compromises might need to be made when it comes to altering, it to fit you. The fabrics are delicate and it’s important to respect the intended design. I feel the alterations I had made were just enough to make it suit me best and give it more of a party feel rather than the original floor-length ball gown feel.
My shoes were from an American brand, Bella Belle, ivory kitten heels with glass beaded bows on the toe.
In my hair, I wore a hairpiece that I made myself, white clay sculptured flowers with glass beads and vintage pearls. I also handmade the hairpieces that Sarah and Kate wore. These were made using vintage velvet millinery flowers and pearls. The pearls came from a necklace that my great aunt had given her, something I had in a jewellery box since her early teens.
The necklace was very old-fashioned and not a style I would wear, but I wanted to do something special with the pearls, so I decided to use them in my hairpiece, and I also restrung them to create a bracelet that I wore, utilising the original gold clasps from the necklace too.
My earrings were two sets that my parents had gifted me previously, beautiful diamonds my dad had given me for my 40th birthday several years earlier and a pair of large gold and pearl drop earrings my mum had bought me. It was important to me that I wore items that had some sentimental value.
Ben wore a tailored navy suit from Woolcott Street, with a white shirt and a plum linen bowtie. He decided to complete this look with a pair of lilac Homer Simpson socks!
We held our day at the Marrickville Town Hall – a beautiful and well-maintained heritage building in Sydney’s inner west. The hall was built in 1922 and has a big stage draped with red curtains. We knew we wanted a space that would allow us to DIY the day, having everything just as we wanted. This hall was perfect. Big, spacious, gorgeous and the perfect setting for us!
For the wedding party, Ben asked his two best friends, Dan and Taylor and his sister Kate. I asked my best friend Sarah (practically her sister) and my brother Leigh. We didn’t want a traditional-sided wedding team. The team all sat together during the ceremony, rather than on either side of Ben and I. It was very much a team of our dearest people. We also asked our three god sons/little people. Leo, Kai, and Teddy. All children of our wedding team. Leo and Kai were asked to bring us our vow cards, and Teddy was the keeper of the rings.
There were two points I knew for certain when I was planning the flowers:
- I would do them myself.
- They would reflect my Nanna. Purples and greens and lots of Hydrangea.
I designed the arrangements to be a little vintage, and a little disco. I incorporated mirror balls, and some vintage vases too. I didn’t carry a bouquet during the ceremony, however, I did have a large blue hydrangea bouquet with navy velvet ribbon for our photos.
The wedding team wore boutonniere and wrist corsages. Ben wore a floral pocket square. Our parents also work boutonniere and corsages. In addition to hydrangea, I used all Australian-grown blooms. Roses, tulips, dahlia, and delphinium were the main stars of the floral show!
I dried all the hydrangea after the wedding and have used some as part of my upcoming Fleur De Villes installation at the Botanic Gardens in Sydney.
It’s difficult to choose a favourite photograph of the day, but gosh, either one of the ones taken of us through the staircase railings, or the one of us sitting on the edge of the stage, in front of our ceremony backdrop.
We DIY’d pretty much everything:
- Flowers and styling.
- Pre-dinner and post-dinner grazing tables.
- Drinks and snacks.
- Signage and stationery.
- A close friend handmade several old-fashioned wooden games that were scattered around the space for guests to play.
- I handmade the hairpieces.
- I handmade a large wedding cake pinata, filled with sweetheart lollies, chocolates, scratchie tickets and mini fireball bottles- I handmade it so well that I later had trouble destroying it to get the contents out!
- Designed the label for our bespoke wedding beer that our close friends at Small Batch Brewery in Mudgee brewed especially for us.
It was important to us that we had lots of very personal touches that reflected us! All the above was important to us and there was a massive nod to my Nan and all our closest family and friends. We consider our friends our family!
Our photographer, Rachel was amazing! A beautiful person, so easygoing and relaxed. She was a dream to work with and made us feel chill and calm. She took so many photos for us and absolutely captured the day, exactly as we wanted!
We kept the timing of our ceremony a secret from our guests. Our guests arrived at the hall to find both of us together and mingling. The party started as soon as the guests arrived, and about two hours later we turned everyone’s attention to the stage.
The ceremony was non-traditional. We were married up on the beautiful stage. We were together hand in hand as the curtains opened. Our celebrant Marie introduced each of our wedding team and they all sat together to the left of us.
There was no aisle. Instead, we were both on stage together, behind the closed curtains ahead of the ceremony. The curtains opened and we surprised our guests! We did however have “our” song playing as we signed the register. ‘Slow Dance’ by Jennah Barry.
We wrote our vows and asked a very dear friend to write us a “knot” reading. Her reading was all about us as a couple through her eyes. It was incredibly beautiful.
As part of the floral ceremony feature, we had a handmade banner with a line of the lyrics from “our” song, ‘Slow Dance’ by Jennah Barry. This bespoke banner was made in the UK by Daydreamer Creative Studio. This gorgeous banner now lives on our lounge room wall.
In terms of our favourite detail of the day, possibly that we decided to both be present, together when our guests arrived. Being able to share in the initial excitement and anticipation was amazing! Welcoming everyone together was so special.
Standout vendors for the day were:
- Rachel Gutierrez, our photographer! Hand down our standout vendor. Someone Kris hopes to work with in a professional capacity for future clients’ weddings for sure!
- Jess from In An Instant. Jess was so good at engaging the guests and ensuring everyone got some fabulous selfie shots, she stayed on site for the duration of the party and was a standout vendor for professionalism, service and being the friendliest person to work with.
Five things that made our wedding special to us:
- Being present together to greet our guests as they arrived. Turing the traditional timings of a wedding on its head.
- Taking a moment to be together, just the two of us, sipping our favourite Mezcal backstage before the ceremony. It was a beautiful moment to breath and share our nerves and excitement.
- Our shot roulette trolley. We created a shot roulette trolley that made the rounds of the dance floor during the evening. The trolley was set with a selection of random shots, guests selected a card from a deck and then had to drink the shot allocated to the corresponding card on the trolley. We threw some horrible and random spirits in the mix. A selection of questionable drinks we had collected over the years of travel together. We loved it, and the guests loved it!!
- Wedding cake pinata.
- Showcasing our local area and talented friends by including lots of inner west suppliers, food, cakes, drinks, etc. And a big shout out to Small Batch Brewery for our bespoke beer!!
Any advice for future marrieds to be?
- Never underestimate the importance of a thorough plan and run sheet for the day!
- Really think hard about DIY’ing it all yourself. We were lucky I knew what she was doing and had a fabulous network of vendors that she could work with and trusted. Doing it yourself without the experience can be a very stressful task. If you can pay someone to coordinate the day for you, then do! It means you don’t have to worry about a thing and can just enjoy this momentous event.
- Trust your gut when it comes to catering quantities. Don’t panic and over-cater.
- Carve a moment or two out of the day where you sneak off as a couple to just take a deep breath together and reflect on the experience. It’s easy to get wrapped up in the excitement of guests, trying to give everyone one attention and then finding at the end of the day you have hardly spent any time with your new spouse.
A heartfelt thank you to Kris and Ben for sharing the intimate and beautiful details of their unforgettable wedding day with us. Your creativity and love truly shine through every moment. We’re also incredibly grateful to your talented photographer, Rachel Gutierrez, for capturing these memories so perfectly and sharing them with Polka Dot You. It’s been an absolute pleasure to celebrate your love story!
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