We have the perfect dopamine hit on Polka Dot You for you this Thursday, Dotties!

Kristi and Nick’s vibrant DIY wedding at Perth City Farm was a stunning celebration of love, creativity, and colour. Set against the rustic, urban backdrop of this beloved Western Australian venue, their wedding was a true reflection of their fun-loving personalities. From handcrafted décor to bold, playful florals, and even their outfits, every detail was infused with their unique touch. With an atmosphere bursting with joy, laughter, and heartfelt moments, Kristi and Nick’s big day proved that a DIY wedding can be just as stylish and unforgettable as any grand affair. 

How we met – is best summed up by something Nick wrote a couple of years ago.

“The two crossed paths at a jam session on a cool winter’s night in 2019. She was a glamazon and he was an awkward weirdo. Sparks were sure to fly. She made a lot of jokes. He was shy and strange. They did not talk much initially but then that weird son of a gun sat down at the piano… As soon as that total oddball began to tickle the ivories, the gorgeous, hot babe started to swoon. After the strange guy finished his performances, the stone-cold fox came over for a chat. They talked of many topics, both clever and hilarious. Deep conversations of clavicles and cloacas went on into the night, delighted by their intellect and fashion-sense. Though they were overjoyed by each other’s company, the night would unfortunately come to an end. Upon the stunner’s departure later that eve, the couple began to suspect they were falling in love…”

Nick proposed at Lake Pukaki, in the South Island of New Zealand while on holiday near my hometown. We had been cruising around in a campervan. We were on a hike with Ray, our 1 year old son, on Nick’s back in a carrier. Nick was super awkward and forgot to ask the question and just kind of hung out down on his knee until I prompted him that “you have to actually ask the question!?” We both found it all very hilarious and the ring was so small it only fit my pinky finger. The answer was, of course, yes.

I originally was absolutely sold on a white sequinned pantsuit, but it turns out my upper body is short, and stout (like a teapot) and they all looked horrible. I was also totally against spending a horrendous amount of money on a dress that I would inevitably spill wine all over and drag through the dirt. I found the Aje Manifestation Gown and absolutely fell in love with it. It fit like a glove, and I bought it straight away. I changed later in the evening to a little white tulle tutu from Selfie Leslie with some white and pink Nike hi-tops and a handmade embellished jacket from an absolute legend named Natasha who owns Pawn In Suburbia in Melbourne.

My Mum and our son gifted me a beautiful handmade horseshoe that my grandparents were gifted on their wedding day.

We gave the girls’ free reign, sent them a bit of a colour palette, and told them to go wild.

The wedding, both ceremony and reception, was held at Perth City Farm in East Perth, Western Australia. Perth City Farm is an absolute vibe. We go to the farmers market on a Saturday morning at the farm and didn’t realise they hired it out for events. We went to a wedding expo there and locked it in. It was perfect. The draw cards for us were the large capacity and the 2 am lock out.

We are both pretty into DIY and crafty stuff, so we did most of it ourselves. We trawled op shops for months for vintage glassware, plates, rugs, and old linen, we made the piñata, planted the plants, set up and packed down the venue, designed and decorated the invites, thank you notes, wedding website and drinks lists with vintage frames and our own dried flowers. All a bit wild and a lot of work, but worth it! Nick’s Mum also did heaps of work, making beautiful floral birdcages and providing all her old vintage tableware and candelabras.

We love flowers, but I couldn’t decide what I wanted for bouquets etc. Nick madly planted plants and flowers for months before the wedding, so we could totally overdo the tables. We also hired some giant paper sculptures from the wonderful Carissa of Jotterbook Flowers and she also made our wonderful buttonholes for the boys and our parents.

A beautiful friend of mine who works at Kings Park, loaned us the most amazing crochet arch that was designed and created by Crochet Escapes. We had our wedding coordinator, the talented Hayley from Rustic Romance create the bouquets and told her to just go wild with tiny vases on the tables. I wasn’t bothered with what Hayley did as I was chilled with the florals. We knew we just wanted a lot!

The fact we had so much wonderful greenery and plants that Nick had grown from seeds and seedlings was also super sweet and symbolic.

The ceremony was wonderful – just perfect. It was hilarious, heartfelt, and personal. We had a good friend as our celebrant and wrote our own vows and most of the ceremony. Our celebrant did his own thing and Nick’s Mum, Sue, recited a poem. My Mum bought us a candle to perform a lighting ceremony and we had a ring warming ceremony which was so beautiful. I also organised a wonderful Kapa haka group from New Zealand to bless us with some waiata and a haka for a blessing, as a surprise for Nick. All super-duper cool.

Nick wanted to wear something vintage, but we really struggled to find anything that worked. One night, we were randomly scrolling through ASOS (of all places) and found the perfect brown suit. We ended up purchasing 5 of them and had them altered to fit all the boys. We searched high and low and found the perfect tie, shoes, and Italian leather belt to jazz the whole thing up. They all looked slick.

I walked down the aisle with my beautiful Mum, Helen. My Dad passed away a few years ago so it was wonderful to have Mum there to walk down the aisle with me. I walked down to “The Book of Love” by the Magnetic Fields. Such a banger and we loved that it was so “us.” Not too serious, and realistic in its description of love.

Nick’s vows were insane – like amazing! I couldn’t believe he had written them himself. I often listen to them back as they were beautiful. Makes me tear up!

We told our guests the theme was “LOUD AF.” We encouraged them to wear something wild – something they felt absolutely fabulous in! All the colours, all the sequins, all the glitter etc. The vibe was very much “our house.” Vintage, bright, sustainable and quirky.

We had both a photographer and content creator who were both outstanding. Caitlin and Kristelle. We fell in love with both. They had never worked together before but just nailed it. We are all a bit awkward, but it was just so much fun. They totally captured it all and we would hire them both again a million times over.

Surprisingly, our favourite photograph is one that someone in the crowd took of us walking straight to the bar after the ceremony. So very us and just pure joy!

We are both planners and details people, so it was all an absolute hoot. All the vendors were gems. We were stoked that we managed to poach our favourite two bartenders from our local bar to come and serve drinks though, that was rad!

I think all of the details were what made the day so special – we wanted EVERYTHING to be detailed. We both believe it’s the small things that count. Down to asking the bar staff to ensure our favourite incense was burning throughout the day. We wanted a rug dance floor so people could kick their shoes off and feel like they were having a party in our lounge.

There are too many stories to share of the day – some are a bit hazy. We went to cut the cake and realised we had forgotten to ask someone to put it out, so we just cut an “air cake” on the plinth we had set up. Later in the night, I got the cake and went around feeding it to people from the vintage knife I had bought. The poor, poor guests!

For the reception, we had all you can eat wood fired pizza and grazing plus a dessert graze with Krispy Kreme donuts. It was fab!

My Dad loved a drink, namely an Ouzo shot, so I made teeny wee Ouzo bottles with some of my Dad’s favourite phrases on them which I forced everyone to drink while I said my speech.

Our favourite detail of the day was the wine list and the fact we had a babysitter! We both love a good wine and did a massive trawl to ensure we had all our favourites were on the list. We are not one white, one red, one sparkling type of people (especially delish was the Pet Nat by Konpira Maru).

We didn’t have a first dance – we smashed a wedding cake piñata instead, full of inappropriate adult bits and pieces. Was awesome getting everyone involved to have a bit of a bash.

5 things which made our wedding special:

  • The people – we are surrounded by the most amazing souls. Getting them all together in one place was just incredible.
  • The music – we spent hours picking the songs and music that we love, and it was perfection. The DJ went well into the night doing her own thing and the dance floor was pumping.
  • All our family and friends coming together from New Zealand and Australia which was super special. The speeches were also insanely funny, and I loved every minute of them.
  • The uniqueness – we wanted to do things our way, and we did, and it worked.
  • The details – every little thing meant something, down to using our grandparents linen on the tables and having our cats faces on giant poles on the dance floor. All that stuff makes us happy.

Just do it. Do it your way. It’s your day. Forget stuffy traditions and do what makes you feel happy. Anyone who doesn’t like it, doesn’t have to come. We don’t regret a thing. Everyone tells us it was the most amazing wedding they have ever been to.

A huge thank you to Kristi for sharing the incredible story of her and Nick’s special day – your creativity and love truly shone through every detail! Or course, a special shoutout also goes out to photographer Caitlin Bayliss for capturing the energy, colour, and joy so beautifully.