You guys are in for a treat! We’re swooning over all the beautiful details of Amanda and John’s intimate wedding at Recoleta on Bourke Street. Surrounded by only their nearest and dearest, the duo wanted a non-weddingy wedding and certainly didn’t disappoint. We love that!
Amanda shares some excellent takeaways and tips for couples planning their weddings, so be sure to check those out at the end of the post!
Where did you get married?
Recoleta in Melbourne, Victoria
Why did you choose to get married at Recoleta?
We were after a small venue where we could have the ceremony and reception together. As foodies, the top of our priority list was good food and drinks. We also wanted somewhere central that was easily accessible via public transport and with lots of accommodation choices for our interstate guests. Recoleta ticked all of these boxes.
What was the most memorable part of your wedding day?
1. The ceremony. We wanted a short, laid-back, and fun ceremony and our celebrant definitely delivered. All of our loved ones hearing our story was fantastic. People laughed and interacted with the celebrant during the ceremony. It was just fantastic.
2. We decided to do a first look and go and do pics around the city before the wedding. This time with just us to be able to celebrate together was fantastic. Our photographer was amazing. Neither of us is big on photos so we’re concerned about it being awkward but the photographer made it the best part of the day. It was so much fun.
3. The witnesses. We didn’t have a wedding party so decided to do a lucky dip for witnesses. The two people we picked were so fun and ran down the front like they were on The Price is Right.
Amanda, paint us a picture. What was the theme, style, colours, and overall vibe of your wedding day?
A party with a bit of a wedding at the start. We started the wedding with a cocktail hour where we took welcome photos with each of the guests so then all of the pictures were done. This was a fantastic idea and recommend it to anyone. We then had a 10 min break alone before we got married (no aisle walk, bridal party etc.). We then did the ceremony and then just kicked off onto a cocktail party – no other “wedding” stuff. We wanted a non-weddingy wedding.
What was your favourite part of planning your wedding?
Seeing the vision come together. We got a stylist to help and when we received the mood boards it was the first moment that I was like “yeah, this is gonna work”.
What was the best investment you made for your wedding?
1. Photographer 100% – Our photographer was next level and everyone loved her. I even had multiple people tell me after the wedding that the photographer really liked them and kept taking pics of them, she just made everyone feel special.
2. Food and drinks – We were very keen to give everyone heaps of good food and drinks. Everyone raved about it afterwards. One thing I would definitely recommend if you are having lots of booze is to get some greasy food later in the night. We had a round of ‘dirty burgers’ and it was a smash hit.
Is there anything you would have done differently?
1. Hire a wedding planner from the start. We looked into it and then figured that we could do it ourselves. You don’t quite understand how much back and forth there is until you go through it.
2. Tell your dress alterations place that your wedding is one or two weeks earlier than it actually is. I had a dreadful experience with the alterations and didn’t get my finished dress until two days before my wedding and it was not the kind of stress you want so close.
What was your favourite part of using WedSites for your wedding?
1. It allowed us to save on stationery because we sent e-invites. That money was redirected to food and drinks.
2. Keeping track of guests, budgets, food requirements, and vaccine status (we got married when guests had to be fully vaxxed. It allowed us to manage everything in one spot.)
3. The ability to export things like timelines to provide to vendors.
Wedding planning is notoriously stressful. Now that you’ve gone through the process, do you have any advice or words of wisdom for couples who are currently in the midst of planning theirs?
1. Set aside 10% of your budget for putting out fires. At the end of the process, I was just throwing money at problems.
2. Get a wedding planner.
3. You will not stress about anything on the day. Everyone had told me ‘on the day you won’t care about all these little things but I didn’t believe them. It is 100% true – everything you were stressing about doesn’t matter on the day and you have the BEST time.
The amazing team of vendors involved with this wedding
Venue/Caterer: Spring Street Events
Photographer: Gold and Grit Photography
Officiant: Zena Lythgow Celebrant
Decor/Florist/Gifts & Favors/Rentals/Wedding Planner: Harper & Grace Designs
Entertainment: We Are Paper Hearts
Hair Stylist and Makeup Artist: Kate McCleary Hair and Make-up
Wedding Dress: Maggie Sottero
Attire: Dyonsu
Jeweller: Ana De Costa Jewellery
Stationery: WedSites
