A Review of My Own Wedding

As a bridal stylist who has also been married, I do get a lot of questions from my brides while I am dressing them about my own wedding. I think it helps a lot being married and being in this industry because you have been through all the processes and know first hand what it's like. Questions like "How many dresses did you try on?", "What did you end up getting?", "Did you know that it was your dress straight away?", "Where did you get married?" etc. I love helping my brides where I can so I make sure to be completely up front when I am asked questions - especially if I have any regrets about my wedding or some really good ideas. 

We managed to have our wedding for under $20,000 including everything which my husband and I were quite stoked with. When you start planning a wedding you will very quickly be humbled about how much things actually cost, especially when you add every little thing up. (Wedding costs are also super hard to justify to your fiance, sometimes they just don't get it). Do I think that I would be able to plan a similar wedding for around that price today? More than likely not. Whilst you can get caught up planning every last detail, make sure you try to enjoy the process because (and I know you have all heard this so many times) it will all be over so fast.

Here are some things that I loved and regretted about my wedding.

POSTPONING

We had planned our wedding for August of 2020. I had strategically picked the last day of August as it was the last day Winter...meaning cheaper prices as the wedding date is technically in the off season (She's a sneaky girl). I had my wedding dress, I had my bridesmaids dresses, the invites, the suit and the venue all booked in. And then Covid came. I think we all weren't expecting it to be a serious thing or that it would even hang around for long. Boy were we wrong. In around April, with no signs of the pandemic slowing down I had to make the choice to postpone the wedding. I would lying if I said that I wasn't absolutely devasted doing this. You imagine the whole day, start counting down and then all of a sudden..nothing. Back to square one. The response from all of our vendors was actually so amazing! We rescheduled to the end of March 2021 which is peak wedding season - and because of Covid, we didn't have to pay extra for this at all. Everyone was rescheduled and surprisingly all still available. I didn't change my mind on my dress, the vibe or anything - everything just all worked itself out.

WEDDING DRESS

When I talk to my brides about my own wedding dress shopping experience - I am always in two minds. It can either go well or go bad. I went to one shop and I tried on about 4 dresses altogether and chose the 3rd one. Some brides love hearing this as it reassures them that they don't have to visit a million stores but then other brides can feel disheartened that I found mine so quick and they haven't. I had always envisioned my dress to be a form fitting, lacy up top and plain on the bottom. Is that what I ended up with? No, quite the opposite really. I ended up choosing a beautiful, floaty A-Line dress with appliques and tulle and a little beading. And yes, as soon as I put it on and caught myself in the mirror I knew. As I walked out to my entourage all I looked at was my Mums face and even she knew it was the one. I felt comfortable, I felt beautiful, I felt like I could move about and not have to worry about sucking in my stomach all night. I did try on one more after this but went straight back to that one. I am not a big shopper and I hate trying things on so I knew I didn't want to go to any other shops to try and beat it. For me, I loved every bit of my wedding dress shopping experience. There were some dresses I was fighting for my life trying to get in, there were ones that I just didn't fit at all, there were ones that I refused to try on because they were out of budget. However, everyone I was with was supportive and fun so I wasn't really bothered by any of that. Give me a glass of bubbles and I am a happy girl.

VENUE/WEDDING PLANNER

My husband and I only really looked at one venue. I had big dreams of a winery wedding

but soon realised how many organs I was going to have to sell to have one. One day I was scrolling through "unique wedding venues in Perth" and came across Moore and Moore in Fremantle. It was early in the morning so decided to have breakfast there and just check it out. As soon as we walked in I think we both knew that this would be the place. It had such a unique charm and all the rusty, old, vintage things spoke to my heart. Growing up with a Dad who loved to tinker about with old stuff and with a family house decorated in old cannisters, plates, flying ducks and old sewing machines - the vibe felt familiar and homey. When booking the venue we decided on doing the package deal. This included a wedding planner, venue planner, florist, photographer, celebrant, furniture and food. It was a deal we knew we couldn't pass on. I stress out quite easily and hate making decisions so a wedding planner who did it all for me was definitely one of our best decisions. The only thing we decided not to go with was their celebrant as we had a family friend who was going to do this for us. All that was left for us to do was pick out the furniture, choose from the photographers provided and choose the food.

PHOTOGRAPHY/VIDEOGRAPHY

A videographer was one of my non-negotiables and something that I was prepared to pay for. I came across an amazing videographer called Life Atlas and knew I had to have her. Is it a high cost? Yes absolutely but it isn't something that we regret at all. I know a lot of people say "oh but you'll watch it once and maybe a few times after that". Not mine. I watch that video all of the time. I love it and Em did the most incredible job - worth all the money in the world. We settled on Emma Pointon for our photography for our photos. Out of all of the ones that we could choose, she stood out the most to us. I loved, loved, loved our photos but I do have some regrets (PSA this is not Emma's fault at all..mostly my fault!). I go on and on to all of my brides about making sure that they pause at the end of the aisle (as you walk out) and kiss. It makes for an amazing photo. Do you know who didn't do that? Me. And I regret it so so much. I also wish that we just paid the extra hour so that I could have had some more photos of just me in my dress or getting ready photos. Also looking back now, I wish I just had a bit more fun with the photos but I kind of just wanted to get them over and done with (which I told the photographer from day one as well) and go enjoy myself. I also would have brought forward my ceremony by half an hour to an hour - by the time the ceremony finished we really had only about an hour of sunlight left.

CEREMONY

I achieved the one thing that brides want more than anything on their wedding day - to make their fiance cry when they see you. I actually achieved that before I even got down the aisle! I thought I would be the one to be bawling my eyes out but I was just so happy that I didn't even cry a single tear. I came down the aisle to an acoustic version of "Crazy in Love" as did the bridesmaids and my flower boys (My 3 older brothers). I did not take into account how squished it would be with everyone standing at the front - so if you do get married at Moore and Moore keep that in mind. I think our ceremony was fairly short but maybe that is just because my adrenaline was so high that I don't remember.  I do remember telling one of my bridesmaids off for her blubbering behind me though - keep it together girl. We said our personal vows to each other, signed our certificate and officiated the ceremony with a kiss - and just a reminder to PRACTICE YOUR KISS!!! Practice where your hands are going, practice how long for, practice practice practice!! 

We chose not to greet our guests after the ceremony and instead just went off straight for photos. The reason for this was mostly to make the most of the setting sun but also I just didn't really want to do it. I feel like it takes up too much time and everyone always says the same thing. Instead, we just went around in our own time at the reception after photos were all done. This worked a lot better for us. 

RECEPTION

I loved my reception and I had the best time! Everyone seemed so happy and everyone danced and drank and it was great!. You know what I didn't do? Eat. I didn't think too much of it at the time but I am pretty sure all I ate was one tiny canape - I did always have a drink in my hand though so I guess that evens itself out. We got most of our traditional things out of the way at the start of the night - speeches, first dance, cake cutting etc so that we didn't have to keep interrupting the dancing. We decided on a mix of live music and a dj - best of both worlds. Our live music was done by Champagne Duo who were just amazing. Our DJ was so accommodating - we asked for some real niche songs and he delivered and his song choice throughout the night was on point. I gave my brothers the ever important task of transporting the alcohol the venue. Thank god I did because upon seeing how much we ordered, they took it upon themselves to buy a lot more. Always over calculate how much you need! Whilst I had an amazing time, dancing the night away in bare feet, drinking my weight in champagne...I forgot one thing and it is one of my biggest regrets. I barely spent time with my brand new husband. We did happen to get a drink at the bar at the same time and stepped back to admire how much fun everyone was having and how happy we were - then we just went off and partied with everyone. Please make sure you hang out with your new husband.

I genuinely loved my wedding day and enjoyed pretty much the whole wedding planning process. Did things go 100% smoothly? No. But did anyone know? No. That's the thing with your wedding day - if things go wrong then just let them be. People are there for you and your partner - and maybe the free booze but mostly you. 

My Vendor List

Venue: Moore and Moore Fremantle

Wedding Planner: Weddings & Events Unlimited

Florist: Sweet Floral 

Wedding Dress: Sincerity Bridal

Boutique: Oxford Bridal

Bridesmaids: Sheik

Suit: Kenji

Makeup: Blushing Bride

Hair: Friend

Live Music: Champagne Duo

DJ: DJ Austy (Austin McCrea)

Photographer: Emma Pointon

Videographer: Life Atlas