M E L I N D A + B R E N T O N
{ZINC at Federation Square}
Having been apart from friends and family for several years – due to the couple living overseas – Melinda and Brenton sought a venue with the Melbourne cityscape as their backdrop. Guests enjoyed canapés on the banks of the Yarra River and partied the night away at the couple’s chosen venue ZINC at Federation Square.
F R O M T H E B R I D E…
We first met…
It was a classic office romance. We shared the same office as new junior lawyers and the rest is history.
We knew it was love…
We were friends for more than a year prior to our first date. During that time we developed a mutual respect and admiration for one another. Given we worked together, it was not without some trepidation that we decided to become more than friends. Once we made that decision, however, love blossomed very quickly.
The engagement…
Brenton proposed in Melbourne during a trip back home from London, where we have been living for the past couple of years. In between our busy schedule of visiting family and friends, Brenton suggested we take a day for ourselves to return to one of our favourite wineries in the Yarra Valley, TarraWarra Estate. After lunch overlooking the vineyards, Brenton suggested a walk by the privacy of their picturesque lake, which I declined due to poorly selected footwear (I will never wear heels to a winery again!). As a result, Brenton was forced to quickly adjust his plans and go down on bended knee in front of an unsuspecting (although encouraging) audience.
T H E W E D D I N G…
Our photographer…
Our photographer was the talented and delightful, Alison Mayfield. In addition to her breathtaking photographs, Alison was extremely accommodating with arranging Skype calls with us from overseas and she instantly put us at ease with her down-to-earth and fun personality. We loved Alison’s natural photography style and that her photographs tell the story of our wedding day as well as capturing great individual moments.
Our dream wedding…
Having spent a few years living overseas away from our family and friends, we wanted to be surrounded by all the people who are important to us. Above all else we wanted the day to be an enjoyable celebration for our guests. A city backdrop for our wedding made sense to us because the city represents so much of our professional and personal identities. The Melbourne cityscape also gave us the classic, elegant and formal aesthetic we were after.
The ceremony…
We held our ceremony in the heart of the Melbourne CBD at the iconic St Paul’s Cathedral located on the corner of Flinders and Swanston streets.
The reception…
Our guests partied the night away at ZINC at Federation Square. Canapés were held on the deck overlooking the Yarra River to the sounds of an acoustic duo from The White Tree before the reception room was revealed to our guests. It was important to us that our guests did not have to travel between the ceremony and reception so the proximity of our venues (a short stroll across the road) was perfect.
Pre-wedding celebrations…
We celebrated the hens and bucks nights the weekend prior to our wedding, which were organised by our bridal party. We spent the eve of our wedding celebrating with our bridal party and magnificent MCs over dinner and drinks late into the night.
The bridal party…
Each of us had three bridesmaids and groomsmen who were close friends from high school as well as my gorgeous sister. Brenton’s niece and nephew made the most adorable flower girl and ring bearer. With two bridesmaids as new mums we decided to have the bridesmaid dresses custom made. They wore floor-length silk chiffon gowns in storm blue from Hera Couture each with a slightly different neckline. Nude peep toe shoes from Wittner and Swarovski drop earrings (which were bridesmaid gifts) completed their look.
The groomsmen looked dashing in their dark navy blue suits from Calibre. The guys coordinated with dark brown leather shoes and belts. We gifted each of them a navy bow tie with white polka-dots and crisp white pocket squares, for added flair (as well as a personalised hip flask for the after party!).
The groom…
Brenton had his midnight blue suit custom made by Fielding & Nicholson in London and chose a fun guitar print for the jacket lining (he loves to play a bit of acoustic guitar and croon Aussie ballads from our London flat – the neighbours less so). Brenton wore black patent leather shoes and gold cufflinks from Calibre. He finished his look with a velvet navy bow tie from Lanvin, which added a touch of elegance.
The gown…
I found my wedding dress at Browns Bride in London somewhat unexpectedly after a long-awaited appointment to try on my dream dress at another boutique was cancelled at the last minute! I was looking for a classical and elegant silhouette that also felt contemporary and stylish. Based on that description the insightful shop assistant identified a stunning dress designed by Mira Zwillinger. The dress had a soft A-line skirt made of silk chiffon layers with a sequinned bodice hand-sewn onto an invisible neckline. I also wore a floor-length, custom two-tiered tulle veil with silk ribbon edging, which created “the necessary amount of drama for a cathedral wedding”, as my straight-talking, seasoned seamstress put it.
After much online research and road testing I fell head over heels for Sophia Webster’s gorgeous Rosalind sandals in silver, which were modern and fun with crystal embellished heels that coordinated with the sequinned bodice of my dress.
I changed into a cocktail dress for our wedding dance, which I designed and sewed myself. I used an ivory silk duchess satin to make a floaty full circle skirt with a silk chiffon overlay, which was perfect for lots of dance floor spins. My inspiration was that unforgettable final dance sequence between Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey in Dirty Dancing and her amazing skirt twirls!
The flowers…
I envisioned an elegant and subtle colour palette that was mostly white with touches of soft pastels. The bouquets were loose and flowing and included a number of different flower varieties selected by The Three Piece Suit.
The styling…
We wanted guests to feel they had been transported to the set of A Midsummer Night’s Dream so we included lots of floral and foliage in the décor for the reception venue. Our table settings also included a number of gold-coloured items like charger plates and photo frames. In an effort to be closer to our guests we had our bridal table positioned in the centre of our floor plan rather than set away to the side so we felt like we were in the centre of the action. We added a few extra touches to make the bridal table stand out like gold tiffany chairs and a lavish floral centrepiece that ran down the length of the table.
Enhancing the garden theme was a dreamy hanging floral installation over the dance floor. We created an intimate atmosphere by using lots of candles and hanging large fabric lanterns to provide warm, soft lighting. We added some furniture pieces to create a lounge area for our guests to mingle and relax and our dance floor was framed with light up LOVE letters positioned in front of the band.
The team at the Three Piece Suit did an amazing job transforming our vision into reality by designing all the floral arrangements and providing the venue styling. Cake Passion provided the cake.
The food…
Satisfying my Italian family with plenty of delicious food was an important consideration. ZINC at Federation Square created a superb sit-down four-course menu. Following canapés, tables were set with Mediterranean themed pre-entrée platters that included olives, arancini, pork and fennel meatballs, hummus & baba ghanoush. The entrée was slow roasted black kingfish and main was an alternating option of King Valley beef or Otway Ranges pork. In addition to the wedding cake, guests enjoyed a selection of roaming mini desserts comprised of lemon curd, dark chocolate mousse and crème brûlée followed by coffee and chocolates.
The bomboniere…
We felt that the most successful bomboniere we had received were either something personal or the kind that you can eat (ideally in the taxi home after that last glass of champagne you probably didn’t need). We selected heart shaped biscuits with our names and wedding date embossed in white icing and are reliably informed these were enjoyed by our guests on the way home.
Memorable moments…
There were so many memorable moments and we could not wipe the smiles from our faces the entire day. One particularly memorable feature was a display of framed photographs that we set up at our reception in memory of our loved ones who are no longer with us. In memory of my grandmother I wore her heirloom amethyst cocktail ring, which I had always admired as a little girl and which she bequeathed to me when she passed away. I also attached a ring belonging to Brenton’s mother to my bouquet as a tribute to her memory.
The wedding soundtrack…
I walked down the aisle to a live piano cover of John Legend’s “All of Me” performed by the talented Kathy Hinch, who we booked through The White Tree. During the signing of the register, a live cover of Ben E King’s version of “Stand By Me” was performed. We made use of the cathedral’s incredible organ and made our way back down the aisle to the traditional Mendelssohn’s “Wedding March”.
Our wedding dance song was a mash up that started with a romantic waltz to “If I Ain’t Got You” by Alicia Keys and concluded with a fun cha cha to “Love is in the Air” by John Paul Young. We invested a solid four weeks of dance rehearsals to perfect our moves! A five-piece band from The White Tree got the dance floor going until the late hours of the evening.
M A R R I E D L I F E…
The honeymoon…
We spent 6 nights in the Maldives before returning to London.
The future…
To return to Melbourne at the end of the year after a few months travelling and exploring Europe. We are looking forward to reconnecting with our family and friends and starting our married lives.
In 40 years…
We hope that we are still travelling around the world on adventures together and have accumulated many incredible memories.
W O R D S O F W I S D O M…
The engagement…
Take time to enjoy being newly engaged before ploughing into the wedding planning phase.
The planning…
The amount of wedding information available is immense, which can make the planning process daunting and exhausting. Don’t aim for perfection across every detail of your wedding or feel you must do it all yourself (especially if your wedding will take place in a different country to where you live). Pick a few key elements of your wedding that matter most to you both and focus on making those aspects incredible and then be flexible with other elements. We divided the important jobs between ourselves fairly equally and then delegated where we could.
The wedding day…
Once the day finally arrives, stop thinking about the details and sit back and enjoy it. Find those moments together during the day to appreciate the magnificence of the occasion and don’t worry about trying to speak to every single guest.
Photographer Alison Mayfield Photography // Videographer Zoe Coldham // Ceremony Venue St Paul’s Cathedral, Melbourne // Reception Venue ZINC at Federation Square // Invitations Cherry Press London // Flowers and styling The Three Piece Suit // Lighting and furniture Hub Furniture // Music The White Tree // Hair Tania Aliaga at Magical Makeovers // Make Up Melonie Santos // Groom’s suit Fielding & Nicholson (London) // Groomsmen’s suits Calibre // Bridesmaids’ Dresses Hera Couture // Bridesmaids’ jewellery Swarovski // Bride’s dress Mira Zwillinger // Bride’s shoes Sophia Webster // Bride hair comb Jeanette Maree // Engagement Ring Tiffany & Co // Wedding Rings Hyde Park Design (London) // Photobooth Awesome Photobooths // Cake Cake Passion