A I L S A + P H I L
Held in a historical lighthouse theatre, Ailsa and Phil’s chic seaside wedding was nothing short of spectacular.
F R O M T H E B R I D E . . .
We first met…
Through work; Phil would come into my work to purchase what he needed, I would generally offer to make him a coffee, our relationship was professional for a year prior to our first date.
We knew it was love…
Phil would say he knew from our first date but I confessed my love on a romantic but fun weekend away to Yarra Valley.
The proposal…
We’d only been dating a year before Phil popped the question. It was our first holiday away together to Thailand. The day of the proposal he booked me into a full afternoon of spa treatments, before going to a romantic dinner at a restaurant that was built in the middle of a small lake which you had to catch a boat to get to.
He got down on one knee during dinner, it was totally unexpected and the best way to finish our trip.
Phil also designed and organised the ring without my knowledge weeks before our holiday.
T H E W E D D I N G . . .
The photographer…
We used On Three Photography. After much research we found ourselves coming back to the photos of On Three, we loved the vibrancy of colour in all their work, as well as their ability to capture the day & relive the story. We also decide that we wanted a cinematographer and as On Three offered this within their business it helped make our decision easy.
Our dream wedding…
From get go all we knew was that we wanted our wedding to be fun, enjoyable and a massive party for all our friends & family. The only other details we were sure of was that Phil wanted a vibrant blue suit.
It wasn’t until we locked in our wedding location and reception details that I could start to develop the concept of the styling, décor & colours. Our location played a defining role in our overall wedding day as it was Located in Warrnambool 3 hours from Melbourne; this meant that nearly all of the 180 guests were from out of town and guests to the city so we wanted to show off the beautiful scenic locations & ensure that everything tied into one another.
Our ceremony had an overall rustic chic styling with the reception glamming it up to modern chic.
Ceremony location…
Our ceremony was Located at Flag Staff Hill (Warrnambool’s Maritime Museum) overlooking the beautiful coastline of South-West Victoria.
Reception venue…
The Reception was held in Warrnambool’s Historical Lighthouse Theatre. We rented the entire venue. Canapés were held in the front bar on ground floor, before everyone was ushered upstairs to the studio.
Pre-wedding celebrations…
Phil and the boys decided on a seven day trip to Thailand for the bucks along with another bucks party back here in Melbourne the week prior to the wedding.
My hens party was organised by my bridesmaids, a weekend in Sydney where we rented a large apartment overlooking the Harbour Bridge, with a full day of activities, including a boat cruise around Sydney harbour with gourmet food and wine all day.
We also held a kitchen tea at my house a week prior to the wedding day.
The bridal party..
We had three on each side, made up of siblings and close friends.
The bridesmaids wore…
I found the bridesmaid dress online from Chi Chi Clothing. They were a beautiful knee length ivory dress with a floral print. I purchased their shoes from ZU.
The groomsmen wore…
The groomsmen all wore two piece suits from NZ label Gibson with navy ties. Their belts and shoes were all dark brown making the outfit that little bit more formal. We also gifted them a pair of Ray Bans each to wear on the day.
The groom wore…
Phil wore the same two piece Gibson suit but wore an ivory tie as a point of difference. His belt and shoes were also in in the dark brown. He looked on point!
The wedding gown…
I found my demi-couture gown at Mariana Hardwick, it was the first one I tried on, and didn’t really look any further. I was inspired by gowns that had depth in fabric and pattern, showed off figure & hugged the body. I love designers Yolan Cris & Yaki Ravid.
My wedding dress was a two piece, form fitted gown. The lace layer was made from thick French lace with a low cut V-neck, exposed back and long train. The silk slip I wore underneath and for my reception, was a floor length sweetheart strapless gown which I paired with a diamante bolero from Hayley Paige Bridal Designer.
The flowers…
I fell in love with New Zealand peonies. I really loved the vibrancy of depth of colour they were available in. My florist warned me though that as my wedding was in mid December it was quite likely they wouldn’t be available.
I worked closely with my florist. She took on board everything I said I wanted and I left it in her hands to finalise the details of what type of flowers & foliage would be used. Sue and her team were amazing and even surprised me with peonies!
The décor…
As our venue was in a theatre we wanted the reception to be classy & intimate. Flowers were to match bouquets.
I hand-painted the centrepiece vases in real copper paint and I hand-painted table numbers on pieces of Carrara marble. Tablecloths and chair covers were black to blend into the surrounding backdrop curtains. Behind the head table I organised hanging 3D geometric shapes in various sizes which I also hand-painted copper. These tied in with the playful theatrical design of the cake in the opposite side of the space.
Our cake was the real showstopper of our wedding, it hung UPSIDE DOWN and was suspended from the ceiling. Between each layer were flowers that matched the rest of the detailing. To tie it in even more to the rest of the space, we hung more of the 3D shapes above it.
Next to our cake were large light up LOVE letters which helped set the mood as lighting was dim lit directed onto tables and cake only. The lighting was essential in creating the intimate atmosphere.
The centrepiece flowers on the head table had actually been used during ceremony on the timber arch. I worked closely with florist and we organised having these moved after the ceremony; this was purely to minimise wastage and costs.
On the menu…
Guests arrived to canapés and their choice of drink.
Dinner was a shared menu both entrée & mains:
Entrée:
Tasting plate of arancini mushrooms, pork & fennel sausage wrapped in prosciutto, marinated red peppers, king prawns with chorizo, fresh oysters, baba ganoush with roasted roma tomatoes
Mains:
Altantic Salmon, Western District Eye Fillet and Twice Cooked Pork Belly each with sides of roast potatoes.
Dessert:
Alternating wedding cake –
White chocolate mud, coconut & lemon accompanied with black sesame ice-cream
White chocolate mud, macadamia & vanilla bean accompanied with espresso ice-cream
Bonbonniere…
We purchased our bonbonniere online. They were small Royal Dolton tapas plates, we gave one plate per family/couple and they were individually wrapped with small tags saying either: grazie, thank you or cheers – we thought this added a little bit of fun and culture.
Memorable moments…
Honestly the entire day was more than what we could have asked for. We loved every minute.
We definitely won’t be forgetting the weather though as it was 40-degrees with a massive downpour of rain right before the ceremony. The rain continued softly during our ceremony before letting the sun shine coming out towards the end.
The rest of the day was overcast & stayed around 35-degrees – it was hot!!
Wedding soundtrack…
Walk down the aisle: Thinking out Loud – Ed Sheeran
Signing of papers: 10,000 Emerald Pools – BORNS
Final ceremony track: On Top of the World – Imagine Dragons
Entering reception: Firestone (Kream Remix) – Kygo feat: Conrad Sewell
First dance: Only Love – Ben Howard
Father/daughter dance: Kind & Generous – Natalie Merchant
M A R R I E D L I F E . . .
The honeymoon…
We went to Bali over the New Years period. We stayed in Seminyak for six nights and Nusa Lembongan for four nights.
Future plans…
Settling in to married life and eventually, hopefully starting a family.
In 40 years you hope to…
Be able to pull out a magazine print of Modern Wedding and show our grandchildren our wedding story back when magazines were still around. 😉
W E D D I N G W I S D O M . . .
Enjoying the engagement…
Don’t get too carried away with the future wedding as that will be the only thing on your mind and it could easily consume your every day.
Planning advice…
Don’t settle on the first quote; look into your options and ask for discounts when you think you can. If you’re not scared of a bit of DIY go for it. Just make sure you have places to store it prior as you lose your living spaces and spare rooms for while.
On the day…
Don’t worry about things not being perfect or exactly what you planned as the day flies and you want to be able to embrace every single minute! It will be the best day of your life!!!
MW x
Cake Maria’s Creatives Cakes MC Dean Sindoni DJ Andrew Padula All stationary – name tags on wine glasses, menu, framed seating plan, invitations I designed, printed and cut to size by the bride. (Instagram: @ailsa_rivelli) Mens suits Mens Suit Warehouse Wedding dress Mariana Hardwick Wedding shoes Bride designed on Shoes of Prey Reception bolero Hayley Paige Bridal Bridesmaids dresses ChiChi Clothing Flower girl dress Fattie Pie Dresses Ceremony Flagstaff Hill Reception Lighthouse Theatre Cutout timber signs Communicake It Wedding rings The Diamond Guys Makeup Megan Everett Hair Anna at Purple Haze Warrnambool Flowers & ceremony setup Functions 2 Flowers Wedding signs on chalk boards Bride’s sister (Instagram: @garnerandripe) Wedding jewellery Swarovski Handbags Olga Berg