At Modern Wedding, we love to bring you lots of real wedding inspiration! Today I’m sharing with you the wedding of Ashlee and Michael, whose Autumn wedding celebrated the season and romance. They included many of their friends and family in the DIY element of the wedding, which created a unique and personality-rich event.
Overlooking the lights of Sydney’s Coogee Beach one summer night, Ashlee and Michael sat on a picnic blanket sipping champagne and nibbling on antipasto. Michael retold a story about lifelong relationships and proceeded to get onto one knee and ask if Ashlee would “walk with him forever”. “Shocked, apparently speechless for a while and bypassing the gorgeous custom made ring, I excitedly said yes and proceeded to crash tackle him to the ground,” laughs Ashlee.
Ashlee tells Modern Wedding one of the most special parts of her day, “I was walking to my husband-to-be at the ceremony…. during that time my anxienty was immediately forgotten and an overwhelming sense of excitement kicked in. I had my younger brother walking me down the path and a surprise moment of two little girls that had been playing in the park, running beside me calling out “you look beautiful” and “you look like a princess”.
Both Ashlee and Michael work in the hospitality industry so the venues and catering were important to the couple. They chose unique venues and treated their guests to beautiful catering by Forte Catering.
Ashlee tells us, “Michael and I wanted a venue with a point of difference. Dawn Fraser Baths in Balmain filled that brief perfectly. Originally used as a venue for Olympic Swimming Trials, the restored late-Victorian tidal pool is now run by Leichhardt Council and generally only known by the locals.”
We asked Ashlee if she DIY’d any elements of her wedding, “Yes! Many! Invitations, bomboniere’s, our lolly buffet, photo wall and table centre pieces were all DIY’d by friends and family. My DIY highlight was with our flower arrangements for the day. With my sister, mum, aunty and cousins in hand, we ventured out to Sydney Flower Markets at sunrise on the eve of our wedding. With only the idea of colours in mind, we experienced the markets at its best; mixing, matching and bargaining ’til out bouquets were content. We left with an abundance of flowers and a new favourite Sydney location.”
This wedding was injected with so much personality from all the personal involvement from friends and family. Ashlee says, “having people contribute their own time and effort into something that is important to you, was the perfect gift.”
Thank you for sharing your special day with us Ashlee and Michael and we wish you the best in a beautiful future together.
Supplier list:
Caterers- ForteӬCatering РAnn Myles
Photographer – Vladimir Kravchenko (friend)
Wedding planner – Meryl Whetton
Bride’s Dress – Moonlight ‘Valerie’ Couture Gown in Ivory
Bride’s shoes- Target … $9!! (I had an ‘unplanned’ knee reconstruction 8 weeks before our wedding. My purchased heels were left in the cupboard and Target come through the most comfortable, perfect bridal flats!)
Bride’s Jewelry – Silver Shop earrings & Museglass armband
Groom’s attire – Geoffrey Beene Suit in Charcoal.
Bridesmaid’s attire – Saba Maxi Dress in Burnt Orange
Hair stylist – Hair by Sina
Makeup artist – Casey Gore
Flowers – DIY, Sydney Flower Markets
Stationery – DIY by Rhiannon Beatson (friend)
Ceremony Venue- Elkington Park, Balmain
Reception Venue- Dawn Fraser Baths, BalmainӬ
Wedding Bomboniere – Homemade chutney’s & jams
Wedding rings РUnderwood JewellersӬ
Transport- XP Jaguar for Bridal party.
Happy Friday!
For more Real wedding inspiration check out our huge Real wedding section on the main website!
Kate x