"Our Wedding vibe was very chilled. We ditched a lot of the typical wedding traditions – big poofy dress, first dance, cutting the wedding cake. The most important thing to us was spending time with friends and family, and doing so over incredible food."
How long were you together before your engagement? 5 and a half years. We started dating in year 12 of high school and James has been my best friend since then. Our engagement was almost 8 months. However, most of the planning was done in the last month and a half!! (I had to think about this for a few seconds...shows how important anniversaries are to me!)
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What led you to decide on your Wedding venue? Picking our reception venue was easy. We didn’t consider any typical ‘wedding venues’ – white table cloths and bridal tables aren’t our thing. We met with 3 different café/restaurants but Mess Hall was a stand out. We loved the chilled atmosphere and especially the food. The ceremony venue was a lot harder. I’ve always wanted to get married outside, but it was extremely difficult to find a park we could DIY a Wedding ceremony in. Plus, Melbourne weather. After stressing poor James out for months, we compromised on having the ceremony at St Stephens. The church was very well lit, and looked out onto bushland. It turned out perfect in the end, of course!
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What was your favourite detail about the day? All the details my sister DIYed, I absolutely adored! My seating chart and place cards were probably my favourite.
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What resources helped you the most during your Wedding planning? James: For the Wedding ceremony and reception, we utilised Google Maps a lot, by searching for cool venues near the city for the reception, and searching churches and parks for the ceremony. We found Jackson Grant on Instagram, searching for Weddings in our local area. We had a shortlist of photographers, and we both picked Jackson as our favourite!

What does marriage mean to you? James: We both were accepted into a medicine course a week before the Wedding, so our marriage means I’m now married to my study partner and best friend. Since we had to move away from friends and family, our marriage is the foundation and symbol of our new life and journey together.
Steph: Marriage is falling asleep and waking up next to my best friend. It is experiencing life together and supporting each other every day.
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Steph: Apparently I flashed everyone at the ceremony when signing the register?!! Was on too much of a Wedding high to care at the time but I’ll definitely never forget that moment!
What advice would you offer to other couples planning a Wedding? James: Try to lock in the essentials first. Steph had trouble deciding between a church wedding and an outdoor Wedding, and took longer than we should have to decide, which pushed some of our planning behind. While it all worked out, it meant we had a few more things to do in the week leading up than we’d planned.
Steph: Plan a wedding that YOU will love. Don’t try to please anyone else.
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Jackson Grant Weddings
Facebook | Instagram
Wedding songs:
Aisle song: ‘The Blower’s Daughter’, Damien Rice
Recessional: ‘Impregnable Question’, The Dirty Projectors
No first dance
Photographer: Jackson Grant Weddings
Stylist:Styled by Carly Raunic (bride’s sister)
Florist: DIY by Jeanette Henderson (groom’s grandmother)
Flowers: Tesselaar
Stationery invites: Minted
Place cards: DIYed by Carly Raunic (bride’s sister)
Ceremony venue: St Stephen’s Anglican Church
Reception venue & catering: Brunswick Mess Hall
Cake: DIY Chocolate sponge cake by Win Brown (James’ grandmother)
Other desserts (slices, tarts, cookies etc): ceremony - various cakes & tarts made by family and friends; reception – ice cream by Brunswick Mess Hall
Cake topper: Flowers Tesselaar
Decorative elements: DIY by Carly Raunic (bride’s sister)
Wedding favours: DIY by bride & groom – pots from Pots n Pots
Plants from Gumtree
Signage: DIY by Carly Raunic (bride’s sister)
Entertainment: Ceremony: Jake & Rach (family friends); Reception: DIY playlists via Spotify
Celebrant: Matt Withers (youth pastor at Mill Park Baptist Church)
Engagement ring: Natalie Marie Jewellery
Bride & Groom Wedding band: Ruby Tuesday Jewellery
Bridal gown designer: Made with Love Purchased from Still White
Hair: DIY Suzanne Green (family friend) (no website)
Makeup: DIY Stef Glover (friend) (no website)
Bridesmaid dresses: Pilgrim
Groom + Groomsmen suits: Jack London
Shirt/Pants/Tie/BowTie: YD Australia
Watch: Fossil