STEPHANIE X JAMES

MELBOURNE WEDDING INSPIRATION JACKSON GRANT WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY

"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!)

Tell us about the proposal: James proposed the day after our medical entrance exam. We had both been studying super hard in the months prior, and James had promised to cook me dinner in celebration the following night. He told me to wait upstairs while he ‘set up dinner’ for us. When he called me down, I saw a trail of fairy lights in the backyard leading to a tepee which we had a picnic dinner in, before James (nervously) proposed. We were completely alone; it was perfect.

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!

What was the inspiration behind your Wedding theme? 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.

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.

How long did it take for you to find you Wedding dress? I didn’t start my Wedding dress shopping until 3 months before the wedding! I tried on my gorgeous wedding dress at Bluebell Bridal. With the time restrictions, unfortunately my dress could not be made in such a short amount of time, so when I saw it advertised on Still White second-hand I was over the moon!

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!

Most favourite moment of the day: My favourite moment was the part of the ceremony when James and I exchanged our vows (which we wrote ourselves). In the moment, we both forgot everyone around us and were able to share our promises for our lives together with just each other. We had many people comment on how they were the best vows they had heard at a Wedding!

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.

Any funny stories from the day? James: I had organised friends as the musicians for the ceremony, and was meant to bring my acoustic guitar for them to play, but forgot to bring it! My mum and sister had to go back and get it, only just getting back before Steph arrived. I don’t think anyone knew, but definitely made me even more nervous waiting for Steph.

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.

Any stand out vendors for the day? James: Brunswick Mess Hall had terrific staff, who were commented upon by many of our guests, and were beyond helpful from the preparation to the actual day. Additionally, Jackson Grant was super helpful and understanding when taking photos. He listened to exactly what we wanted from our photos, and improvised on the fly, driving to my house when Steph wasn’t quite ready in the morning, before joining her again an hour or so later.