After a crazy and hectic 2019, we know we’ve been a little quiet on the blog front - apologies! And not to mention, life has taken quite a turn in the last month with COVID-19 shenanigans! BUT… today we are not here to talk about current affairs. In fact, we are here to talk about everything that has happened in the last year regarding *drum roll*.... WEDDINGS! Who doesn't like weddings?! So sit back, grab a tea, and enjoy the read.
You are my shining light, my brightest star. You raise me and I love you just the way you are.
To give everyone a little recap - Zooey married her Charlie at the beginning of 2019 and Franny married her Tomer at the beginning of 2020, so the thought crossed our minds, now that we are experienced brides, that we should write a blog post on everything wedding related! If you have planned or are in the process of planning a wedding, it’s true, it can feel completely overwhelming! Where do I even begin? Who do I contact? What the heck is my budget? Do I want a small or big wedding? HELP! Well, fear not, Franny and Zooey are here to provide you with some tips and tricks and a general overview of our own experience when it comes to planning one of the biggest days of your life! We will put a list at the end of our sections of all our vendors so you can check them out too!
Franny:
Weddings take a lot out of you - I won’t lie! It’s an amazing experience organising such a big event and it really opens your eyes to the world of event planning! I’m going to break down the planning of my wedding into steps for you.
What the heck is my budget?
Beware! It is SO easy to go over your budget and as soon as you label anything as ‘wedding’ related, prices skyrocket! It’s ridiculous and really, in my opinion, a complete scam. Tomer and I sat down and set an ideal budget before we even began looking into everything. We had this ideal price and a ‘realistic’ price and were hoping to land somewhere in between. We found creating an Excel spreadsheet super handy to keep on top of all our quotes and expenses.
How did we keep our prices down?
We found that the biggest way to minimise cost was to do a lot of the planning and styling ourselves. It does mean more pressure on you and can be very time consuming, but it also means those $$ go a wee bit down. For instance, I made all the invitations instead of ordering them online, we made our own bouquets and bought flowers from the local market, we set up the ceremony with our friends and family and only hired someone to style the reception space. We sourced a lot of materials ourselves, such as decorations, carpets, foliage, chairs, tables, tablecloths, marquees, etc., rather than hiring from suppliers. We also used my father’s backyard for the ceremony. We found we could rely on family and friends who already had some of the items mentioned above, and for other items that we couldn’t borrow, we bought from second-hand shops or 2 dollar shops. The occasional Target run came handy a day or two before the wedding!
To give you an idea on how much we saved on flowers, we spent $250 on buying flowers from the local market instead of $1500-$2000 on a florist! Huge savings there!
We also had a friend make our cake instead of hiring a professional. Cakes can cost a HUGE amount - $1000 plus. We just paid for ingredients which cost us around $250.
Friends and Family
We are very lucky in that we have such supportive friends and family and found that we could rely on them to help us source materials, liaise with companies and lend us equipment! We know that not everyone is as lucky, but if you have willing friends and family, don’t be afraid to ask for help - it also really brings people together which can make the organising of a wedding super fun!
What was our biggest expense?
The reception was our biggest expense! Catering for food and alcohol for everyone does cost a bit and the more people you have, the more expensive it will be. We used No 1 Events, located at the Malvern Valley Golf Course, and found their prices were super reasonable. We would highly recommend them! Cost also will vary depending on if you would like a sit down dinner or cocktail set up. We went with the cocktail setting and organised canapes for the night. It’s a bit cheaper that way!
My mum put all the flowers together for the arch! She had never done anything like this before and they look AMAZING! You can feel the love put into it!
The other costs we found were all the little things that just added up over time. To name a few:
Printing out invitations and posting them
Finding out it was going to rain, so investing in umbrellas, gumboots, carpets, extra marquees, etc.
Jewellery
Wedding dress alterations
Hair accessories
Do we regret the overall price we paid for our wedding?
Hell no! We did end up going over our budget, but the day went beyond perfectly. Tomer and I both said at the end of the night to each other - NO REGRETS! THAT WAS BLOODY AWESOME! That being said, you do make mistakes here and there and that does end up costing you more, but it’s not like we’ve planned a wedding before so it’s also understandable. For example we printed off all of our invites and realised we spelt ‘golf course’ as ‘gold course’ and had to reprint them all again! We laugh about it now!
What were our top 5 biggest expenses?
Reception venue hire
Suits for groomsmen and groom/Wedding dress and accessories for bridesmaids
Hair/Makeup
Photographer and videographer
Stylist for the reception
Our model shot! Naturals… what can I say ;)
Social pressures?
There is a strange amount of pressure in whatever you read or see on social media about ‘shredding for your wedding’ type comments. Honestly, I just kept up my 20 minutes a day of workouts, not to lose weight, but to keep my mind mentally healthy and my body feeling good. All you need for your wedding is you to be you and screw social pressures because they are ridiculous! Remember, you partner is marrying you as you are, not a shredded version of who you are.
What would you do differently?
It’s hard to say! We loved how everything turned out, even the rain made it a romantic affair! Perhaps, if I was to go back and do it again, I would try to be a little less stressed and worried about the small things… they really don’t matter in the end! I remember when we found out a week prior to the big day that it was going to rain! I was wishing that rain away every single day and was investing so much energy into it when really it didn’t matter in the slightest!
Actually, what was really comforting was all my family and friends who continued to send messages of support and love and reminding me that it will be amazing regardless of the weather! The day before the wedding, I was running around fetching clear umbrellas. I found some on FB marketplace and this lovely lady who was selling her umbrellas told me she had them for her wedding day where it also rained! We had a lovely FB banter about it all, and she was wonderful to talk to. She told me it rained HEAVILY on her wedding day and it made it more fun, romantic and exciting! So I took solace in that.
What unique elements did you have for your wedding?
Vows - Yep, you guessed it! I sang my vows! I had written them pretty much straight after Tomer proposed to me! I kept it a surprise and secretly performed them at open mics to get some practice in before the big day! And Tomer cried. It was the best.
First dance - We had been practising a raunchy tango to ‘El Tango de Roxanne’ from Moulin Rouge! I think that dance made the day! It was fantastic! We had lifts, sexy outfits and a room filled with laughter, cheering and clapping! That was for sure a highlight!
Handfasting - my mother performed a handfasting ritual to symbolise my Celtic background and to symbolise the tying of the knot! She handmade all the ropes and recited the poem ‘Blessing of the Hands’. It was touching and romantic! I felt like I was in the Braveheart movie haha!
Stomping of the glass - And to celebrate Tomer’s Jewish heritage, Tomer performed the stomping of the glass at the end of the ceremony!
Celebrant - We asked a good friend of ours to marry us! He has known us both for a very long time! We also had our wonderful celebrant who was the aunt of my bridesman and she performed the legal parts to our ceremony as well as binding all the different elements together! So we kind of had two celebrants for our wedding and it really made the day!
Summary:
In the end, I got to marry my best friend and my truest love! I also feel incredibly lucky to have married him before everything changed with COVID-19. We snuck it in without even realising we were sneaking it in. We managed to go on a 3 week honeymoon gallivanting around in our little camper van and hiking! My bridal party joined us for the last 4 days of our trip and we based ourselves in Queenstown. That honestly was the best month of my life! I became a wife to an amazing husband and got to celebrate with my bestest friends in Queenstown!
Yes, that is right… kissing in the rain! Very Notebook-esque!
Franny’s Vendors:
Reception venue: No 1 Events - https://www.no1events.com.au
Styling: Ruffles and Bells Styling - https://www.rufflesandbells.com.au
Photography: Single Soul Photography - https://www.singlesoul.com.au
Hair styling - https://www.facebook.com/annita.lamari
Makeup: Rita Skin and Makeup - https://www.ritaskinmakeup.com/
Wedding Dress - https://www.raffaeleciuca.com.au
Dance lessons - https://secretgardendance.com.au
Celebrant - https://www.mansfieldcelebrant.com.au
Ceremony Catering - https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Coffee-Shop/Lulabelles-133799050007688/
Zooey:
Now it’s time to take a trip down memory lane and relive the planning process for my wedding! I married my beautiful man, Charlie, in January 2019, after he had proposed almost a year before, on a cliff top in Lima, Peru! We didn’t think too much about choosing a date for our wedding until we found out that my Canadian family was going to be in Australia in January 2019. We thought, “Perfect we’ll have our wedding then,“ and jumped straight into planning. Planning a wedding is no walk in the park - there is just SO much to think about, from guest lists to photographers, to venues to menus, to music... the list goes on! I generally get a little too stressed out in life and planning a wedding was no exception - I went a little crazy with the stress. Hopefully reading this will give you a few ideas for planning your own wedding. Just remember - it will all come together no matter what!
BEST. DAY. EVER!
What to plan early on:
The dress: Once you have chosen your dress, it can take a few months for it to get made in your size. Alterations then take more time again so it’s good to get onto choosing the dress fairly early. I think this was my favourite part of the planning process. I generally hate shopping and find trying on clothes so tedious… but wedding dress shopping was another story. It was ridiculously fun.
Choosing a date: This can be tricky. If you have an ideal venue, photographer and celebrant in mind, then you have to try and coordinate a date that they are all free. If you get onto this early it shouldn’t be a problem.
Guest list: Figuring out your guest list early gives you a chance to start organising your invitations and sending out save the dates. It can be really hard to narrow the list down, especially when your venue has a limit on numbers. We really struggled with this, and my one regret was not being able to invite a few extra people due to these restrictions.
Invitations: Don’t waste your money on expensive invitations (you can also save money by skipping the ‘save the date’ invite!). We ordered ours from Zazzle and they were well-priced with plenty of options!
Ceremony venue: Our ceremony was hosted in the picturesque Abbotsford Convent gardens. We always knew we wanted a garden wedding and this venue suited us perfectly.
Reception venue: It was extremely hard to find a reasonably priced reception venue. We were working off a tight budget and could not afford the many beautiful venues I was looking at in the Dandenong Ranges or Yarra Valley. In the end we chose a lovely cafe in Abbotsford called Four Larks. This was the BEST decision. Peter, the venue owner, was amazing to deal with and offered very reasonable prices. We did not feel ripped off in any way and he was supportive in providing us with a full vegetarian menu! We were also allowed to BYO alcohol which helped to bring the price per head down considerably.
Lovely set up at Abbotsford Convent. 33 degrees and sunny!
Passion8 photography
Photographer: We went with the lovely Andrew from Passion8 Photography as a recommendation from a friend in the wedding industry. He offered fantastic prices and he captured our day perfectly. He was also extremely friendly and fun to work with on the day.
Videographer: We had a friend, Michael Firus, do our wedding video. He worked some serious magic on the day and we absolutely loved the video he provided for us.
Celebrant: It’s important to pick the right celebrant. They really shape your ceremony and set the tone for your wedding. Our celebrant Damon Hughes was AMAZING. The ceremony he prepared was engaging, funny, heartfelt, and represented us perfectly as a couple.
Having a laugh with our amazing celebrant - Damon Hughes
Once you’ve ticked these big ones off the list, sit back, relax and give yo’ self a pat on the back!!!!
Such a special moment! I remember seeing Charlie and thinking he had never looked so beautiful <3
Check out my bouquet made by Andrea from Petals Flower Co.
What to plan next:
Flowers: My bouquets were beautiful and my florist, Andrea, also provided us with a stunning floral arch. Flowers are expensive though, and as you read above, Francesca saved a ton of money by getting our amazing mum to do her flowers!
Bridal party outfits/accessories: This is hard to coordinate, especially if you have a large bridal party like us! I steered clear of bridal dress shops, as they are often pretty pricey. Instead we bought dresses from Forever New. The boys’ suits we found at a shop called Moda on Bridge Road which does reasonably priced suits and tailors them there for no extra cost! We ordered shoes online, and bought belts from Queen Vic Market.
Cake made by Emi’s Cakes and Celebrations
Makeup and hair: I would highly recommend Rita Skin & Makeup. She is super fun and efficient and brings a lovely energy to your wedding morning!
Cake: Our sister in law, Emi, made our cake - what a dream! She is based in Sale, Gippsland if anyone lives out that way and needs a cake for any occasion!
What a lovely bunch <3
Provided by The Seed Collection
Wedding favours: Not essential, but we ended up ordering ‘Let Love Grow’ seeds for our guests to take home.
To conclude:
Wedding planning can be an intense experience! Try not to rush decisions, ask for help when you need it, write a list, and try to breathe and not get too stressed. Remember this day only happens once and you only get to plan your wedding once too! So enjoy it! <3
Zooey’s Vendors
Ceremony - https://abbotsfordconvent.com.au/venues/weddings-functions
Reception: Four Larks Cafe - https://www.facebook.com/fourlarkscafe/
Photography: Passion 8 Photography - https://www.passion8.com.au/
Videographer - https://michaelfirus.com/
Makeup: Rita Skin and Makeup - https://www.ritaskinmakeup.com/
Wedding Dress - https://www.raffaeleciuca.com.au
Celebrant - https://marriedbydamon.com/
Wedding Favours - https://www.theseedcollection.com.au/
Cake - https://www.facebook.com/emiscakesandcelebrations/
Flowers - https://www.petalsflowerco.com.au/
Invitations - https://www.zazzle.com.au/c/cards+invites
