A Wet White Wedding Wrap Up

Boy oh boy am I happy that I made my dress and that in the end it really only cost me $100 (or there abouts) because almost on cue at 3pm, the time of our ceremony, the heavens opened up and the rain came down. It rained from 3pm-6pm and stopped just in time for everyone to be seated at the reception venue. At 2:30pm on the day I was looking out from our 6th for apartment and thinking that the weather predictions couldn't be right and the blue, cloud-less sky was going to stick around. But no. In a way it made the whole thing a little more "us" and it also really grounded me, all my family and friends stood on the muddy grass huddled under umbrellas waiting for me to arrive, they all smiled and waved and were just as excited as I was. The garden games after the ceremony that I had planned didn't go ahead but everyone quickly found shelter in the same bar and the communal atmosphere that I was hoping for between the ceremony and reception was still all there. What amazingly wonderful family and friends we have! In the end all the little details didn't matter and it was all about them for me.


Our photographer, James Boddington of Xiss Photography was a trooper and totally sopping wet by the time we got to the bar for a drink before the reception. My bestie Ash arranged for her sister to do our makeup and it survived the whole wet day, her mother-in-law-to-be did the most amazing job on our flowers and a friend of mine from work did our hair which again lasted the whole wild weather. I must tell you I felt a million bucks, utterly gorgeous. I especially adored a real flower hair piece that my amazing friend Renae made for me from orchids and mint it really topped off the whole outfit.

My besties chose all their own dresses in blue and looked amazing, I sewed them silk robes to get ready in (one for each of us!), gave them some elk jewelry for good luck and couldn't have had a better wedding build up. Not to mention all the support on the day. Liv was especially helpful when she whisked me away to iron the bottom of my sopping wet dress with a scotch on the rocks at the ready.

The boys scrubbed up excellently and stood in the rain without umbrellas for the whole ceremony, not one of them complained and they all still looked super hot and treated my ladies like princesses.

Our celebrant was Lauren Kelly from the Bendigo region who was unfazed by the rain and spoke the most amazing and thoughtful words about us. Lauren was wonderful, attentive, thoughtful and I can recommend her to anyone as someone who truly believes in the power of love. A friend of ours Benji Mui played acoustic guitar for our ceremony which really made the whole thing quite intimate.

There is so much that I could tell you and so many people to gush about. Our MCs were hilarious, my dad made a thoughtful and powerful speech that brought tears to my eyes and hand squeezes from Mr White. Our band was great and our venue, The Pavilion in Fitzroy Gardens served great food, kept the drinks flowing and was set up beautifully. Mr White and his uni band, the Jacket Sundays, stole the mic for a while and relived the glory days of the band!

By far the best part of the night was when everyone went to the Barber Bar for an after party the place was pumping, the drinks were flowing, the dance moves got crazier and more creative as people started dancing on the tables. Wicked way to end a crazy day.

It all turned out excellently, the plans all changed with the rain and some of the details were lost. Some things worked out better than I could have imagined (flowers, hair) somethings didn't work out to what I had in mind (RAIN! Decoration on the cakes) but in the end it was about spending a great day/night/early morning with all the amazing people in our lives and that's what made it so special.

Now for some photos! All photo credits are James Boddington of Xiss Photography

Now that I've had a little time to reflect I have 3 pieces of advice:
1. Pick indoors or somewhere with shelter!
2. Pick someone (not groom or wedding party) to be your wedding coordinator on the day so you can include details without having to worry about them and they can boss family/friends/photographer around.
3. Don't stress, do your thing, your way.

Such a wonderful experience if you're planning your own wedding, enjoy it!

xx j.