Ali and Zak

I love how Australian couples are so brilliant at creating a wedding that works for them. Ali and Zak chose a scout hall by the river in Fremantle – they married, they dined, they danced and they celebrated all in the one spot. Guests relaxed on picnic blankets, the newlyweds used the dock at sunset for photographs and as the stars came out there was dancing by the moonlight.

As to how they met? Ali explains, “We are both filmmakers, and we met at the after-party of the WA Screen Awards in 2005. We’d been together for about seven years and were having an adventure in Thailand with some of our best friends when Zak proposed.”

The gorgeous photography is by Ali Judd of Field & Skies who has a fresh, romantic feel to her work.

Ali and Zak chose First Fremantle Scout Hall, East Fremantle for their wedding, Ali explaining, “We got married and had the reception at the same place – a small grassed area just by the river, attached to the First Fremantle Scouts Hall in East Freo. We wanted to get married by the river and really liked the idea of a garden wedding, but didn’t have a garden of our own big enough! We chose this venue because it was secluded, had a gorgeous view, beautiful light and it was also a bit of a blank canvas that we could make our own.”

“We DIY’ed everything we possibly could! Our amazingly talented friends donated time in the lead up to the wedding to do all the flowers, bouquets, signage, creating shelves out of wooden pallets, making paper pinwheels, covering jars in twine, hessian, lace, planting potted colour, rigging all the lighting and decorations.”

For makeup and hair, Ali tells “Jody Fiannaca did an an incredible job (at short notice!) with my and my sister’s hair. Make up was done by Monika Holmes  who was very lovely.”

For her walk down the aisle, Ali says “We chose ‘To Binge’ by The Gorillaz. ”

Ali remembers, “My favourite thing about our wedding was the involvement of our good friends and family. Instead of having a reading, Zak had arranged for some of our best friends to surprise me with a mystery song – Pursuit of Happiness by Kid Cudi. This is one of our all time favourites for when we are hanging with our friends. It reminds us of all the good times we’ve shared. Our mums were our witnesses and during the signing our little dog Dali decided to join us in on the fun!”

“Our two dads worked together to create champagne picnic glass holders and Zak’s mum created all of the picnic rugs for the evening. Other friends created signs and a chalkboard run down of the evening because we didn’t have an MC. Diablo’s Oven did rustic style wedding food with their mobile food van – platters of antipasto, paella and chocolate brownie cake for dessert.”

“My friends Liz and McGee created our wedding bouquets and pin holes as well as all the other flowers at the venue. I was expecting something very rustic and simple, but they studied online tutorials and created incredible arrangements.”

Ali recalls, “The weather of our wedding day was forecast for a massive storm, right up until the actual day, so we were freaking out a little. But on the day when the finishing touches were being made, we got a hot summer’s day instead. When it came time for the wedding, the sun was hidden behind the trees, and it had cooled down quite nicely. The night was absolutely perfect – a beautiful still hot summer’s evening. This made it all the more fun as we danced into the wee hours of the morning.”

Of their photographer, Ali says, “We found and booked Ali just before Christmas, she was referred by a couple of friends. She was amazing. We both really dislike having our picture taken, but Ali did a brilliant job of making the photos incredibly fun. We only had a short amount of time too as we didn’t want to miss out on the celebrations! She captured the essence of the venue and the rustic vibe really well and managed to snap some incredible moments that we are very grateful to have a record of.”

“We had pictures of our grandparents on display, as all but one had passed away before the wedding and we really wanted them to be there.”

Of their first dance, Ali remembers, “We danced to PJ Harvey’s ‘You Said Something’ – the song is about two people sharing a moment very late one night in New York City and we felt it captured a sense of some of the times we’ve shared together.”

Congratulations Ali and Zak! Thank you for sharing your day with us! Thank you to Ali Judd of Field & Skies for sharing today’s imagery!