Andrea & Ben

The golden Autumn light is really something special and at Andrea and Ben’s mid-century inspired Melbourne wedding, I am positive Mother Nature made it just the perfect shade to complement their stunning Autumnal colour palette. The outdoor ceremony under the trees, the deep and richly toned bouquet, the surprise change to a gold sequin gown – today’s wedding, captured beautifully by Abigail Varney has plenty to inspire you and make you fall in love.

The bride wore a simple minidress designed by Victoria Beckham. She tells “The dress was tricky and then it wasn’t. So, at the time of my wedding, I was 39, which shouldn’t make a difference but it does. I tried on lots of different dresses from Armadale to Brunswick, fell in love with lots of pretty puffy things but in the end I felt they just weren’t me. I wanted something paired back, very simple, clean-lines and classic. In the end, it was a wool crepe shift dress in ivory by Victoria Beckham that ticked all the boxes and was utterly perfect for me and the day.”

The bride donned brown Gianvito Rossi heels. “Tradition or rather superstition dictates that the bride must have something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue and a silver penny in her shoe. My best friend’s mother tracked down a proper silver penny from 1816, which I wore in my shoe the entire day and all night!” she tells.

 North Street Botanical  created lush Autumnal arrangements, the bride remembering “The flowers were an absolute wow factor, completely original and absolutely stunning, they stole the show and greatly contributed to the success of the day. There were from the amazing North St Botanical.”

A violinist from String Musicians Australia played as the bride walked down the aisle.

Twiggy, the couple’s dog was the star of the show. “We were so happy we had our girl Twiggy (our greyhound) there, it was a bit of extra effort but it wouldn’t have been the day it was without her.” says Andrea.

Peter Norden officiated proceedings, Andrea notes “Of course our favourite moment was the exchanging of our vows, that pinnacle moment, the reaching of the summit after the huge climb. Ben and I lost our son, Somerset, when I was 21 weeks, we asked the celebrant to mention him, it felt very special and kind of brave but it was important, we wanted to feel like he was there with us in spirit, it was a very touching moment for us.”

 

Andrea and Ben chose Heide Musuem of Modern Art  to play host to their day, they married, and had photos within the gardens, before guests celebrated at Cafe Vue At Heide. The bride telling “We choose Heide gallery. Ben and I often picnic at Heide, it is one of our favourite spots on a weekend, be it sunny and warm or chilly and wet, it’s very beautiful there and dog friendly.”

Of their photographer, Andrea remarks “Abi was recommended by a friend. She made sure she got what she wanted without being intrusive to the day. We loved having her there she was lovely. The photos that Abi came back to us with, well, they are so good, without sounding obnoxious and over the top bias, we feel that they are without a doubt something special to share.”

 

The celebrations continued with guests gathering for dinner inside Cafe Vue At Heide

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Of their inspiration for the day, Andrea notes “It was mid-century and Autumnal. We were very influenced by the colours of the season, autumn is our favourite time of the year and we have a lot of beautiful memories from the autumns we’ve shared so far.”

The bride entered the reception in a glittering gold Badgley Mischka gown, explaining “My wow factor dress was my reception dress, when I emerged in a full-length, gold sequin, backless Badgley Mischka gown. It was sensational and I loved that I played it up that way – I got to appease my two personalities, classic and modest Andrea for the ceremony and fabulous and out-there Andrea for reception, it was so much fun and both were super comfortable.”

 

Congratulations on your marriage Andrea and Ben! Thank you for sharing your beautiful day with us! Thank you also to Abigail Varney for sharing today’s celebration!