Image via Shannon Fleming Civil Celebrant

This Wedding Planning business is hard.. colours, food, venues. The list goes on. For this reason, we’ve decided to put together a workshop. A crash course in wedding planning if you like!

We’ve rounded up a diverse group of people who have come together to help you gain some skills in the broad field of event planning!

First of all by attending this workshop we want you to know you won’t be asked to buy anything, sign up for an unwanted item or join an email list (unless you want to, then we will happily keep you informed) nor will you be asked to favor a particular business for your wedding. This isn’t about selling, it’s about informing. It’s about YOU and your needs and how to go about putting your wedding or event into motion and making it a success.

You will be exposed to a myriad of pro’s in the know, who are there for you to pick their brain! Make your own choice from what you learn from the workshop. Some of the vendors that will be with us on the night to guide and advise you, include:

• Floral designer

• Hair stylist

• Marriage celebrant

• Photographer

• Jewellery designer

• Event planner

• Cake decorator

• Photo booth

We can promise you a great evening with professionals giving you information to try and prevent you from making common mistakes.

To find out more about this workshop, you can call or email Rhondell (0412 121 385 | 9403 7485)

Ms Gingham says: Sounds like a great workshop to attend if you’re planning your wedding in WA.

Shannon says: “I’m a bit of an alternative to the ‘average celebrant’. Your wedding day should be relaxing, fun and one you will remember.”

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Image by Ben Adams

Outdoor ceremonies on a beach, high on a hilltop, overlooking the bay or even in a majestic park can be absolutely breathtaking, there is no question about it. However, ensuring one’s guests are focused on the couple making their promises rather than the scenic vista is no easy feat! While not guaranteeing guests will pay attention, I believe there are a few small things that should be considered well in advance to help manage the distractions of scenic ceremony locations. I call these my three golden steps to ceremony planning.

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At Couture Wedding Planning we help you plan your wedding in a relaxed and stress free way. So much work goes into planning a wedding and although not everyone can work with a wedding planner, we wanted to give you some insight into how we work with a couple, from start to finish, to plan and style their wedding. Hopefully, this insight can help give you some ideas of how to go about planning your own wedding.

Meet Teresa and Leigh. When Leigh proposed, he put on an elaborate treasure hunt around Sydney and at the final destination he presented her with an engagement ring and popped the question. Teresa and Leigh first enlisted our wedding planning services back in March 2010 for their wedding on 10^th September 2011. As Teresa and Leigh live up in Port Macquarie I think they felt it was important to have someone in Sydney as their representative.

The first line of business was to lock in the venues for the ceremony and the reception. For the ceremony, Teresa and Leigh wanted a Grand affair so we asked St Mary’s Cathedral if they could be married there. Sergeants Mess in Mosman was chosen for the reception after Teresa, Leigh and I explored a number of different venues in May 2010. They fell in love with the beautiful harbour side venue instantly.

Photography by Cavanagh Photography

We selected Cavanagh Photography because Leigh and Teresa love their unscripted and candid style of photography. We also loved the cinematography style that Untitled Film Works created and decided to book them on the spot. Cavanagh Photography and Untitled Film Works decided to come to a number of pre-wedding events such as Leigh’s final suit fitting and Teresa’s final dress fitting as well as their Tea Ceremony.

With the necessities out of the way it was time for the shopping! When shopping for Teresa’s wedding gown we went to see a number of designers during the months of August and September but no luck! Teresa liked the top of one dress and the bottom of another but could not find the perfect combination. This is when I suggested we talk to Steven Khalil so he could design her a couture gown, using elements of the other dresses that she had seen. I think having a couture gown made for you is one of the most amazing experiences you can have – everything is made to fit you perfectly.

As it is very traditional for Asian brides to change during their reception, Teresa purchased her beautiful Helen English gown for the dancing part of the evening. It was golden silk with lace applique on the shoulders.

For Leigh’s suit we wanted something special so we engaged the services of Matthew Lawrence Bespoke in Paddington. I discovered during the planning process that Leigh was a big fan of transformers so we discussed this with Matthew and he suggested that he create a custom made lining with Transformer blue prints on it for Leigh’s navy Church suit. For the evening Leigh changed into a white suit also made by Matthew Lawrence Bespoke. Leigh also purchased Transformer cufflinks for all the groomsmen.

Teresa discovered her Bridesmaids dresses at George and instantly ordered them for her 6 bridesmaids. They were an electric blue colour with a lovely ruffle detail on the shoulder. The colour really popped in all the photographs of the wedding! As Leigh is originally from Melbourne he flew down there to meet up with his 6 groomsmen who all live there as well and purchased a slim line black suit for each of them from Tarocash.

We then decided to go see Huetopia the wedding stationery designers. We began by designing a simple save the date card which we sent out to all Teresa and Leigh’s guests before Christmas 2010. In the New Year we had Huetopia design Teresa and Leigh’s invitations. It was a beautiful navy blue silk mounted with silver silk and finished off with a black custom made wax seal with Teresa and Leigh’s initials on a black grosgrain ribbon. The invitations set the colour inspiration for the rest of the wedding – white and navy blue.

Teresa expressed that she would like each guest to receive a letterpress ceremony booklet for the ceremony. I suggested to Teresa that we add a Motif of the frontage of the Cathedral to the booklet, which she loved, and Bespoke Letterpress Boutique in Melbourne designed a ceremony booklet with this beautiful Motif on it for us.

In Jan of 2011 we met with our Styling Team. Firstly we engaged the talented Stylist Anthony Del Col from Staging Connections to do all the draping, lighting, staging, candles and linen for the reception. We also met with Maria Lush the floral designer who is well known for her floral installations. Teresa decided she wanted all white flowers so Maria started to develop 3 different floral centerpieces for their big day and an elaborate bridal table with white blooms.

To help gather inspiration, we ask our clients to email styling and wedding images they like and from those, together with images that we love, we create a Digital Scrapbook on our iPad. Teresa and I showed these images to Maria and Anthony for inspiration. Teresa also explored Anthony Del Col and Maria Lush’s portfolios of work and added ideas to the wedding day inspiration. Teresa and Leigh then met a month before with Maria Lush and Anthony Del Col at Staging Connections where they showed the couple what each of their three guest table centerpieces would look like. We were able to tweak the styling a little and add some pillar candles to finalize the look.

We decided to finish the tables with hand calligraphy menus tied with the place card, table numbers and seating plan created by Wills Quills.

Maria Lush also provided Teresa, at her final dress fitting with Steven Khalil, with a mock up of what her bouquet would look like to check if she was happy with it before the wedding day and to see if it is suited the gown. It was a combination of David Austin roses and ranunculus with white phalaenopsis orchids for a modern element.In the end we decided to remove the feathers for the final wedding day bouquet.

For the ceremony, Maria then added rose, Singapore orchids and jasmine to the pews of the church.

The stunning wedding cake was designed by Faye Cahill.  I was a 5-tier wedding cake with silver foil and damask elements to tie into the styling of the room. During the cutting, the cake was taken out to the balcony and then as Teresa and Leigh cut the cake a fireworks display erupted for all their guest to enjoy. The Fireworks where by Foti Fireworks who are also responsible for the Sydney New Year’s Eve Fireworks each year!

Teresa and Leigh danced the night away to the Baker Boys Band and had a bit of fun in the Flashback Photobooth that we arranged. The entire bridal party then left at the end of the night in a Manhattan Stretch Hummer (it was the only car big enough to take all 14 of them) for the after party at a city night club.

After Planning Teresa and Leigh’s Wedding for a year and half, we are so proud to take you through all the elements that made their wedding day so amazing!! We had the best time planning the wedding and would love to share their wedding film by Untitled Film Works. Enjoy!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Photography by Cavanagh Photography / Film Produced by Untitled Film Works

Ms Gingham says: Planning a wedding is a big undertaking and in this post, we get some insight into how the professional wedding planners tackle this daunting task! 

About Couture Wedding Planning: A wedding is an incredible day of love, emotion and above all a celebration for you, your partner and for all your guests to enjoy. It is our mission to mould and shape your visions so that your wedding reflects you as a couple, without the stress of planning it yourself.

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1. Make up: Suzi White at The White House Productions
It’s very fortunate to come across a make-up artist in your mother’s group – especially when you are feeling somewhat less than glamorous after just having a baby. I am fortunate enough to have Suzi in my mother’s group who has been a Make-up Artist- Since 1998. She’s worked with ton of famous faces such as Nigella Lawson, Kate Ceberano, Julia Gillard, plus Jana Wendt, Tracey Grismshaw, Kerri Anne Kennerley, Catriona Rowntree, Sami Lukis and Georgie Gardener – just to name a few. Now with her own bebe in tow, she focusses on weddings and can help turn every bride into a star in their own right. (image from Suzi’s blog)

2. Photographer: Blumenthal. Megan from Blumenthal is not only the nicest person you could wish to meet, she is also a fabulous photographer (as is her husband Dan Blumenthal). (image my wedding – photography by Megan Blumenthal)

3. Dress: Johanna Johnston. I absolutely lust after almost everything in Johanna Johnstone’s store.

4. Shoes: I think these Gucci shoes would make the perfect accessory and would work as evening shoes post the wedding day as well. In fact, I’d be happy to have them now even though my wedding was years ago… (image from Net-a-Porter)

5. Flowers: Saskia at Grandiflora always does gorgeous romantic flowers (image from Grandiflora website).

Ms Gingham says: Gucci and Johanna Johnston in one post! This is why I love our Vendor’s Favourites column… the experts are in the know!

About Donna from Le Bonbon: Donna Kennett (me) is the creator of le bonbon, a special place that is full of sweet paper and stationery designs. Donna started her career in finance but after years of dealing with dull numbers and boring bankers she broke out and reunited with her creative self, firstly with Harry and the Princess and then le bonbon.

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Sydney designers Weddings by Master/Slave were the chosen designers for musician Guy Sebastien and his wife Julie Sebastien’s wedding attire. Outfitted in velvet suits, asymmetrical necklines and a mix of interesting and unique textures and fabrics, I had my interest piqued! So today I am delighted to be joined by Roderick of Weddings By Master/Slave for his take on bridal design and the Australian wedding industry.

Please tell us about yourself? Were you always a creative person – even as a child?

I was always a creative person. I started my career as a musician/performer in my teens. At UNSW, I majored in Theatre Arts. I went on to work in the fashion industry in New York doing hair/make up and styling for fashion magazines and advertisements. Working in fashion media enabled me to travel and work in various countries. This soon led me to stay in Asia for a few years working on magazine covers for celebrities and politicians.

What was the catalyst for setting up Master/Slave with Eleni Kondos?

When I decided to study again, I finished up my time working in Asia and returned to Sydney to study design and pattern making. It was there I met my design and business partner Eleni Kondos. Together we found the company Master/slave. This year is our eighth year in business.

What is your business philosophy?

Our brand philosophy is and has always been to provide our clients with creative services and beautiful products that are high in quality, contemporary and personal. Our clients will find that at Weddings by Master/slave luxury is reflected in the way that we design and create our pieces. Our clients also cherish the essence of the delivery experience. We believe that luxury should be reflected in the finished product but with Weddings By Master/slave, luxury is also synonymous with the bridal journey. Clients find their bridal journey with us a confident and personal one. This is personally rewarding and very encouraging to learn.

What is the starting point for a gown or a collection? What influences do you draw on, when you commence designing a garment?

We have a signature look that is definitively Weddings by Master/slave. New Collections offer a contemporary vision of our classic styles. Every collection offers a different feeling or different textures. Some clients like more embellishments while others might request for none. Every collection addresses different needs of modern brides. The evolution from one collection to another collection is an organic journey. We are always designing so our collection very much reflects the demand of the clients at that moment. To preserve integrity of the Weddings by Master/slave aesthetic, we find ourselves returning to our design library and constantly find new ways to refine the cuts in our catalogue of designs and create new styles that are true to the our design sensibilities.

When a bride comes to you to design her dress, can you ‘see’ what sort of dress/ fabric/lace/embellishments would suit her when she walks in the door, or does the design process evolve over time?

During the consultation with a bride, we will ask a series of questions about the bride’s needs and requests. This helps us gauge her interests and understand her needs. Gown trials help us decipher what suits her and her likes and dislikes. Through this process we will learn more about her personality and form an accurate vision of what is most flattering and reflective of her personality. A bridal gown should never overwhelm the bride’s personhood. It has to encourage comfort and confidence. That, above all else, will engender beauty.

How long does the design process take from start to finished garment?

While we have bridal orders up to end of 2013, we have also created full gowns with very little time. When Delta Goodrem’s stylist contacted us to design for her two videos “In this life”, both the American video and Australian version, we delivered two full couture gowns to Goodrem’s sets in LA in 72 hours. That included the plane trip there.

How do you keep your designs fresh and different?

In between designing bridal collections and servicing brides, we are also working on our fashion and lifestyle product ranges. All the while we are constantly filling in orders for design projects across television programmes, music videos and advertisements. Working across different media and with different artistes/celebrities/concepts help Eleni and I stay fresh constantly fresh. Coming up with new ideas and finding solutions for different projects have enabled us to work with different colours, and textures. These new concepts and textures will in turn organically traverse across into our latest bridal collection to further meet the changing needs of modern brides. These new elements, you might call our inspirations.

You make your gowns in Australia. What does this add to the gown?

Our couture gowns are currently made in Australia. We make it in house and its 30% hand-made and hand finished. Since all brides are not the same we do not treat couture like manufactured goods on a production line. Our bridal clients constantly re-iterate that they want an individual gown, a bridal gown that expresses their unique and intrinsic qualities. We design and make each gown in house so that we can fully realize each gown’s potential, this enables our gown to meet the bride’s vision.

What other services do you offer the Australian bride? Do you suggest or supply accessories for your brides?

We have a made to order bridal and brides maids shoe collection and we make head pieces, cummerbunds and veils for the bride.

Do you find that brides still favour a white dress, or are soft colours becoming more popular?

We get a lot of orders for ivory and white gowns. Since we designed Julie Sebastian’s Gown, we have been inundated with orders for dresses with our signature floral details. Our brides are very excited to learn that their bridal gown can be detailed with bouquets of hand-made fabric flowers in a variety of shapes, textures and colours. When applied artfully, floral arrangements on gowns can illustrate the gown beautifully adding visual interests and individuality. These floral arrangements and colour combinations are never the same for each bride as they are customized to suit the needs and requests of each individual. We find this thrilling to create and our clients find the whole journey most enchanting and memorable.

Do you have a ‘special look’ that sets you apart from other wedding dress designers?

We are very well known for our drape collections and our floral details. When we first started we used to offer the three hours drape and dress service, where a client can walk in and get a dress made in three hours and we drape it on her. Our business grew and the draping method evolved and now we are well known for our contemporary drape collections. Some clients think our drape collection is reminiscent of vintage style dressing. This may be because we employ a draping technique made famous by Parisian couturier: Vionnet. In the twenties, Vionnet had a fashion house draping goddess like dresses for clients and celebrities alike.

What inspires you about Australian women/brides?

Australian women are confident. When working with Australian brides, we find it quite interesting to learn about their specific needs and interests. Different brides from different cultural heritage may request for specific details or textures. This keeps our design house busy with new requests all the time.

What is your number one tip for brides?

When shopping for a gown or a service, do your research, decide what you want and how much you want to spend before you walk in. Being decisive helps you get past all the noise and reach your bridal vision with ease and confidence.

What bridal trends do you see in the future?

I think we will see more options in textures in bridal dresses and detailing. Bridesmaids dresses will also be a part of this evolution.

Thank you for joining us today Roderick! To see more of the work of Roderick and the Weddings by Master/Slave team, visit the website.

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