Julia and Nathan

Melbourne, how is it that you just manage to produce such effortless, stylish looking weddings? I love the celebration of Julia and Nathan. So completely beautiful but with no pretentiousness, just relaxation!

Bride Julia kicks off the story. “Nathan and I met at a mutual friend’s 21st. We both remember how easily the conversation flowed and how we felt as if we had known each other for years. That night we talked about everything and anything and realised that we shared many common interests including our passion for travel. Unfortunately my night was cut short when I slipped over and cut my hand (requiring stitches). Although we had only just met, Nathan looked after me which turned out to be the perfect precursor for his career as he is now a paramedic.”

Louisa Bailey captured today’s wedding with effortless, understated elegance!

The day kicked off with a few sneaky bets. Julia says “Our wedding was on Caulfield Cup Day and there was a horse “A Time For Julia” in the first race. Nathan placed a bet without me knowing and it won!” Even the couple’s dog got in on the wedding action.

Julia wore a gown by Anna Campbell. She remembers “The girls at Anna Campbell were wonderful deal with, creating a dress that I absolutely loved.”

Julia carried a bouquet styled by Flower Jar, attached to it was her Nan’s brooch.

Julia and Nathan held their wedding on the ground of the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV). Julia recalls “Both the ceremony and reception were held at the National Gallery of Victoria. The ceremony was in the Grollo Equiset Garden at NGV and the reception was in the Persimmon Restaurant overlooking the garden. NGV was the first and only venue that we looked at. As we had lots of guests traveling from interstate we wanted a venue which typified Melbourne. We loved that NGV had a beautiful secluded garden in heart of Melbourne’s CBD. We also loved the idea of having both the ceremony and reception at the one location, allowing our guests to relax with canapes and drinks while we had our photos.:

For the processional, Julia tells, “I walked down the aisle to Somewhere over the Rainbow by Israel Kamakawiwo’ole. My dad walked me half way down the aisle. I was then met by my Mum and they both walked me the rest of the way to Nathan. It was really special to have them both walk me down the aisle.”

“During the ceremony Nathan whispered to me he needed a tissue. I got one from my mum sitting close by. Everyone laughed when instead of using it myself I handed it to Nathan.”

“Monique was professional, personable and relaxed. Nathan found this particularly helpful before the wedding to calm those pre wedding jitters before I walked down the aisle.”

The groom and groomsmen woreTed Baker while Julia’s bridesmaid wore a pale pink Sass and Bide gown.

Of their photographer, Julia says, “We feel so lucky that we had Louisa Bailey as our photographer. She was absolutely lovely to deal with and made us feel completely relaxed. Both of our families absolutely loved having her around. Even our dog Trevor didn’t scare her off and we ended up with hundreds of beautiful photos. Both Nathan and I couldn’t recommend Louisa highly enough.”

Persimmon at NGV hosted the reception, Julia noting, “Kelly Newton and her team at Peter Rowland were great to deal with. They were extremely professional and made organising a wedding very easy. The food and wine was fantastic and the whole night ran very smoothly.”

Julia and Nathan chose a different reception setup. Julia says, “To create a relaxed wedding reception we didn’t have a bridal table. Instead we had long tables and sat amongst our guests – to create a spring time feel we had all different types and colours of flowers arranged in different sized square vases. Our guests were then invited to take the flowers home at the end of the night. Angie from Flower Jar was fantastic to deal with. The room looked amazing and I still remember walking in for the first time. It was everything I imagined and more. Beautiful bright colours filling every table.”

Sweetest Jubilee created the delicious looking cake. Julia remarking “Breanna and Jenny were absolutely lovely to deal with. The cake looked fantastic and tasted even better. Our lucky guests got to take an individually boxed cake home as their wedding favours”

There wasn’t much DIY, however there was one element the bride and groom lent their hand to. Julia explains, “We relied mainly on our fantastic suppliers to create our dream wedding. We did however have a polaroid camera for guests to take snaps of themselves. Our guests then placed these in our guest book (from Lorgie and Me ), along with a message. Our guests loved the polaroid camera and the photos and messages got funnier as the night wore on!”

For their first dance. Julia recalls, “Our first dance wasn’t really a dance, it was more of a two step shuffle! We did have one dance lesson, however I think that we both knew that it was a lost cause and didn’t return. Although I was extremely nervous about our first dance, it ended up being one of the special moments we will always remember. We danced to a cover of ‘This will be our year’ by one of our favourite bands the Foo Fighters.”

Congratulations Julia and Nathan! Thank you for sharing your wedding day with us! Thank you to Louisa Bailey for sharing today’s wedding with us!