Sacha & Mick

I love a gorgeous Summer wedding, especially in one of Melbourne’s most loved venues and then when you throw in romantic touches and a wedding planned together by the couple, down to the finest detail. It tells a story that feels whole and full of love. Which really, is what it’s all about.

Sacha kicks off the day with how they met. “When I was at university, I remember reading in a trashy magazine that most women meet their future partners when at tertiary education. I turned to my best friend and said “Well, what if you have already met him, but he’s with someone else?”

Mick and I met at university, studying media. During one boring lecture, a friend of mine asked me if I would be keen to produce a film that this guy Mick had written, and I agreed. The film was a bit of a disaster, and we had to spend a record amount of hours editing it into something watchable. (We have watched it since, and “watchable” isn’t one of the adjectives we’d now use). Mick and I spent a lot of time together. From the minute we met, it felt like we just knew each other already. But he had a girlfriend. So we remained friends.

A few years went by and Mick and I worked on every film together. We spent hours in the editing suites at night, eating awful sandwiches and laughing as we cut films together. We went out with our group of friends and celebrated birthdays with group holidays down the coast. I remember watching Mick and the way he looked at me, his eyes studying my face, and I knew he felt the same connection. He talks now about a time we were in the photography darkroom, changing film in pitch blackness, and how he could feel the energy between us. Our friends were always commenting on it. Our parents say they had even noticed. But he was in a relationship and by then so was I. We were friends, and it was just one of those things.

A few years later, filled with solo travel, lots more films and both our relationships over, I was around at Mick’s place one night to watch a film. We’d had a few moments over the past month that had made me realise that Mick was thinking about acting on that connection of ours. As he walked me out to the car quite late, he lent over and tried to kiss me. In a flurry of panic and awkwardness, I abruptly got into my car (nearly slamming him in the face with the car door) and drove off, totally confused. What was he thinking? We’d been friends for 5 years! We would ruin our friendship forever. I drove home listening to Radiohead’s “You’re All I Need”, and I realised I was being a total idiot. I turned around and met him on the footpath outside his house. And we shared a proper kiss. And that was that!

It’s been 5 years since then. We moved in together, changed career paths into teaching, got engaged, moved to the country and adopted a totally adorable terror of a puppy called Gus.”

Love, Katie & Sarah captured the wedding a chic and fun style.

For her wedding day look, Sacha recalls, “Dana and Poppy from Lady Day (and now Kenny And The Sunshine Girls salon) did the hair and makeup for Sacha, her mother Sandy and some girlfriends. They were relaxed and friendly and made us look gorgeous and natural. My dress was from Karen Willis Holmes. I had no idea where to start looking for a dress, and I spotted the Rachel dress online. It was the only dress I found online that I really loved, and when I put it on it was just gorgeous. Karen Willis Holmes was the only bridal shop I went into where I just loved every dress. The girls working there were fabulous, especially Sarah who did all my fittings.”

Sacha and Mick chose to meet before the ceremony, Sacha remembering, “We wanted to have our first look somewhere that meant something to us. We lived together in Fairfield for 3 years before we moved to Ballarat, so the Fairfield Boathouse made perfect sense. We used to go there for walks and picnics and Mick used to kayak up the river on weekends. It has a lovely Australian native bush look, quite different to the Convent.”

“We decided really early on to have a first look and it was the best decision. We got to spend a few hours together just soaking everything in and once the ceremony was over we could celebrate with everyone without disappearing for more photos.”

The flowers on the day were styled by Fowler’s Flowers . Sacha remarking “Fowler’s Flowers were our florists and they were incredible. They turned up on the day with a van full of flowers and just filled the room with gorgeous, summery blooms.”

Of their photographers, Sacha says, “We had both met Katie of Love Katie + Sarah when she had starred in one of our films many moons ago. We both are into photography and finding great photographers was our number one priority. We met them both for a drink and booked our venue based on when Katie and Sarah were available. They are amazing photographers and just great people to hang out with, wandering the gardens and taking photos in the sun on your wedding day! They also set up their photobooth for us which everyone loved.”

Sacha and Mick held their ceremony and reception at Abbotsford Convent. “A few summers ago, we’d been out to see a film at the Abbotsford Convent with some friends. As we wandered back out late at night once the film ended, we could hear music and people laughing. We turned the corner and saw people celebrating a wedding in the Rosina courtyard. They invited us in and we spent a moment just looking at everyone dancing under the string lanterns. It was gorgeous. When we were looking for a venue, it was an easy decision!”

For the walk down the aisle, Sacha chose ‘To Build A Home’ by the Cinematic Orchestra.

Jon Von Goes married the couple. “When we asked Katie and Sarah about a celebrant who didn’t talk about love being a circle like a ring or anything else too sentimental, they recommended John immediately. John Van Goes is a hilarious, astute character who made everyone feel welcome and involved. He set the tone as a fun and relaxed party.”

“We were really determined to make our wedding entertaining and fun for our family and friends. Our family were so keen to pitch in and help, which we are so grateful for. The bunting around the courtyard was made by Kerryn, Mick’s mother. Kerryn is a fantastic quilter and she recently got me into quilting! She spent hours looking for gorgeous fabrics in a summery palette, as we didn’t want any sort of colour theme. It looked so festive on the day and she is now making it into a wedding quilt for us.”

“We did all the planning for the wedding together, from the invitations to music. The only thing that I did without Mick was buying my wedding dress. We were creating this whole day together, and we wanted our friends to wear whatever they wanted and have an awesome time, and not be posing for photos in dresses that didn’t suit them. We still involved our closest friends and family in lots of ways, such as holding the rings, being witnesses or reading during the ceremony. So for us, it made sense that we didn’t have a bridal party.”

“We also created the “You’re All I Need” backdrop, which we’re now using as art work in our house, and the table numbers using the same twine and nails technique.”

The wedding was catered by Bursaria.

“One of the biggest jobs were the individual badges, which had each guest’s name and a little phrase to introduce them to other people. We spent hours brainstorming for each badge and then Mick put all the designs together. They were made into badges by Kyle from cheapestbuttonsnet on Etsy.”

Guests received handmade jam as favors, Mick remarks, “Sandy, Sacha’s mum, is an amazing cook and loves preserving and making jam. In fact, all of the Fowler’s jars for the flower arrangements are her preserving jars! We knew our friends would love her jam as the bonbonniere. Sandy and Ivan, Sacha’s parents, went to a berry farm on a 38 degree day to pick organic berries for the jam. Sandy then cooked up the jam and we spent an afternoon putting on the labels and fabric tops, with scones and tea for refreshments! Sandy also decorated the cake, with flowers from our florist and her own garden.”

“Instead of a traditional guestbook, we created cards for each guest to fill out that had some sentence starters such as, “A memory I have of Sacha & Mick is..” and “Tonight, I have enjoyed…” and then we made some pinboards with twine and pegs for these cards to be pegged onto throughout the night so everyone could read them.”

“To keep everyone entertained during reception, we made some trivia cards featuring our puppy as “Triviamaster Gus” with general knowledge questions in three categories – Mick’s Choice, Sacha’s Choice and Gus’s Choice.”

Family tradition played a role in the speeches, Mick recalling, “One of our favourite moments in the wedding was Sacha’s parents’ speech. It is a running joke in Sacha’s family that her mum brings out a daggy musical cake splade for every birthday, that plays a few songs, including a tinny version of happy birthday. During Sacha parents’ speech, they announced they were presenting the newlyweds with a family heirloom. We were both so confused as my brother came out with this beautifully wrapped box. However, once we opened it, we realised it was the musical cake splade, and as everyone was laughing Dad announced we could now press the “wedding song” button we’d never had opportunity to use.”

Of their first dance, Sacha recalls, “We decided to make up our first dance by ourselves, even though we are not dancers in any way, shape or form. We chose “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)” by Marvin Gaye. We watched lots of videos online and then spent many summer afternoons practicing the dance in our backyard, as our living room was too tiny, singing the words together, laughing until we were in tears as we made up ridiculous moves or stepped on each other’s feet. On the night, our dance wasn’t the smoothest performance, but we found ourselves singing along and grinning, just as we had for the past few weeks.”

“At the very end of the night, we went out into the courtyard and danced together under the lanterns. It was such a joyful moment.”

Congratulations Sacha and Mick! Thank you for sharing your story with us! Thank you to Love, Katie & Sarah for sharing today’s wedding with us!