Dee & Sol

Marrying by the water in Geelong, Dee and Sol chose a traditional feel for their day with a modern edge. The venue, filled with glass floor to ceiling windows overlooked the stormy, grey bay setting a moody tone for the day captured by Byron Loves Fawn.

Dee recalls the story of how she and Sol came to be. “Sol and I met at the end of 2006 at the Safeway Christmas party. I had just moved to Geelong from Echuca to study law at Deakin University. Sol worked in the produce department and I started working in the deli. To clarify, our meeting didn’t end up being a typical trashy Christmas party hook up. We started talking at the bar that night which led to a few movie and date nights afterwards and eventually our wedding!”

Dee and Sol made their own invitations and stationery, Dee telling, “Our wedding was very much a DIY effort. Our wedding invitations were designed and made by us. They featured a sketched picture of the front of The Pier and the ‘shark fins’. We also water coloured each invitation as a subtle nod to our very slight beach feel wedding, without getting all seahorse and starfishy.”

Sarah from Esaje Makeup & Beauty and the bride’s sister styled the girls’ hair and makeup. Dee telling, “A friend from high school, Sarah from Esaje Makeup and Beauty did our makeup and my hairdresser sister-in-law Amy (and her friend Amy!) did our hair. It was great being able to get ready with both Sarah and Amy and I cannot thank them enough, made it so much more personal.” While getting ready she donned a Plum Pretty Sugar robe.

Dee chose a Vera Wang White Collection from David’s Bridal gown with silver shoes from Joanne Mercer. Her sentimental touches paid homage to her history and heritage, Dee explaining, ” My something old, new, borrowed and blue was sewn onto the inside of my wedding dress. It featured an antique ring of my grandmother’s and a ring borrowed from my mum, sewn onto a big blue bow. I also changed into a red reception dress to acknowledge my Chinese heritage.”

“Sol surprised me on the morning of the wedding by having my bridesmaid, Felicity give me a handwritten note for me to read before walking down the aisle. Cue ugly crying face. The note was so sweet and even had my bridesmaids in tears just watching me read it!”

Dee and Sol held their wedding at The Pier Geelong. Dee telling, “At the time of booking our wedding, we didn’t realise it was Easter Saturday but it all worked out in the end! Some guests were pleased with the Good Friday day off! We had both our ceremony and the reception at The Pier Geelong in the Lillias Room (and Terrace) which has had a significant transformation since its Smorgy’s days! It is now a beautifully light filled space, overlooking the Geelong bay.”

The team at The Pier were wonderful, even leading the bride and groom to the backdrop they hired from Igby Productions for their ceremony. Dee telling, “Amelia and the staff from The Pier were also wonderful. Amelia was so patient with answering our many questions and the staff on the night ensured everyone was looked after. We hired our backdrop through Igby Productions after seeing it displayed in The Pier during its open day!”

Dee remembers, “I walked down the aisle to ‘Deciphering Me’ by Brooke Fraser. I had introduced Brooke Fraser (this song in particular) to Sol early in our relationship and her music became staple background music for us at home.”

Nicole Penning  married the couple, Dee telling, “Our celebrant, Nicole Penning was fantastic. When we met her we immediately clicked with her warm personality and smile. She made the whole ceremony organisation process so easy and her approach was complimented on by many of our guests. Also, the setup of our wedding was flawless.”

Dee’s bridesmaids wore apricot coloured gowns from ASOS. Poppies Florist styled the floral arrangements for the day.

Of their photographers, Dee tells, “Our photographers, Brett and Kristie from Byron Loves Fawn photography were AMAZING. We cannot thank them enough for being so lovely and for giving us stunning photos to look back on. Brett and Kristie have this aura of calm that just follows them around which definitely shows through their photos. By the end of the day we truly felt like we’d just spent the day with friends taking beautiful photos.”

“After our wedding at The Pier Geelong, we went to the Geelong Botanical Gardens and the Barwon Heads bridge for our bridal photos. We were truly blessed with the weather, no rain until we got into the reception!”

Celebrations continued back at the The Pier Geelong, along with the help of wedding planner Girl Friday Weddings. Dee telling, “From day one, we knew we didn’t want to have to worry about a thing on our wedding day so we handed it all over to Jodie of Girl Friday Weddings. She was so professional and oversaw everything to perfection. Having someone take over the week of your wedding to confirm your vendors, make a detailed schedule and even make some suggestions which you’d never think of, was invaluable. When we walked into our ceremony and reception we were floored by the result; it was exactly how we imagined everything.”

A four tiered wedding cake was decorated with fresh blooms, Dee telling “Our cake was made by Sonia of Loveit Cakes, which was a delicious four layer mud cake of white chocolate, jaffa, orange poppy seed and dark chocolate.”

Most of the decor was organised by the couple, Dee explaining “The biggest DIY task was the jar candles which we had placed on the floor, lining the windows in the terrace. Our poor family spent months collecting jars which I then filled with wax. We also collected large interesting shaped jars and placed pillar candles inside. The result was a beautiful candle lit terrace, definitely worth the effort!”

“After booking The Pier, we tried to work out how we wanted to style our wedding. We then realised The Pier was stunning on its own and we therefore went with a minimalist approach. We bought silver industrial style lanterns which lined the aisle, which then went onto the tables surrounded by the most beautiful floral wreaths by Shannon at Poppies Florist and small silver mercury votives.”

For their first dance, performed by band Mayfair Drive,  Dee tells, “Our first dance was to ‘Without You’, also by Brooke Fraser. It has the sweetest lyrics and represents exactly how we feel for each other. There was no choreographed dance, we simply wanted to enjoy our first dance together, talking and laughing, which was exactly what we did. Our wonderful band, Sam and Ben of Mayfair Drive kindly learnt ‘Daughters’ by John Mayer for the father/daughter dance which was such a special moment to share with my Dad.”

Congratulations on your marriage Dee and Sol! Thank you for sharing your day with us! Thank you also to Girl Friday Weddings and Byron Loves Fawn for sharing today’s wedding with us!