Tilly and Dylan
Tilly and Dylan chose a modern industrial Melbourne wedding to celebrate their nuptials. Their casual backyard ceremony – complete with the bride in a blue dress was followed by a reception in an industrial style studio. The vibe suited the couple perfectly who worked with John Joseph Possemato to capture their wedding day.
The newlyweds kick off their wedding story with the memories of how they met. “We met through a mutual friend. No special story really; she’d just come back from Spain, he was out with a friend for a drink. Our paths crossed and straight away we could tell there was something there. We had our first date the following weekend and the rest, as they say, is history.”
In her hair, Tilly wore a very special pearl necklace – a gift from Dylan’s grandmother for Dylan to gift to the girl he married.
The bride wore a beautiful blue gown by Rebecca Schoneveld from The Bridal Atelier. She remembers, “I knew exactly what I was looking for: silk, 1930s style, backless. I must have trawled through the website of every bridal store in Australia to no avail until finally I just googled what I wanted. To my delight, I found a perfect dress on the website of a designer from NY. It seemed quite prophetic as we’re planning on moving to NY and my ring is from NY.
This designer had ONE international stockist…who happened to be in Australia 50 metres from the place I work! Clearly, it was meant to be! They didn’t have the exact style I wanted in stock but they got it sent over and I tried it and ordered it in the most divine blue silk. I didn’t want to get married in white as I don’t like the tradition it represents. Besides, blue is my favourite colour. It seemed like a no-brainer. I was so thrilled with the final product. I couldn’t have been happier.”
Dylan and Tilly met before the ceremony so they could enter the ceremony together. Tilly notes, “We chose to enter the ceremony hand in hand. We don’t like the tradition of the bride being given away. It represents the woman as a piece of property being handed from father to husband. There is something beautiful and loving about a father escorting his daughter down the aisle too, part of me was sad not to do it but I couldn’t get over the underlying historical meaning. We wanted to begin our marriage as equals so I said sorry Dad! I still love you!”
The couple married in the courtyard of Tilly’s stepmother’s home. Tilly and Dylan chose Elyjah MacLeod to officiate the vows, the newlyweds remembering, “Our courtyard ceremony was beautiful. We were surrounded by blooming flowers and drenched in the afternoon sunlight. Tilly’s mum made us an arch out of vines and branches into which she wove leaves and flowers. We married underneath it. It was very special.”
“We wanted a wedding that was truly ours and represented us. We aren’t religious and wanted every aspect of the day to reflect us and our values. The dress code was “Whatever makes you feel awesome”. There wasn’t a theme per se; it was simply a day for us, tailored by us, featuring as many of our amazing friends and family we could have there so we could celebrate our love with loved ones.”
“We made sure that in the legal part of the ceremony where the celebrant has to read the bit about marriage being between a man and a woman, we included this passage: “While Dylan and Tilly recognize that currently, marriage is only between a man and a woman, they look forward to a time when this is no longer the case.” We included a Celtic ring-binding ceremony in which, prior to exchanging rings, they were put in a silk bag and passed around everyone present at the ceremony to hold and charge with their own prayers and well-wishes.”
Of their photographer, Tilly and Dylan note, “John was an absolute dream. He was exactly the sort of person you want to share your wedding day with. We got ready at home, just the two of us and John was there for every moment. He even helped Dylan tie his bow-tie and teared up when we did the big reveal! He is an incredibly loving, beautiful soul and were we so so lucky that he was our photographer.”
“I am very crafty so we did a lot for the wedding. I made the seating chart and little place cards for the tables. We made fairy-light chandeliers. All the tables were covered in tea-light candles inside a variety of mismatched op-shop glasses. For vases, we used passata jars. We made the invites ourselves too.”
Tilly and Dylan chose Raw Materials Studio for their reception, noting, “We looked at wineries but we decided against bringing friends and families out of the city as it may cause restrictions on who could come etc. So we started looking (in the) inner city and came across Raw Materials Studio. They were such an absolute pleasure to deal with and helped create exactly the kind of vibe we wanted.”
“When we entered the reception we played “Happy Together” by the Turtles. This is the song Dylan used at his surprise flash-mob proposal! It’s a bit silly and irreverent but also very sweet and full of enthusiasm and fun. Like us!”
“Amongst our favourite parts was the decision that no matter what happened, no matter where or when it took place, or who did or didn’t come – by the end of the day we would be husband and wife, and we will have people all around us who love us very much. So with that, we had an incredibly calm and pleasant preparation and a wedding day and night that was nothing but joyous.”
“We didn’t have a first dance. After the speeches concluded and everyone had their fill of food, we just cranked the tunes and boogied the night away with everyone else.”
Congratulations on your marriage Tilly and Dylan! Thank you for sharing your day with us! Thank you also to John Joseph Possemato for sharing today’s wedding!
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