Lydia & Greg

There is something truly on another level when it comes to the work of artists, and for Lydia and Greg, they found their dream venue in a temporary Brisbane art gallery. “We wanted our wedding to be an intimate and relaxed celebration, that made us and our guests feel comfortable. We didn’t have a theme in mind but knew we wanted it to be a little different to what we had been seeing around, and in my mind, I knew that would come down to finding the perfect venue.” And with the venue found, and photographer Janneke Storm booked, they wed, they drank, they ate and they celebrated with their very favourite people amongst the incredible artwork of David Bromley. Today? We get to share how their story unfolded!

It was on a night out at a Brisbane bar that Lydia first saw Greg. “We met way back in 2008 at a bar in Brisbane. I was there with some friends when I saw this cute boy with a group of his mates. I kept looking over at him but he didn’t seem to get the hint and come over to me! Later I walked past the group, and he stopped me and we started talking. We went on a date later the week and the rest is history!”

And then, many years later, Greg decided a trip to Japan was the ideal time to pop the question, but at the very last minute? he changed his mind! Lydia explains. “We had a trip to Japan planned in January 2017 and little did I know Greg was going to propose while we were in Tokyo. However, he was worried I would find the ring and spontaneously proposed one morning between Christmas and New Years! It was actually really special as he did it in our home, which we had been renovating. We kept the secret of being newly engaged to ourselves for the morning to before letting our nearest and dearest know later that day.”

Lydia, a graphic designer, designed the wedding stationery herself.

After an unexpected “change” the bride chose an elegant, midi length gown from Manning Cartell and finished her look with jewels by Natasha Schweitzer. She tells “I was envisioning an elegant white dress with crisp lines for our wedding. With five months to go, I still hadn’t found one I loved when I popped into Myer and there it was – the perfect Toni Maticevski ‘Riveting Dress’! I FaceTimed my Mum from the change room so she could see it and bought it straight away.

Then, a couple of months before our big day we found out we were pregnant! Something we had been wanting, but not expecting, to happen until after the wedding. This meant my beautiful, slim fitting dress was no longer an option so I had to begin the search again. My big requirement for the dress was that it needed to hide my growing bump as I wasn’t ready to let people know quite yet, and was lucky to find a beautiful cotton lace, Manning Cartel dress. It was completely different from my original choice and I had to make up a story about why I changed it to the people I had described it to.”

Lydia and Greg chose the art-filled venue of The Bromley Room for their wedding. “The Bromley Room was going to be temporary space, open only for a year, at the West Village development in West End” explains Lydia. “The building was once the Peter’s Ice Cream factory, and the cavernous, industrial space was filled with art by Bromley & Co. Nothing was too precious, with paintings and sculptures in every corner, murals painted on the walls and floors, together with vintage furniture and objects. It provided the different feel we were wanting from our venue.

We didn’t want our guests to have the hustle of moving between venues and the large area allowed for the separate ceremony and reception spaces. One of my requirements was also to have a venue where we could have our photos taken on site or very close by, again to simplify the day and take away unnecessary stress.

While our photos were taken, we held a cocktail hour so guests could enjoy the amazing art and atmosphere of The Bromley Room. Our wedding was held on the second last weekend before it closed… until The Bromley Room #2 opened its doors recently.”

“The venue was extremely important to the overall feel of the day and making our wedding a little different. We had been having difficulty finding somewhere that felt just right. I’d looked at many venues and parks around Brisbane and, at locations from Byron Bay to Maleny. I had actually found the ideal property but it only catered to elopements and small weddings up to around 20 guests, so I was feeling quite disheartened and not sure what we were going to do. Then out of the blue, I received an invitation to a corporate event that was being held at The Bromley Room – a quick google later and I had booked a meeting with their event team to see it!

The bride walked down the aisle on the arm of her parents to “Razor Love” by Neil Young, a hard choice! She remembers “Choosing a song was a really difficult decision as we don’t have a particular song that’s ours! We ended up selecting ‘Razor Love’ by Neil Young, a song I have liked for a while. I asked both my Dad and Mum walked down the aisle with me. They have been married for 37 years and my role models for a strong marriage. It was so special to have them both by my side.”

Lydia and Greg chose Lorraine Wright Marriage Celebrant to officiate their ceremony, sharing “After 10-years together we wanted the ceremony to feel romantic while being comfortable and relaxed.

We included two readings in our ceremony. The first written by Cuff Cooper in 1918, from the book “Love Letters of Great Men – Volume 1’as it expressed our thoughts about love and was read by one of my sisters. The second ‘Foundations of Marriage’ by Regina Hill was read by our celebrant.”

“One small detail I loved was the ‘Warming of the wedding rings’. During the ceremony, our wedding rings were placed in a small pouch and passed around to each guest to make a wish for us for our marriage. We also love that we wrote our own vows. They were heartfelt and made the ceremony that little bit more special as we shared stories about why we love one another, with our family and friends.”

That very special secret that caused the bride to change her dress? One of their favourite parts of the day! “We loved having our ‘secret guest’ (now 4-month-old daughter!) with us on the day. Although I was trying to hide the bump, most people suspected something as my tummy was looking rounder than usual!”

“As soon as Greg proposed I knew I wanted Janneke Storm to be our photographer!” tells Lydia of their choosing Janneke Storm to capture their day. “I’d seen her work on Instagram and loved her photojournalistic style. She really made us feel at ease and captured the most beautiful, natural shots of us and our loved ones.”

“I adore the portrait photos of Greg and I taken on the rooftop of The Bromley Room. It had actually been raining on and off throughout the day so the ground was wet and the sky was grey, providing beautiful subtle lighting” reminisces Lydia.

The couple chose Hendra Flower Market to work with them on the floral details for the day. “I knew I wanted whites and foliage for the flowers, for that relaxed and natural feel.

My bouquet was a mix of ivory roses with white strawflowers, carnations and wax flowers, and foliage including grey gum and Brisbane wattle. The stem was kept natural with a small section wrapped in a white satin ribbon” shares the bride.

“The aisle was lined with a combination gum, Eucalyptus and Brisbane wattle foliage, giving the air had a delicate scent. Every time I catch the smell of those now, it takes me back to our ceremony.

At the reception, we had a mixture of the same foliage laid down the centre of each long table along with small vases of flowers similar to my bouquet.”

Back at The Bromley Room guests enjoyed the beautiful art, before sitting down for a dinner reception, Lydia noting “I love looking at how all the small details come together to contribute the overall atmosphere.

We didn’t use a wedding planner, instead, I worked with all the vendors to plan and style the wedding. From selecting the furniture and creating the floor plan for the space, to designing the stationery I looked at each piece to see how it would all come together.

There’s no denying it was a lot of work however I was over the moon with the final result!”

And the reception dream team? Caxton St Catering whipped up the feast, while guests sat at tables (and on chairs!) from Hampton Event Hire. “Caxton St Catering did a wonderful job with the menu” tells Lydia. “Our manager, Scott, was amazing – his professionalism made me feel at ease as soon as we met and we knew our day would be in safe hands.

Hampton Event Hire was really easy to work and had a lot of lovely furniture that was different from what others have to offer, which really worked in our venue.”

Lydia and Greg skipped everything they didn’t want – they kept their reception informal with no first dance, and just a handful of speeches.

A big congratulations to you both Lydia and Greg! Thank you for the time you took sharing your wedding day stories with us. A big thank you to Janneke Storm for today’s stunning images.