Kristy & Nazim

If you’ve ever wondered how to make a city wedding lush and romantic, this is the celebration to bookmark! With an industrial reception venue in the heart of Perth and epic floral arrangements of moody and dark tulips, orchids and glossy leaves, we have fallen in love with every story from this day. Photographer Peggy Saas captured every detail.

Although meeting at a young age, in the beginning, affections were somewhat one sided. Kristy remembers, ”Naz and I first met in Year 8 but didn’t get together until 13 years later. While I’d always had a crush on Naz (this included asking him to show me his six-pack at the tender age of 13), he did not reciprocate my affections. I was a bit of a class clown and Naz was a shy, dedicated student. After I switched schools in year 10, we didn’t stay in touch but did maintain a mutual group of friends and, as luck would have it, when those friends got together one weekend in 2014, we both tagged along – that’s when we hit it off.” The bride and groom became engaged while on holidays one year later, Kristy sharing, ”One day we were chatting about how we knew we wanted to marry each other and decided to look for an engagement ring. It was such an exciting time because it was our little secret as we attended appointments to create this special piece together. Naz asked to be the only one informed when the ring was finished so that he could still plan a proposal. He even managed to catch me by surprise, getting down on one knee while we watched the sunset over the ocean on Nusa Lembongan, Indonesia.”

Surprising herself with her final dress choice, the bride explains, ”I didn’t want a big, white wedding and that really was my intention right down to the dress. I had this vision of myself floating down the aisle in something so effortlessly cool, lacy and a little bit boho. But I went to shop after shop and could not find something I felt truly special in or that flattered my figure. One of my bridesmaids suggested I try on this ridiculous, poofy princess dress ‘just for a laugh’ – because we all needed one to lighten the mood. I pointed to the first one I could see, and that is the dress I wore on my wedding day. I hate to admit it but I was a total cliche and in tears the moment I put on that beautiful gown with its heavenly layers of tulle forming a huge skirt and lavish lace detail all cinched at the waist. Brides-to-be, it is true what they say about ‘the feeling’ – trust it. I tried on a couple of others after that but nothing gave me those same butterflies. I went back and got it and even added a fingertip-length veil with a subtle beaded detail to match that of the dress. It was perfect and I adored wearing it on our big day. Also, I feel it would be remiss of me not to mention how amazing the staff at Tuscany Bridal were – fun, honest, patient and truly caring. They were the stand-out among the many bridal shops I visited and, importantly, they were never pushy just to make a sale.” The groom wore a navy three piece suit from Politix, in honour of his late father who wore a powder blue suit for his and the groom’s mother’s wedding.

Ceremony and reception were held at the same location in the city of Perth. Industrial and laden with rich flowers, Kristy shares, ”I knew more about what I didn’t want – which was a traditional big, white wedding – than what I did want. While I love to look at and go to those classic ceremonies and receptions, they just didn’t feel like us. When I went to our incredible stylist & planner, Travelling Jaspers, I said I loved bold, deep colours (particularly reds and pinks), a moody winter vibe, big florals and plenty of character. I really trusted her from there to pull together what she learnt about us and reflect that in the styling – and she nailed it.”

Being married by Candice Bydder, a friend and former journalist, made the ceremony even more special. The bride tells, ”Candice did such an incredible job at capturing us as well as our story and wove that into a really personal ceremony. As I write for a living, one thing I was really set on was that we write our own vows and I’m so glad we did because it gave us a chance to say everything straight from the heart in front of all our family and friends. It was an emotionally charged ceremony but there were still plenty of laughs. For me, it was really important to involve my mum Kerry throughout the day, so she spoke at the ceremony, reading a poem she picked that she thought represented our love. It was ‘One Hundred Love Sonnets: XVII’ by Pablo Neruda. I walked down the aisle to the acoustic version of ‘Latch’ by Sam Smith. My dad Peter walked me down the aisle, which was extraordinarily emotional and special because he is battling terminal cancer. I’ve tried many times since our wedding to articulate what that moment meant to me but I still can’t seem find the right words. All I can say is that I feel very lucky to have had him by my side on the happiest day of my life and it’s a memory I will treasure forever.”

Decadent flowers were a standout on the day. Kristy shares, ”Our super talented stylist and planner, Travelling Jaspers, was also our florist. We wanted to play off the gorgeous greenery that already existed throughout the venue and add splashes of bold reds and pinks. I loved the idea of hanging floral installations and Amber created three big beauties for us – all featuring lighting – in the reception area. For the ceremony she wove a mixture of leaves and flowers – including orchids and dark roses – through a black screen, which we stood in front of when we said our vows, and then she moved it upstairs and added neon ‘Just Married’ signage to feature behind our grazing table for the reception. She scattered red rose petals across the floor where we would stand at the ceremony. I gave Amber free rein over my bouquet – my only requirements were: make it big, make it bold and steer clear of traditional whites, soft pinks and rounded shapes. I loved her idea of giving the bridesmaids statement bouquets too. And, wow, did she deliver. I was in shock when she dropped the bouquets off on the morning of the wedding. A mixture of reds, black, pink and deep greens all tied together with ribbon and tassels for texture. Mine had a string of pink/purple orchids hanging down the front to set it apart.”

Photographer Peggy Saas captured the romantic day, and Kristy and Naz were thrilled with the results. The bride tells, ”We booked her for both our engagement party and our wedding. We loved her vibe – she was so warm and sweet, very relaxed and we loved her documentary style of shooting. Peggy blew us away with the stunning shots she captured at our engagement and we truly treasure them as they feature Naz’s dad Stephen, who passed away in 2017 before we got married. Having Peggy with us on our wedding day made us feel so comfortable because it was just like being photographed by an old friend. She made everything so easy and we never felt like we were being forced to do unnatural poses, she just let us and our bridal party be ourselves and captured that so wonderfully.”

Planning their wedding in the city of Perth while living elsewhere proved difficult, and the bride and groom were happy to rely on professionals they highly trusted. Kristy remembers, ”To be completely honest, I did not love wedding planning! Not only were we planning a wedding in Perth from Brisbane, but I also work long hours in a very stressful job, so I felt like I didn’t have the energy to pour all the creativity and organisation into the day that it demanded and deserved. That’s why having a stylist and planner was so important to us. Don’t get me wrong, I still had plenty of fun and excitement throughout the journey but I was more than happy to let a professional help take the pressure off. Major highlights for me were finding my dress and meeting Amber at the venue each time I was in town to talk details.”

Industrial, romantic and with plenty of space for both ceremony and reception, The Stables Bar fit the bill. The bride shares, ”We knew we wanted to be able to do both the ceremony and the reception in the one place and that we wanted that place to be full of character. We also knew we wanted to get married in the heart of Perth city, not only because we had guests travelling from interstate, but also because we knew when it came to photos, we weren’t the ‘take a stroll through the woods’ types. The Stables Bar was absolutely perfect. It’s this gorgeous space that was actually one of Perth’s original horse stables from 1894 and it features stunning iron gates, cobblestone and brick. Plus, they do amazing food. It was everything we could have ever dreamed of for our wedding venue.”

Overflowing with special moments, the wedding day was a beautiful celebration! Remembering a favourite moment, Kristy tells, ”By the end of the day, I was shoes off, sitting on the dirty pavement in my dress outside the venue waiting for an Uber to take us back to our hotel. My husband and I invited two of our closest friends back to our hotel room and we ordered McDonalds and all four of us ate it on the bed and laughed until the early hours of the morning. I just think it’s so funny that we spend all this time, effort and money on making everything perfect but you learn that it’s these silly moments with loved ones and a good burger that really matter.”

Family was honoured on the day, Kristy telling, ”Including my mum Kerry throughout the day was really important to me and I knew I wanted to do a mother-daughter dance. Part way through our first dance, Naz and I broke off and I danced with my dad while he danced with his mum. But, after the song ended, the others left while I stayed on the dance floor and the DJ introduced mum and we danced together to one of her favourite songs, ‘Angels’ by Robbie Williams. It was one of my favourite parts of the entire day.”

Humour also played a big role during Kristy and Nazim’s wedding. The bride remembers, ”We chose the song ‘A Whole New World’ from the Disney movie Aladdin thanks to a running joke between us that began the night we hit it off at the bar. After a few drinks, I decided to tell Naz that I thought he was the most beautiful man in the world and, in fact, I thought he looked a little bit like Aladdin. I ended up storing his number in my phone under the name ‘Nazladdin’ and the story has entertained our close friends and family ever since. We couldn’t wipe the smiles off our faces during the dance.”

The Auburn Hour Film Co. crafted up this stunning film of Kristy & Naz’s celebration!

Thank you to our gorgeous bride and groom for sharing your beautiful wedding day, and congratulations! Thank you also to Peggy Saas and The Auburn Hour Film Co. for your stunning images!