Emma met and became friends with Vic and Lee in the Philippines while travelling and arranged to meet up with them again in Melbourne at a music event. Unfortunately, or fortunately as is turned out, they couldn’t make it having decided to stay on in Vietnam and instead put Emma in touch with Jack. They both did a little Facebook stalk before meeting up and decided they weren’t interested romantically, but both now agree that this all changed the moment they sat down together in that bar in Melbourne. They became inseparable from that night on. “Jack made me laugh so much and had such a good energy, I just wanted to be around him all the time,” Emma says. Jack proposed in April 2021. He dragged Emma out of the house on one of the last nice days of autumn to watch the sunset. “I’d been at home with the kids all day and was pretty shattered, but he convinced me,” Emma remembers. “We went to Williamstown beach and Jack laid out a picnic blanket while I chased our eldest around who in turn was running after a stranger’s dog!” She had absolutely no idea what was about to happen and couldn’t believe it when he got down on one knee and pulled out a magnificent engagement ring. She first checked whether he’d asked her dad first, and when he replied that he had, she reacted without further hesitation: “Yes!” Jack had been saving for the ring without Emma’s knowledge and had designed it himself. Before long the date for the big day was set for 28th July 2023. Join us as the bride tells us all about it... SETTING THE SCENE The two decided on a city vibe for their big day, so St George’s Hall provided the perfect backdrop for them. “It’s such a stunning building with so much character and history,” Emma explains. The “I dos” were followed by celebrations in The Parlour at the super-cool Baltic Hotel. A vintage red bus collected Jack and the boys, as well as some family and friends, taking them to St George’s Hall for the ceremony and later onto The Baltic Hotel. Meanwhile, Emma and her bridal party jumped into a Liverpool cab: “No frills, just cool,” she says. “We chose not to have a table plan as we wanted people to feel relaxed and be free to mingle as they pleased,” Emma explains. Instead, they put out a sign which read: ‘You won’t find a seating plan here today, your place is on the dancefloor.’ For the couple, the day was all about good music and dancing the night away! Emma made all the dried floral centrepieces for the tables, sourcing a variety of different vintage glass vases from charity shops and a kind tree surgeon friend provided the wood slices to sit them on. These were finished with some tea lights and mini mirror balls to suit the vibe. “I had in mind vintage romance with an industrial disco edge!” Emma shares. Aside from the centrepieces, the stunning florals were created by the talented Jess at Stix and Stems. They kept to the dried and preserved flowers idea, so Jess ran with this for the bride’s bouquet, the bridesmaids’ and buttonholes. They all featured a mix of white and brown pampas grass, with dark eucalyptus to complement the bridesmaids’ dresses, sage green dried corn to tie in with the groom and best man, and subtle hint of burnt orange throughout. “They were simply stunning, we couldn’t have wished for better,” Emma remembers. Mimi Belle Events created the dancefloor backdrop – “I was obsessed with the ‘Until Death do us Party’ neon sign from the moment I saw it on Pinterest. It just sums us up,” Emma shares. Mimi Belle brought it all together with more dried pampas, disco balls and neutral balloons. Further venue styling was a blend of DIY thanks to Jack who made the wood decor boxes and welcome sign; and complements of the venue and its industrial stripped back brick walls and fairylights. The big-day bake was made by a friend, who gifted it along with some cupcakes as a wedding present. “She nailed the brief topping each cupcake with a tiny pampas bunny tail and a sprinkle of disco balls on top REAL WEDDINGS 25
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