NICKI & BART'S BYRON BAY WEDDING

Photograph by Cassandra Ladru

Wedding Date: 29th November 2019

Nicki wears PJB Couture gown.

What was your wedding venue and why did you choose there?
Both ceremony and reception were held at The Orchard Estate in Byron Bay. We fell in love with the ceremony location the first time we saw it online, then seeing it in person we knew straight away we wanted to get married there.

Did you have a wedding theme/style?
I’m not sure if it was a theme, but if I had to put it into one it would be modern/boho luxe/romantic all mashed together.

How did you and your now Husband meet?
We met through mutual friends. They actually were trying to set us up for years before we actually started dating.

What is your proposal story?
Bart proposed on my birthday, because he thought if he had picked any other day, I would know something was up. He arranged for me to have the day off with my work, then took me for a ‘birthday’ picnic at whale beach and popped the question there.

How did you hear about Prea James Bridal?
I first met Prea when she was designing a custom dress for my cousin. The amount of effort and detail she thought about, as well as the fact that her face lit up every time she would come up with a new idea was something so special. When I first went to try dresses at a popular boutique in Sydney, I was instantly drawn to all of Prea’s dresses over the rest. I knew what I wanted in my head and I basically booked in a consultation with Prea the moment we left that boutique.

From where did you purchase your gown?
Directly from Prea’s studio in Wollongong.

What do you love most about the gown? 
I love that it was custom just for me. I love that nobody else would have the same dress. I love the thin straps, I love the fitted bodice, I love the beautiful silk she used. There’s actually not a single thing I didn’t love.

Are there any special details about your wedding that you would like to share?
We did the Persian wedding ceremony (Sofreh Aghd) which is a traditional ceremony practiced regardless of faith. It was something really special to my family and I think many of our guests or suppliers had ever seen anything like it.

Were there any details that you made yourselves?
I designed all the stationary myself in InDesign. From the invitations, to the menus, welcome sign etc. My family went through a lot of time and effort to create from scratch the ‘Sofreh Aghd’ which is the Persian wedding ceremony, some of the items were flown over with some family friends from the US. My bridesmaids and I put together the rose petal cones the night before

Finally, do you have any words of wisdom for couples planning their big day?|
Try to set a budget, then aim for 10% under that so you don’t blow it out if something comes in a little more expensive. Try not to get caught up in Pinterest too much, it’s great for ideas but you can really get stuck on there. Even though everyone tells you in the lead up, you won’t understand until you go through it yourself, but the day really does go in the blink of an eye. Make sure you enjoy it!

Wedding Vendors

Photographer: Cassandra Ladru
Cass was great to deal with on the day and in the leadup. She was always happy to chat if I had any questions. She made us feel at ease on the day and I’m so glad she got so many candid shots. We love our photos, we love her style and are so happy we went with her!

Videographer:  Bluu Media House see the video here
Could not speak more highly of Guillaume. He is honestly the best, he’s so chill and down to earth, and on top of that his videography is second to none. He’s not restricted to just weddings, so his videos aren’t just typical wedding videos. He’s so creative, and we trusted him probably more than any other vendor, and he was one we booked in pretty much straight away before we even had a date or venue.

Hair & Makeup: JDolls & Paula Maree Hair
These two are so sweet! I actually found them from each other’s Instagram’s, they do a lot of weddings and shoots together and it really makes a difference to the vibe on the day when everyone’s getting along and laughing together.

Stylist/Wedding Co-ordinator: The Events Lounge
We used Rachael from the Events Lounge and she really did keep me sane throughout the process. We went through pretty much every detail of the wedding together on the months leading up and on the day she really delivered. If anything went wrong, I didn’t even notice because she had it all under wraps!

Florist: Bloodwood Botanica
She was my saviour, after a really bad experience with a popular Byron florist Emilia saved the day! We were so lucky she was available for our date only three months out, and I am beyond relieved we decided to use her. She creates the most incredible work and she was so sweet to deal with. My only regret is not spending more on flowers because she is incredible!

Stationery: Myself + local printing shop

Cake: Sweet Art Creations
She was really easy to deal with, I actually used her after eating the cake at a friend’s wedding in Tweed Heads.

Caterer:  Anise Catering
These guys were awesome, in particular Bredon who owns it. He was so easy to deal with, he was so friendly and really accommodating with our budget and choices for the menu. He made us feel so relaxed and catering wasn’t really anything we had to worry about from the moment we booked him up to the wedding day.

Hire/Prop furniture hire: Byron Bay Audio, Wedding Shed, Hampton Event Hire

Accessories:
Veil – Custom winged veil Prea James
Headpiece – vintage that my mum wore on her wedding day
Jewellery – diamond necklace from Etsy, earrings from Bianc on the iconic

Bridesmaids Dresses: A mix of Bec & Bridge, Shona Joy and Rat & Boa

Groom & Groomsmen’s Suits: Woolcott Street
Custom suits by Woolcott Street. One of Bart’s groomsmen is actually the co-owner and they do awesome stuff. It makes such a difference having custom suits for all different heights and body types.

Band/DJ: Josh Lovegrove
I am so glad we found Josh. He had a package that meant we basically had him all day which was perfect for us. He was so easy to deal with in the lead up, and on the day he had such a good attitude and even got lots of nice mentions from our guests. 

Rings: Mendel & Rose
Bart arranged my engagement ring through these guys and he could not speak highly enough about how easy they made the whole process, in particular Rhys. We got our wedding bands made from them as well and they really are one of the best jewellers in Sydney! I will always recommend them to anyone needing jewellery.