Real Weddings

Lilli & Tom's Colourful Wedding

Lilli and Tom's colourful wedding is full of personality and charm.

Lilli tells their story “Tom and I met late one night 7 years ago completely by chance while we were walking home from a night out in Melbourne. We were really close but only became 'official' at the start of 2009. Since then it's been a whirlwind of travel, study and great times together. The decision to tie the knot was made together, although Tom was the one to pull out a fake ring and say the magic words!

We took our time after getting engaged, to enjoy the fun of it all. Then we started planning things about a year before the day. Tom was an amazing help and really cared about all the details and decisions so it was very much a team effort. The wedding day was perfection! We were assuming at least a few things wouldn't go to plan, but it really all turned out beautifully. I felt so calm and excited all morning, despite hardly any sleep and a very busy lead up to the day. Having my Mum and Dad walk me down the aisle and seeing Tom standing in front of all our gorgeous guests was absolutely a highlight. The whole ceremony was so special; having my Nana and Tom's aunty light our family candles, Tom's uncle Matt marry us, our brothers and my uncle do a reading, all our parents give a blessing. Saying our vows to each other was the best part though!”

Lilli reflects on the process of choosing the wedding outfits. "Tom's suit was the easiest - you can't go past Hugo Boss! My dress was a lot trickier! I realised the dress I originally chose really wasn't suited to me about five weeks before the wedding and so I started looking again - it was scary! I tried about 30 different dresses until one week before the wedding I found the gorgeous Lily dress by Collette Dinnigan. It was put on sale in the store that week and I walked out with it days later. Very stressful to leave it that late - but I got the most perfect dress I could ever have hoped for!"

Lilli has this advice for brides “Look widely for ideas and then choose things that represent the two of you and that are unique. Also, spend as much as you can afford on a great photographer, the photos are so important to remember all the great details of the day! But most importantly, have fun with the planning process and try not to do too much. Make sure to put the most effort into whichever parts are the most important to you two. And soak up every moment on the day - it flies by so fast!”

“We asked the bridesmaids to choose a dress they loved in a shade of blue or green and the groomsmen to wear anything they felt comfortable in, with shades of grey, blue, white. We think they looked great, and so individual!”

“We didn't want to have a theme or even a colour scheme, we just chose everything because we loved it! In the end it was a very colourful day with lots of bright flowers at both the ceremony and reception. We wanted the day to be a reflection of us and our personalities and I think the bright happy colours we used helped reflect that.”

Lilli and Tom chose 'You and Me' by Penny and the Quarters their first dance. “It's an old song that we came across by chance and had such a heartfelt romantic sound to it. We had a little dance in the lounge room to it and realised the lyrics were perfect and it just felt right!” At the reception the couple were surprised with a flash mob dance after the wedding dance! “The song was 'Twist and Shout' by the Beatles and all our favourite friends and family put on an amazing show. When Tom lifted me up and we danced around with them all around us I just felt on top of the world and so so lucky!”

Congratulations on your marriage Lilli and Tom! Thank you for sharing your wedding story with us.

Photography by Erin & Tara. Lilli’s favourite blogs for inspiration: Green Wedding Shoes, 100 Layer Cake, Wedding Chicks, Hello May and Ruffled.

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