Sophia & Kyle | Real Weddings Melbourne

The love story began when Sophia (from Melbourne) met Kyle (from the Gold Coast), in Sydney!

It must have been fate… From that moment onwards, their life would never be the same. The couple had planned their wedding for two years, with many COVID challenges along the way… but it was all worth it in the end!

On their special day, Sophia wore a gorgeous bridal ball gown with a classing V-neckline, and layered tulle, designed by Christina Rossi. The gown was matched with a sheer full-length veil and her mother’s Dior earrings (something borrowed). Whilst Kyle wore a custom black tux with silk lapel. The wedding had a classic and elegant theme, with a timeless color palette of white, black, blush, and a touch of rose gold. The groomsmen wore black suits and all-black attire, while the bridesmaids wore off-shoulder black gowns designed by Oleg Cassini. The couple arrived in style, matching their elegant theme, in a black 1955 classic Jaguar MKVII sedan.

They had stunning roses throughout the heritage Quat Quatta venue, from the ceremony arch to large bouquets throughout the reception. Each rose petal was hand-peeled, to create a stunning finish. They also included rose gold mirror signage on the day, and matching rose gold place cards with guest names laser cut out. Every guest also had handmade ruby and white chocolate raspberry Belgium chocolate truffles.

The ceremony was held in the courtyard of the heritage-listed Quat Quatta venue, where they were all surrounded by lush greenery and a breathtaking rose-filled arch. The ceremony started as Sophia’s dad played ‘Amazing Grace’ on the bagpipes, then the acoustic duo Andrew & Elise started to sing ‘Can’t help falling in love with you’, as Sophia walked down the aisle with her father wearing their family’s Scottish traditional Russell clan’s kilt.

The Reception table included one long dining table, with different levels of pillar glass candles and stunning rose centerpieces. The couple also provided rose gold foiled ‘Cakeaway’ bags, so guests could take extra wedding cake home. The wedding cake was a three-tier masterpiece with blush buttercream and adorned with a stem of orchids.

It was certainly a day to be remembered, with many tears of joy!

How did you meet each other?

It was truly a miracle! I lived in Melbourne and Kyle lived on the Gold Coast. The chances of us meeting were slim. However, we both got invited to a Christian camp in Sydney. We nearly didn’t go, but we both felt like we should go for some reason. Thank goodness we did! When I first met Kyle, we instantly hit it off as we could bond over architecture, and we made each other laugh. I was charmed by his sweet smile from the moment we met.

What do you love about each other?

Sophia: I love how funny Kyle is, he always makes me laugh. He is also very intelligent, quirky, caring, and loving. He melts my heart!

Kyle: What I love most about Sophia is her heart for God and other people. She is very kind and caring. I love how eccentric she is – she is unique and has a lovely personality.

How did you get engaged?

As we lived in different states, we had a long-distance relationship. It is definitely challenging! We would fly in when we can to see each other. We knew there was something special about this relationship, as we had both never been so in love! We had truly found ‘the one’.

At the time, Kyle was not working so he was thinking he might need to get me a less glamorous engagement ring for now. By pure coincidence, my grandmother rang me up. She told me that she really loves Kyle, and she would like to pass down my great-grandmother’s engagement ring to me. It was so random, as she had no idea that Kyle and I were thinking of getting engaged.

We had no idea if I would like the ring, or if it would fit. However, it was a perfect fit… and I was obsessed with it! Wasting no time, the next early morning Kyle drove me to a beautiful mountain peak. We watched the sunrise together; he got down on one knee and proposed. Of course, I said yes!

What songs did you choose for the wedding (first dance, ceremony, etc.)?

Our music was sung by a fabulous acoustic duo – Andrew & Elise!

Ceremony – ‘Can’t help falling in love with you – Haley Reinhart’

It is such a romantic song to walk down the aisle to! My favorite part is when the lyrics go, “Wise men say, only fools rush in. But I can’t help falling in love with you”. For us, it couldn’t be truer. In fact, we got engaged after just three months of dating, so you could definitely say we were rushing in. However, we had no regrets because we couldn’t help but fall deeply in love!

First Dance – ‘All of Me – John Legend’

How romantic is this song? It’s all about unconditional love! My maiden of honor helped chirograph our first dance. What people don’t know is we ended up making up half of it on the day as my dance was too big to do the moves that we had rehearsed!

Did you have a theme for your wedding? Tell us more about the venue, flowers, and styling…

We wanted a romantic, elegant, classic, and timeless wedding. The wedding was held at the small heritage venue (Quat Quatta), which was built in 1890.

The color palette for the day was white, black, blush, and rose gold. My bridesmaids wore simple, off-shoulder, full-length black gowns by Oleg Cassini.

We choose simple white napkins and tablecloths for the reception, and we styled it with varying levels of glass pillar candles and large rose bouquets (with hand-peeled petals).

Each guest had their name laser-cut out of rose gold mirror acrylic for their place cards. We also had custom-made ruby and white raspberry Belgium chocolate bonbonnieres, which were presented in a white box and finished with a white ribbon. We really enjoyed the finer details when it came to styling. We included two matching rose gold mirror acrylic stands for the Cakeaway bags (yes, we made that up for rose gold foiled takeaway cake bags) and the wishing well. We also included matching rose bouquets by the Cakeaway station. We used white orchards by the bar, wishing well, and on our cake.

For the ceremony, there was already a lot of lush greenery in the outdoor courtyard, so we focused on the florals on the arch. We filled the entire arch with gorgeous blush and white florals, which ties in perfectly with the reception. A special thank you to our florist for an incredible job!

What wedding cake did you choose? What were the cake flavors and design?

We had a three-tier cake, with blush buttercream. The cake design is simple and elegant and topped with one strand of white orchards. We chose two flavors, which included white chocolate and raspberry or vanilla mud cake with lemon curd. Everyone kept commenting on how great the cake was. We are certainly loyal fans of Kate’s work!

How would you describe your bridal look? Tell us more about your gown:

I found my dream dress at Christina Rossi. The gown was not something I had in mind, but when my stylist suggested it, I was excited to give it a go. As soon as I tried it on, I knew it was the one! It has a timeless and elegant feel with the simple bustier, combined with the couture glamour of a large, layered gown. As the dress made such a statement, I chose a simple, full length and sheer veil to match.

On the day, my incredibly talented hair stylist, Shannon, created a timeless, middle parting glamour wave for me, whilst my celebrity and award-winning make-up artist, Shiree did a natural soft glam look, with nude tones.

How did you choose your wedding stationery?

As I used to work in this department, I had a clear idea of what I really wanted. We agreed to go with stunning frosted acrylic invitations with gold foiling and a matching translucent card with gold foiling for the details.

What are your favorite memories from the day?

Sophia: I think it was walking down the aisle and seeing Kyle looking at me tenderly. I also enjoyed looking down at the long reception table and seeing all our loved ones enjoying themselves.

Kyle: It was the ceremony. My favorite memory was seeing Sophia walk down the aisle and hearing her vows.

Do you have any advice for those getting married?

It took us two years to finally have our wedding ceremony… Trying to plan a wedding during a pandemic is indubitably hard. There were times we were tempted to give up, but it is definitely worth having the ceremony and celebration with your loved ones. We have no regrets! It was sad not having Queenslanders come, as we both had many loved ones there, but we found a way to have them there by playing their pre-recorded videos on the day. My advice would be to try and not overthink things; it’s not worth the stress. Enjoy the moments leading up to it… it will all work out. I promise!

Did you hire special transport for the day?

Yes, we did! Kyle was beyond excited when he found Celebrity Cars, as they had a stunning 1955 Jaguar MKVII sedan. It was a stunning classic car, which perfectly matched the venue.

Anything else you would like to add?

A special thank you to all our vendors for making our day so special. They all went above and beyond. Thank you to Kairos Works Photography and Videography for capturing the special moments we will treasure forever! Thank you to all our loved ones who came and celebrated with us, your presence and blessing truly meant the world to us.

~

Vendor list

Photographer & Videographer: Kairos Works @kairosworks.au

Hairstylist: Shannon Sophia Hair @sshairr

MUA: Shiree Collier @shireecollier_mua

Cake: Cake Creations By Kate @cakecreationsbykate

Dress: Christina Rossi @christinarossiaustralia

Bridesmaid dresses: Oleg Cassini @olegcassiniau

Jewellery: Christian Dior @dior

Florist: Flower Head Events @flowerheadevents

Candle styling: Southern Lights Candle Co. @southernlightscandleco

Suit: Menswear Warehouse @menswear.warehouse

Stationery: Giant Invitations @giantinvitations

Entertainment: Andrew Rozen @andrewrozen.music

Bonbonnieres: @swe.ee.te

Transport: Celebrity Cars (1955 Jaguar MKVII sedan) @celebritycarsmelbourne

Venue: Quat Quatta @quatquatta