34 Degrees and Golden Hour: Nik and Jen's CERES Wedding
If you're planning a wedding at CERES and hoping for photos that feel like Melbourne's inner north rather than a stiff formal affair, let me tell you about Nik and Jen.
They found me the way a lot of my favourite couples do, scrolling Instagram at some ungodly hour, wondering if two people who don't consider themselves particularly photogenic could actually end up with photos like the ones they were looking at. 99% of my couples tell me they're awkward in front of a camera. I promise you, and yet I haven't failed to date at delivering those Instagrammable shots. Fair enough too, that's what I'm there for. What sold them, in their own words, was fun over formal. Inner-north coolness over anything stuffy. We jumped on a Zoom call, and that was that, I was the first vendor they locked in for the whole day.
Sixty seven guests, one to nine, and a couple who'd planned every last detail at CERES themselves. No wedding planner running the show, just DIY drinks, catered finger food, and invitations and signage Jen designed herself. That's the kind of hands-on, no-fuss approach that tends to make for the best days, because everything in the room actually means something to the two people who put it there.
The morning started at their own place, which was non-negotiable from the start, their house was the one detail they were adamant had to be part of the day. First look right there, somewhere with a High Street snack involved if I remember rightly, because apparently hot chips and maybe ice cream were always going to be part of this wedding regardless of the weather. Their focus the whole day was each other, and it showed.
Then came the heat. Thirty four degrees, full sun, not a cloud offering anyone any mercy. The kind of day that makes everyone's hair and makeup team earn their fee twice over (all credit to Ingrid Howlett at Tonic for that one). We pushed through the ceremony at CERES in it, coordinated on the day by Sotarah Page, with Precious Fawcett officiating.
Full midday sun is not exactly a photographer's best friend, but you work with what you're given, and by the time golden hour rolled around at the reception, the light did exactly what golden hour is supposed to do. Worth every bit of sweating it out earlier.
The reception ran on a playlist that told you everything about these two: Stand By Me, Shooting Stars by Bag Raiders, One More Time by Daft Punk, Walking on a Dream by Empire of the Sun. DJ Eddy Mac from One More Song kept it going, there was a photobooth from Jimbo for anyone who wanted proof they were there, and a cake from Zahara Valibhoy at Beurre for everyone to demolish afterwards. Jen wore Rue De Seine (altered by Parisima) for the ceremony and changed into Rachel Gilbert for the party, Nik was suited by Alexander Pillai at Suitably, and the florals came from Kristi Sattlecker at The Posy Yard.
If there's a lesson in it, it's this: a stinking hot day doesn't ruin your photos. It just means your photographer needs to know where the shade is, when to push through, and when to wait for that last hour of light to do the heavy lifting.
Nik and Jen, thank you for the best kind of hot, sweaty, thoroughly worth it wedding day. And if you're staring down a summer date at CERES or anywhere else in the inner north and worrying about the forecast, that's exactly the kind of thing I'd love to chat through with you.
Credit to the Vendors
Precious Fawcett (celebrant), Eddy Mac / One More Song (DJ), Ingrid Howlett at Tonic (hair and makeup), Sarah Borg / Bangin Hangins (garment steaming), Jimbo (photobooth), Zahara Valibhoy at Beurre (cake), Alexander Pillai at Suitably (suit), Sotarah Page (CERES coordinator), Kristi Sattlecker at The Posy Yard (florist), Rue De Seine (Jen's main dress), Parisima (dress alterations), Rachel Gilbert (second dress)
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