Real Bride: Nicole + Anson

What is your, and your gorgeous partners names?

Nicole Smith and Anson Parker (and our 18 month son Leo also played an important role) 

We bet the whole day was amazing, but do you have a favourite part?

Too hard to choose! The venue (and weather) was sublime, our band was great, the food was on point, But as cheesy and Obvious as it sounds, the best part of the day was  having all the people we love there. I’m American and Anson is from New Zealand so it was a big trip for a lot of people and pretty magical to see them all the in same place.

Did you go with a theme? Was it classic or did you have a funky twist?

We didn’t really go theme, just ‘Farm Fab’ as it was at Collingwood Children’s Farm.

What was your wedding location like? Help us visualise it! We’re real dreamers!

We have a toddler so it was important that our wedding was as child-friendly as possible. Collingwood Children’s Farm was the perfect spot. Rural and rustic feel within 5 kms of the CBD  (also a huge consideration for our American and New Zealand friends and family travelling from afar). Our ceremony was held under a huge gorgeous oak tree on the Yarra and we had the reception in their excellent working barn. There were even guinea pig cuddles for the littles!

Tell us about the food- was it sit down, cocktail or food trucks? We’re drooling already!

Food was a huge factor in choosing the venue and The Farm Cafe absolutely nailed it. We had a cocktail hour after the ceremony with passed canapes  (those pulled pork sliders were THE CURE for this bride who hadn’t eaten much that day) followed by a family style sit down dinner with share platters of slow roast lamb shoulder, panfried gnocchi with truffles, seasonal veggies and salads. WE’RE NOT REALLY CAKE PEOPLE SO WE OPTED FOR A GELATO BAR, COURTESY OF MESSINA. Everything was super tasty. We also got to bring our our booze which meant we could handpick all the beers and wines (one of the most fun parts of planning the wedding) and even roped our friend Ben into batch-making Oaked Negronis!  It was loose.

Was there a Honeymoon or did you get back to the daily grind?

We had a little 5-day beach escape to Sorrento down the Peninsula with my family who were in town from America which was lovely. We’re planning a proper Euro Familymoon later this year.

Do you have any words of wisdom or advice for upcoming brides?

I hate advice and you get a lot of it when you’re planning a wedding, most of which makes you question why you’re doing it in the first place. Anson and I made a list pretty early on of the things that were important to us: good food, booze, Music and documentation (I’m in marketing so my stance on this was: flowers die in a day, photos are forever). We pretty much stuck to it and didn’t have any regrets.  IT’S THE MOST EXPENSIVE PARTY YOU’LL EVER THROW SO MAKE SURE IT’S FEELS LIKE YOU.

We are absolutely honoured that you chose us to dress you for your big day! How did you find your experience with Amante Bridal?

In planning a wedding one thing I did not expect was to meet such amazing women. Our Wedding producer Maya was awesome, our photographer Lucy, faultless and then there’s Hayley and Stace. These two women are such a breath of fresh air from the Melbourne bridal brigade. I was pretty over dress hunting when my friend and I decided to hit the road to Warragul to see what these country girls had to offer. Their shop is gorgeous, warm and bespoke and Stace and Hayley were so so lovely (and to my relief, NOT exclusively dressed in black). I instantly knew I’d be buying a dress from Amante. After trying on a few gowns, Stace insisted we leave the shop and go have a coffee or wine and think it over (she also provided several local recommendations for where to do this). The dress is a big decision and you need space to make it. The girls at Amante get that and their ultra-personal, NO PRESSURE APPROACH to the bridal biz is such a refreshing and rare find. I’m so grateful to have found them and my perfect dress.