This is what happens when modern meets romantic in an amazing German setting: total awesomeness. The kind of awesomeness that is rich in gray and blush hues, chevron patterns and a whole lot of happy-filled moments courtesy one very gorgeous bride and groom. In other words? This wedding is fabulous. See so much more captured by Marlén Mieth right here.
From the Bride… Nick and I had been together for over four years when he proposed to me during a family holiday on Hamilton Island. He’d been planning it for many months and was hoping to propose on one of the beautiful white beaches on the island, but it had been raining for days on end, so Nick went down on one knee when we had a moment to ourselves in the kitchen of the apartment we were staying in. It came as a complete surprise and once I got over the shock and understood that he was proposing I didn’t hesitate to say yes. That afternoon the sun finally came out and we spent the rest of the holiday with our respective parents on an incredible high.
When we returned home to Sydney we got lots of questions as to where we would get married. Nick is Australian and I am German so I thought it would be hard picking a location, but we both wanted to get married in Germany so we could incorporate some German traditions into our wedding. We had lived in London before moving to Sydney and both had friends all over the world that we were hoping would be able to be part of our big day. We had been told by so many friends that the day itself would pass in a blur, so we decided to have a whole week of celebrations in order to maximise the time with everyone. So on top of the wedding we organised a Germany v Australia soccer match between our friends, a traditional German Polterabend as well as pre-wedding drinks the night before the wedding. That week we spent with our closest friends and family, eating and drinking, celebrating and laughing, we feel incredibly blessed to have had that extended time together.
Since Nick is a graphic designer and I’m an event manager we knew we wanted to do a lot of the planning and organisation for the big day ourselves. We both had a pretty clear idea what our wedding should be like. We wanted it to be a day to celebrate our love with our closest family and friends, a fun day with good food, good wine and good music. Trying to find the venue from Sydney was the hardest thing of all. My family in Germany were very supportive and went to have a look at venues we liked for us, however none fit our requirements. We wanted somewhere contemporary but with character, somewhere that was cosy and also had an outside area. Finally, one day I found a restaurant online that seemed to tick all the boxes. It was an old converted warehouse with wooden beams, white washed walls, long tables with mismatched chairs, an outside area with big beach chairs and a waterfall. In short, it looked perfect. So my sister and parents went to have a look at it for us. They loved it as much as we loved the pictures and so we booked the venue without having seen it ourselves. I also found our ceremony venue online, a small, 13th century church located on the river Elbe in Dresden, tucked away on the outskirts of Dresden. Sadly the church got badly damaged during a flood just six weeks before the wedding. We were incredibly lucky and managed to find another gorgeous church not too far from our reception venue just four weeks before the wedding. Seeing both the church and the reception venue in person when we arrived in Germany was a big relief. Both venues looked better in reality than on the photos.
I found a lot of inspiration on wedding blogs, as well as Pinterest. Our colour scheme was blush and grey, so from the bridesmaids dresses, the groomsmen outfits, the flowers to the decorations we incorporated those colours everywhere. Nick designed the save the date cards, the invitations, the menus and ceremony booklets. He also made the signs and the table numbers from materials I ordered online. I stamped the name tags and together with our friends we filled the favour bags with sweets. I had sent the restaurant an inspiration board with table and ceiling decorations and they did an absolutely amazing job with it all. We couldn’t have been happier.
Our wedding day was more than we could have ever hoped for. Of course the day went in a blur, from getting ready with our bridesmaids and groomsmen in the morning, to the ceremony which was officiated by the priest that had married my parents, to the beautiful and funny speeches and the late night dancing, but the memories will stay with us forever. We wouldn’t change a thing. We are so incredibly thankful to our friends and family who travelled from all corners of the world to celebrate with us.
Photography: Marlen Mieth | Flowers: Die Blumenbinderei | Dress: Pronovias | Cake: Konditorei Gradel | Ceremony Venue: Loschwitzer Kirche | Reception Venue: Elements Deli & Restaurant | Shoes: Debenhams | Wedding Bands: Tiffany & Co. | Hair & Makeup: Uta Stabler | Accommodation: Westin Bellevue | Groom's Shoes & Suit: Paul Smith