Weddings

Nic & Lyndsey’s Surprise Cocktail Wedding

Words by Hannah Pronesti / Images by Kate Drennan
March 14, 2016

Wanting to avoid the hype, cost and pressure of a traditional, planned-for-months wedding, today’s sneaky sweethearts instead opted for a surprise wedding. Under the guise of an engagement party/housewarming, Lyndsey and Nic lured guests to their new home in Perth, keeping their plans under-wraps from everyone, bar one overseas guest and of course their vendors.

Photographer Kate Drennan was in on the secret, chosen especially for her colourful captures. But it wasn’t just beautiful photographs that won these newlyweds over post-wedding, “We chose Kate because we love the style of her shots. She was nothing but professional on the day and even helped cut up fruit while I was stressing out before guests arrived!” Lyndsey laughs, “What a champ!”

Extreme house envy aside, we are v impressed with Lyndsey’s DIY efforts. A simple, vibrant aesthetic was key to keeping their secret wedding a surprise and she managed to create a fun, celebratory vibe without raising suspicion. Lyndsey admits to trawling Pinterest for inspiration when it came to the styling of this at-home soiree and after flicking through the couples’ wedding album, we can safely say they pulled off a Pin-worthy party.

The couple’s modern home was quite the blank-canvas, the perfect backdrop to make the bright and colourful styling pop. The stunning trellis flower installation was no exception and Elli of Lime Flowers definitely delivered on her brief, “She was very receptive to our ideas and requirements and came through spectacularly on the day.” Lyndsey says.

Lyndsey had her work cut out for her when it came to DIY but this resourceful lass did herself proud - “I designed and made the invitations, the timber signage, spray painted a lot of vases and a couple of table bases and constructed (with help of dad) the cards and gifts table backdrop.” Meanwhile, Nic was in charge of hanging the festoon lights, along with helping his bride assemble the trellis for the floral backdrop. Team effort guys!

You’d think finding a wedding dress that didn’t arouse suspicion of a wedding would be tricky, but Lyndsey found her happy medium in a lacy, calf-length number by Lover. Paired with a side braid by The Pretty Parlour, all this babin’ bride needed was a bouq and she was ready to waltz down the garden aisle.

Arriving at the ‘engagement party’ at 4:30pm, guests didn't notice their hosts sneek inside at 6pm – Nic to don a boutonniere and Lyndsey to fetch her bouquet. Accompanied by their celebrant, Nic then announced to guests that they were about to witness a wedding and asked Lyndsey’s father to meet her inside so he could walk her down the aisle. Surprise!

This pair sung the praises of their celebrant, Luke Firth and it seems they aren’t the only ones – he was recently awarded the WA Marriage Celebrant of the Year! “Luke was fantastic," Lyndsey tells us. “He was very easy to communicate with, made the whole process fun and a lot less daunting than we first anticipated.”

Benj Bernal supplied some sweet acoustic sounds and Lyndsey and Nic are big fans of his folk/alternative/indie repertoire. “He learned my entrance song – Gorecki by Lamb,” Lyndsey tells us, “and played it beautifully. I would certainly recommend Benj to anyone who wants a chilled vibe.”

Fab food is always a must and the carefully curated cocktail and food spread by Creative Catering Perth did not disappoint.

If you drool at the sight of a decadent cake, you might want to look away now… Hello Sukar created an incredible two-tier wedding cake – one of Devil’s Food Chocolate and the other, Caramel Butterscotch Mud with caramel drip. Oh boy.