Real weddings: Masa and Michael

Posted on 13 August, 2016

Canberra couple Masa and Michael’s beautiful minimalist wedding at The Crisp Galleries proves you don’t have to blow the budget to host a spectacular occasion. Here, the lovely bride takes us through the big day.

 Getting ready

On the wedding day, I got ready at a B&B that we had booked out for the whole weekend for my family so we had the whole place to ourselves, while Michael got ready at our place in Crace. We chose not to have a bridal party.

The dress

I found my Rachel Gilbert dress at David Jones Bridal and fell in love with it as soon as I put it on. I didn’t think much of it when it was on the rack, especially because it had sequins and I didn’t envision myself in a sequined dress (I had a romantic, French lace dress with a low back in mind.)

However once I put this dress on, I knew it was the one. It fitted me like a glove and as it was only a month to the wedding, I bought it straight off the rack! I loved the detail of lace and the sleeves were a lovely touch. Apparently it was also the last of that particular dress left in Australia!

The ceremony 

Our ceremony was simple and only took 15-20 minutes. Our celebrant knew that we wanted something laid back and fuss free. We wrote our own wedding vows and were really happy we did. I’ve always wanted to get married in a forest because it’s what reminds me of my childhood.

Picking the venue was probably the longest process because we were looking less than 6 months from the wedding date, and wanted something affordable that we could do self-catering, while also having the wedding ceremony and reception at the same venue, surrounded by nature.

The reception

The look we were going for at the reception was to bring nature indoors and to have some beautiful handmade details around. My dad made the wooden stands that we put everyone’s names in. We were lucky enough to borrow all plates, cutlery and wine glasses from a friend that bought everything for her wedding a couple of years prior because she found it more cost effective that way.

The napkins I bought but pretty much everything else was borrowed; the only thing we had to hire was the chairs. We had two tables altogether, and Michael and I just sat amongst our families.

The food

My sister, who is an amazing cook, offered to tackle the enormous task of catering for the wedding and delivered beyond anyone’s expectations. We wanted to have a buffet so people could pick and choose what they wanted to eat.

We’re both big eaters and don’t like it when we don’t get enough food and feel hungry 30 minutes later. The drinks were organic, vegan wines and champagne and we also had organic beer and organic iced teas that everyone loved!

Being a minimalist wedding, there were a lot of things that we saved money on because we were privileged enough to have many talented people around us or we just didn’t see the need to spend money on it. For example for the hair and make up, my friends did it, while the flowers were arranged by us. We didn’t have a DJ, live music or cars, and a friend did our videography as a wedding gift.

The little details

Ceremony and reception venue: The Crisp Galleries

Celebrant: Francis Owusu

Photographer: Lauren Campbell Photography

Videographer: A friend as a wedding gift

Dress: Rachel Gilbert

Groom and groomsmen’s suits: Jacket from Politix, pants groom already owned

Bride’s hair: Done by a friend

Makeup: Done by a friend

Flowers: Lady Larissa

Cake: Sweet Bones Bakery and Rainbow Nourishments

Stationery: DIY

First dance song: At last – Etta James