Kate & Adam: Rupert On Rupert, Collingwood

Names: Kate Heslop and Adam Hoggar

Wedding date: 10 March 2019

Ceremony & Reception Venue: Rupert on Rupert - Collingwood

How we met and the marriage proposal:

We met at pre-drinks for a music festival (I like to think it’s a modern take on the old local dances our grandparents would talk about). Adam asked if I wanted a drink at the festival and then we sneakily held hands for the remainder of the day. We had grown up in the same suburb not far from one another but never crossed paths.

We were in Vietnam on a boat cruising through Ha Long Bay when Adam proposed. It was the second last night of the holiday (I think he was just making super sure he was making the right decision). The proposal followed a nice dinner, a bubble bath and beautiful thunderstorm.

About our wedding day:

All we wanted from our wedding day was for everyone to have a great time and to feel the love in the room. Essentially, we just wanted a big party. We invited 85 of our nearest and dearest to help us celebrate in style.

Collingwood has always held a special place for us both. When we met Adam was living in Collingwood two streets from Rupert on Rupert. We lived there together for roughly 12 months. We had always loved Rupert’s moody feel and greenery. We had actually gone to Rupert for a drink and a walk down memory lane before checking out another venue. We hadn’t even considered Rupert as a wedding venue, but as soon as we walked in we realised it was the spot!

The rain on the morning of our wedding day had as us both nervous. I remember getting my makeup done staring out the window as rain hit it trying to convince myself it was good luck. The sun decided to shine through just at the right time.

Everything after went to plan, apart from our MC going rouge in the best possible way and having everyone in stiches. The day was full of laughter, great food, less than great dancing, and plenty of love.

Our wedding style:

Perfectly imperfect. Nothing about us is neat and tidy so we wanted a venue that reflected this but wowed all of our friends and family and Rupert totally fit the bill. We wanted a day more fun than formal, so we went with a cocktail wedding, which meant it was fun from start to finish.

Finding my wedding gown:

I was anxious about the whole wedding dress shopping experience. I don’t like shopping at the best of times, let alone shopping for a wedding dress for the ‘most important day of my life’. I had all of these visions of pretentious shopping assistants asking questions I didn’t know the answers to, so I honestly just wanted to get my first fitting out of the way so I could feel like I knew what I was talking about at future appointments.

As soon as I walked into Suzanne Harward I was welcomed by Carly and felt comfortable immediately. My sister and best friend were with me, but not my Mum because I honestly didn’t expect this to be when I found THE dress… it was the first shop I had been to.

When I put on the first dress, I felt amazing and very taken aback. I tried on four more dresses, but none made me feel the way the Lunar Gown did. First shop and first dress - what a dream experience to find my wedding dress!

First dance song;

Our first dance song was an acoustic version of Rita Ora’s ‘Anywhere’. There is nothing we love more than travelling together and this song perfectly reflected that.

Advice for future couples:

Enjoy the planning process and do it together. It’s like planning a holiday; the planning can be just as fun as the trip!

Someone told us to make sure we took a few moments during the day to escape the madness and breathe it all in together. This was great advice. It grounds you, slows down the day and gives you a moment or two together without people pulling you in all directions.
There will be a hiccup or two somewhere throughout the day, no one but you will notice so ignore it and move on.

Just have fun; its over far too quickly!