A gift of a lifetime

When Melissa Coyne and Hayden Mead announced their engagement, they were met with disbelief. Having dated for seven years, their friends and family did not believe they were finally engaged.

Hayden chose a weekend away for Melissa’s birthday to propose. When they arrived at their B&B in Daylesford, Melissa made a bathroom stop. When she returned, Hayden had arranged a delicious dinner of sushi and sashimi, which he had brought with him – hidden on ice in the car – all the way from their favourite local Japanese restaurant.

Melissa says that at the time she thought Hayden had gone to a lot of trouoble just for her birthday. But after dinner, it became clear that Hayden had plans for a birthday gift to Melissa that would last a lifetime. “His proposal was defiantly a surprise.”

Melissa and Hayden were married at St James in Gardenvale, a beautiful church with lovely leadlighting. For something a little special, Melissa’s mother and Hayden’s parents stood with Hayden at the altar as Melissa’s father escorted her up the aisle. “This was to signify the joining of the two families. It worked really well, “ says Melissa.

Walking down the aisle, Melissa looked beautiful in an ivory Mariana Hardwick gown. “I bought the first one I tried on, “ says Melissa who knew it was perfect as soon as she tried it on. With a penchant for the designer, she also wore Mariana Hardwick earrings, bracelet, tiara and necklace. She carried a bouquet of ivory roses from Bliss Flowers.

Hayden looked dashing in a black pinstripe three-piece suit from Formal red and an ivory fat boy tie.

With the formalities taken care of, Melissa and Hayden joined family and friends for a reception at Breezes restaurant at Crown Casino. While they had looked at a few venues, they fell in love with Breezes. “We thought it would be a little different from the traditional wedding reception venue as it was a restaurant. We also thought the atmosphere of the city skyline and the flames of Crown Casino every hour would add to the night.”

And on the night, the venue looked magnificent. Each table featured a pebble-filled vase holding pale pink orchids and floating tea lights, which the couple had made by Function Accessories.

Guests feasted on Breezes Summer BBQ menu, which included a mouth-watering spread of salads and seafood followed by barbequed lamb, chicken, beef and salmon.  As well as a choice of traditional desserts including baked custard tart, tiramisu, chocolate mud cake and pistachio brûlée, guests could help themselves to a gelati in a cone from an ice cream trolley. Perfect for a summer wedding.

Bu being Melbourne, summer doesn’t always mean clear skies. “When we originally booked the venue one year before we thought there was no chance of rain. But as the weeks got closer, we became a little worried as we have planned for our guests to sit outdoors. “I was on the phone to the Bureau of Meteorology nearly every week before the wedding, “ laughs Melissa.

Despite brainstorming contingency plans – including erecting marquees which they worried would spoil the outdoor atmosphere – they decided to take a gamble on Melbourne’s weather.

“During the speeches we had a couple of drops of rain and my stomach began to churn.  But it was only a few drops, and it disappeared as quickly as it appeared. I could not believe out luck. In the ned we were just so lucky that our risk paid off.”

Bernie Griffiths at Gregorys took their photos. Having seen some locations they liked, including some photos taken in front of a Tuscan house in Brighton and others in a city laneway, they made a few suggestions aw well as taking the photographer’s advice. The finished result was a collaborative effort.

“Having our photos taken we felt relaxed and casual.  Bernie was brilliant to work with. In fact, everything ran so smoothly we even had time for a drink at Federation Square before we went to Crown for the reception, “ says Melissa.