A Sleek City Wedding

Photography by Bek Smith for Alex & Nick

There is a romance to city weddings that lies in juxtaposition; an alluring contrast of man-made structures and organic emotions. We love celebrations held and unions made amongst cubic skyscrapers and grey facades, cities brought to life with fresh blooms and flowing champagne.

This love story was cinematically captured on a terrace overlooking the Melbourne skyline; a wedding inspired by metropolitan shapes and urban design, with classic shapes and sleek styling. Drawing inspiration from their city surrounds, Alex and Nick’s wedding was an ode to the classicism of monochromatic styling. Sharp dinner suits and black-tie dressing was accentuated with crisp white florals that spilled from tables and adorned lapels.

A celebration of free love and serendipitous meetings, of moody romance and timeless style…

Photography by LANE handpicked photographer Bek Smith.

Our Story

Names / Alexander Borst & Nicholas Ross

Wedding Date / 26th of November 2016

Guests / 50

Details

Wedding Location

We wanted something masculine, classic and timeless; a space that represented us. The idea of a typical wedding venue didn’t sit well with us and we looked for something that represented what we are about.

We came across Siglo Bar in the Melbourne CBD, it was classic and masculine and the rooftop was just perfect for the ceremony we wanted, with views over Parliament House. The Tea Room located downstairs was just what we had been searching for. The beautiful dark timber panelling created an atmosphere that was moody and classic along with a real masculine feel. The intimate space allowed us to have a small sit-down dinner for 50 of our family members and closest friends. We just wanted our wedding celebration to feel like one big dinner party and that is exactly what we were able to have.

Theme & Style

We went with what was us, not trying to pull together a theme involving current trends or colour palettes and styles. Classic, timeless and masculine with a black-tie dress code and abundance of white flowers. We want to look back at our wedding photos in 20 years time a still go “Whoo!”, not “OMG that was so 2016”.

Photographer

Bek Smith. We just loved her work from the moment we saw it. There was nothing stereotypically “wedding” about it. Her work is just beautiful and so representative of the style we love. She knows how to capture raw emotion and her photographs tell a story. I was particularly drawn to her use of light and noticed a lot of darker and moody tones; it just had a sophisticated and polished feel. In saying all that, the first meeting with Bek felt like catching up with an old friend, dinner lasted a few hours and a life-long friendship was formed.

How we met…

We met while Alex was working in a Melbourne café, and Nick would come in every day for his coffee. One coffee a day led to about four or five for Nick – any excuse to come into the café. Eventually Alex gave Nick his number, and the rest his history.

Our Engagement story…

It’s bizarre, but we both knew from our first date that one day we would get married. After almost a year of dating, Alex proposed to Nick on their local beach in Hampton as the sun was rising early on a February morning. Alex had written ‘Will you marry me’ in the sand, at first Nick didn’t even see it, he was more interested in the bottle of champagne and the picnic hamper that was sitting close by (it was his birthday after all). Of course, Nick said yes, it was the most magical experience.

Marriage to us means…

Both of us hold the value of marriage very highly and we both have parents that have had wonderful marriages, and it was something we both wanted for ourselves. When we met it was evident that we wanted the same thing in life when it came to marriage, and even though same-sex marriage isn’t legal, it didn’t stop us from committing our lives to each other and being able to hold these values close to our hearts.

Fashion Notes

Suits

Classic black dinner suits custom tailored by the team at Oscar Hunt Tailors in the Melbourne CBD. All three of us (two grooms and one best man) had our suits created by the team – super sharp and sophisticated. Once you’ve worn a made-to-measure suit, you’ll never go back to anything other.

Shoes

Patent leather tuxedo shoes by Aquila.

Groomsmaid’s Dresses

Again, staying clear of anything to traditional. We allowed the girls to choose whatever they wanted, which both ended up being black. One of the girls chose the black Aria gown by Rachel Gilbert – again, timeless and classic, and our other groomsmaid went for a Ralph Lauren halter gown, also in black.

Wedding Rings

Nick’s mum has worked at Georg Jensen for more than 25 years so it was only natural to carry on the family tradition for the love of Georg Jensen. We both opted for the classic wedding band in yellow gold.

Hair

Both grooms are long standing loyal clients of Jamie from Xiang Hair QV in the Melbourne CBD. Jamie ensured our hair was in top condition for the day. Sharp, shining and sleek.

Style Notes

Invitations & Stationery

Alex designed the lot and gained his inspiration from 1930’s hotel-style stationery. With the assistance of Mickey Loves Jacqui we had our invitations letterpressed.

Flowers

White, white and more white. We had a strong idea right from the beginning that we wanted a colour palette of just white. Hydrangeas, roses – it didn’t particularly matter what flower as long as they were all white. The girls in our wedding party held a simple stem of two white anthurium lilies. We didn’t want the girls that have big bouquets as such, just a simple statement piece. While the grooms and best man had buttonholes of white roses.

Videography

Lochlan Tangas from Tango Films filmed our wedding. We were immediately drawn to his attention to detail and the emotion he captured in each of his films. Upon meeting him we both agreed the Lochlan was the one. Again, our first meeting was like catching up with an old friend. We felt extremely comfortable with Lochlan and that’s something that is so important when it comes to selecting suppliers, especially those that will spend the majority of your day in your personal space.

Videographers

Find our handpicked edit of Videographers from around the world on the Directory.

Discover more

Preparation

Exceptional service greeted us at The Westin in Melbourne’s CBD. We spent the entire weekend there with our entire wedding party, parents and family. We all got ready together, although Nick and Alex had separate rooms for the morning. We met at the front door for the first time before driving to the ceremony together.

Wedding Planner & Stylist

With Alex’s natural flair for weddings and his wedding planning experience from the age of seven, it was only right that he lead the entire wedding planning process. He worked alongside the team at Spring Street Events as well as Jayne from Mayvine Flowers.

Transport

With Nick’s love for cars, it was only natural that we arrived in something that would impress. A sleek black Jaguar XJ transported us, complete with white ribbons.

Reception Notes

Cake

Traditional; we’re bringing back the fruitcake – three tiers of nostalgia with two grooms on the top. We wanted the cake to look as traditional as possible with a sense of modernity.

Wedding Songs

We entered the ceremony to “La Tourre” by The Avener, a song Nick had heard a few years prior and said upon hearing it ‘If we ever get married, we should walk down the aisle to this song’. Our exit piece was fun, we wanted to add a lot of joy to the atmosphere and selected “In The Mood” by Glenn Miller, an old favourite, once again, classic.

Food & Beverages

Free-flowing champagne right throughout the ceremony to a three-course sit-down dinner. We didn’t want an alternate drop but a full menu, we wanted our guests to enjoy every moment and not have to worry about ‘chicken or beef’ – this was one of the best decisions we made. It added a sense of luxury and every guest was overly impressed.

Celebrant

The incredible Rita Cohann. Warm, engaging and just wonderful. We even heard guests comment; ‘wow, if I got married again I would want Rita to do our ceremony’.

Special Details

Honeymoon

Noosa. It was the location of our first holiday together and we have been up together every year since, either alone or with family. We wanted our honeymoon to be relaxed and didn’t want to experience something new where we felt we had to explore. We could sit by the beach and do nothing all day.

The most memorable moment…

Standing together right after our ceremony with a glass of champagne, and walking away together to spend five minutes taking in the view and the sounds from the Siglo rooftop. This was so special ,and it was as though everyone knew that we needed that time alone.

One thing I wish I knew…

Relax. The finer details are important but not so important as to fuss over constantly.

If I could give other couples a piece of advice…

Slow down on the morning of your wedding day. It goes so quick, and I’m sure you’ve all heard this, but no one actually told us how quick it would go. One moment we are eating breakfast, the next your eating breakfast the following morning with an entire wedding day passed in between.