Wedding | Montana & David

Tell us a little about yourselves!

We live in Sydney and our world is pretty centred around community, food, creativity and nature. You’ll find us at the beach, tending to our little veggie garden and hosting friends for dinner. We’re also out and about a lot exploring the food and bar scene of Sydney and love travelling to do the same.

Montana works as a creative director for spirits brands, previously working in hospitality and jewellery design, and David’s professional background is in music, adult education and learning design. Our experience and interests really influenced how we approached wedding planning – we knew we didn’t want a classic venue package and felt confident in concepting something that reflected us and our community.

Why did you decide to get married where you did?

We wanted a space that already reflected us and didn’t need to be overly styled to feel right. Poor Toms Oltra was somewhere we regularly spent time with friends - a bright, airy industrial space that’s part gin distillery, part bar, part pizza joint. It’s run by people who know how to deliver warm hospitality and throw an excellent party - they got on board with our vision and shared our aversion to the impersonal, overpriced, overdone aspects of the wedding world.

How many guests did you have?

138. We were initially overwhelmed by having that many people but intentionally designed the day to feel as intimate as possible.

We did family portraits beforehand to maximise time with guests, we arranged our ceremony seating in a semi-circle so we were sort of surrounded by our loved ones, dinner was shared family style and we planned activities across the night that helped bring guests from different parts of our lives together, including a personalised quiz that tested everyone’s knowledge of us.

What was your budget?

$40K but we went a bit over. In for a penny, in for a pound, as they say.

We were fortunate to have financial (and physical and emotional!) support from family as well friends who helped with our DIY approach and played important roles on the day.

Tell us about your outfits.

David’s suit was a full hand bespoke by Umi Nori, made with a lightweight Italian wool, linen & silk blend in chocolate brown, paired with custom Umi Nori shirt and chocolate silk tie to match. He wore it with loafers and a tuberose buttonhole to match the bouquet.

Montana’s dress was one of the most personal elements of the day – made by her brother Morgan and mum Katie, who are both fashion designers – so it’s better if she just describes it…

Mum is retired from fashion now but was well-known in the 80s for her avant-garde ‘wearable art’, a large collection of which is now held by the National Gallery of Victoria. Morgan designs under his label Hommework, which he describes as ‘garments and objects for star-fighter pilots and off-world spice lords’ – it’s incredibly tailored contemporary menswear. Suffice to say, bridal wear was not in either of their standard repertoires.

I came to them with various styles but ultimately wanted the dress to be a reflection of the family’s creativity. We spent months exploring designs, trying to crack an idea that harmonised our three very different aesthetics.

Mum lives in a small country town and each time she drove to Sydney to work on the dress she’d find some outrageous op-shop wedding gown on the drive up and we’d play dress ups. We fell in love with this gorgeous slubbed cream silk from a vintage dress she had (a high neck, long sleeve number that covered every inch of me) and went searching for a fabric like it, but nothing new compared.

So one day we deconstructed that dress and it took on a life of it’s own – unpicked sleeves forming a bodice, the skirt sculpted into tiers layered with silk from another vintage find and so on, transforming into an entirely new two-piece look. It was nothing like the designs we’d been working on and more special than anything I could have imagined. On the day I could feel their love stitched into the dress and carried that with me.

For accessories, I wore gold jhumka earrings, deep red heels and carried a tuberose bouquet with a photo charm of my dad. In lieu of a veil, I wore a vintage Assuit shawl (a family heirloom) and my hands were covered in intricate henna designs from the Mehendi we hosted pre-wedding.

What was the most important aspect for you, in terms of planning your wedding?

We focused on what was fundamentally significant to us and what we wanted our guests to experience. That meant getting the core elements right: a meaningful ceremony, good food in abundance, great drinks, warm hospitality and the right music to get everyone dancing. We knew those elements were what everyone would remember and deprioritised a lot of the small aesthetic details like stationery, signage etc. The things that were going to be kept or remembered were planned with intention and the things that would end up in landfill were upcycled, DIY’d or sourced on a budget.

Were there any elements that were important for you to incorporate?

Throughout the wedding, we incorporated details that tied into David’s Malaysian Indian background, conscious to represent a cultural balance that felt right for us. In the ceremony, we included a Malayali tradition where David placed a gold pendant called a Minnu around Montana’s neck. Our florals featured tuberose and vibrant yellows and oranges, with a focus marigolds – our favourite flower. Pani Puri, our favourite Indian snack, was served at cocktail hour alongside mini martinis and negronis and dinner was an abundant spread of shared Indian dishes.

Our celebrant Alison did a brilliant job of building a ceremony that authentically represented us and our interpretations of tradition, co-piloting with our close friend Sami to tell our love story and weaving in meaningful moments with our families.

To get all ages up on the dance floor, we skipped the first dance tradition and did a surprise line dance to Dolly Parton’s Baby I’m Burnin’ lead by our talented friend Anna, who also MC’d the night.

Any tips for couples getting married?

Be intentional and keep coming back to what really matters to you both. Don’t get caught up on how your wedding will look compared to others, focus on the experience you want you and your guests to have on the day.

How do you want it to feel when guests walk in? How do you want to feel when you’re standing there saying your vows? What will people remember? These kinds of questions were the most helpful for our planning.

And if you’re going for a DIY approach, make sure you delegate on the day! We worked through concepts, sourcing, styling etc and then enlisted family and friends to help in the lead up and fab vendors to execute everything on the day so we could stay present and stress-free.

Are there any vendors that you would like to tell us a little more about?

All our vendors were fab! We loved our celebrant, venue, caterers, coordinators, hair and make up et al.

We found our amazing photographer, Alanis, through The Anti-Bride and we couldn’t be happier – she is so perceptive, has the warmest presence and helped us feel really grounded on the day.

We hung an entrance banner which was custom-made by Cecil B Moxie, a talented chainstitch embroiderer from LA – she designed it as a keepsake we now hang in our home, with a personalised monogram bordered with gorgeous marigolds.

Our florist, Peach from Malai Studio, rescued us from DIY ambitions that we were definitely not equipped to execute. We came to her with a rough vision and she translated it into something so beautiful. Trust the pros and know your limits.

Our jeweller, Rhys, is one of the most talented contemporary makers in Australia and we’re completely obsessed with our rings.

Photographer: Alanis K @alanis.k.photography | Planning & Day-of Styling: Vow & Vision @vowand

visionweddings | Styling: by the couple | Flora: Malai Studio @malaistudio_ | Ceremony & Reception Location: Poor Toms Oltra @poortoms | Celebrant: Alison the Celebrant @alisonthecelebrant & couple’s friend | MUA: Celeste Gubb @celesteg.makeup | Hair: Hollie Markey @hollie_markey.hair | Catering & Dessert Table: Chit Chaat @chitchaatco | Beverages: Poor Toms Oltra @poortoms | Stationery: by the couple | Welcome Banner: Cecil B. Moxie @cecil.b.moxie | Dress: Custom Morgan McLean & Katie Pye @hommework_ | Suit: Umi Nori @uminori.atelier | Veil: Vintage Assuit shawl | Reception Outfit: Morgan McLean & Katie Pye skirt, Rocketbuster boots from Cecil B. Moxie @rocketbusterboots | Engagement & Wedding Rings: Rhys Jewellery @rhys.jewellery | Shoes: Aeyde @aeyde | Mehendi: Hafsa Henna Art @hafsa_henna_art | Nails: Kodi Rhyanna Beauty @kodirhyanna

beauty | Custom Minnu (Malayali Wedding Necklace): Poh Kong @pohkongmy | Bouquet Photo Charm: The Heavenly Hangers @the_heavenly_hangers