A Lush Wedding at Rupert on Rupert

Cheeky Simone captured Jess’ attention with his Italian good looks and bubbly personality. While it took shy Jess a little while to come around to his confidence, eventually she fell. Hard.

Their proposal story sounds like something straight out of a romantic movie. Simone organised for Jess to spend the day at a winery, while he spent the day adorning their home with an abundance of blooms and candles. An unsuspecting Jess arrived home to discover Simone down on one knee inside a heart-shaped ring of candles, surrounded by rose petals. Seriously, does it get any sweeter?

Two weeks later, the loved-up duo jetted off to Italy, so Jess could meet Simone’s family for the first time. Pure magic.

The Decor

To theme or not to theme? It’s a question many couples ask themselves when wedding planning.

Jess and Simone decided to ditch the theme and instead allow the venue to speak for itself, simply adding some fresh florals to the already stunning space. And what is this ‘already stunning space’, you ask? Their big day unfolded at Rupert on Rupert in Melbourne’s inner north; an industrial, back-street haven, complete with a forest-filled conservatory.

Reflecting on their décor decisions, Jess says, ‘We kept everything really simple and refined. We also chose our venue, Rupert, partly because it has the most incredible natural greenery, so we really didn’t need to do too much more to make it look beautiful.’

Not one to shy away from a little DIY, Simone and his father made the table numbers (stuck into delectable Italian chocolates!), wedding favours and all the signage featured throughout the event. Guests were also treated to handmade egg maracas—and were encouraged to “Shake! Shake! Shake!” to get the party started!

Tips and Tricks

The couple has a few key pieces of advice to share with those in the midst of planning a love party.

Jess tells us, ‘Think about how you want to feel on the day. Don’t compromise with anyone other than your partner. Remember that it is one day, and it is your day to celebrate each other and the love that you share.’

‘It can be so easy to fall down the rabbit hole of all the things you think you should have, but really will not make much difference on the day. We tried to think of the top 3 – 4 things that were the most important to us—venue, music, photography, wedding dress—and that’s where we splashed out, otherwise we tried to be more conservative.’

‘Try not to make things too complicated either, it’s such a big day and if there is too much going on you will miss it!’

Scroll on to see all the images, captured by one of our favourite Melbourne photographers, It’s Beautiful Here. HOORAY_Jess_and_Simone006 HOORAY_Jess_and_Simone015 HOORAY_Jess_and_Simone021 HOORAY_Jess_and_Simone023 HOORAY_Jess_and_Simone025 HOORAY_Jess_and_Simone062 HOORAY_Jess_and_Simone080 HOORAY_Jess_and_Simone071 HOORAY_Jess_and_Simone084 HOORAY_Jess_and_Simone081 HOORAY_Jess_and_Simone128 HOORAY_Jess_and_Simone109 HOORAY_Jess_and_Simone119 HOORAY_Jess_and_Simone144 HOORAY_Jess_and_Simone156 HOORAY_Jess_and_Simone182 HOORAY_Jess_and_Simone163 HOORAY_Jess_and_Simone195 HOORAY_Jess_and_Simone179 HOORAY_Jess_and_Simone167 HOORAY_Jess_and_Simone207 HOORAY_Jess_and_Simone198 HOORAY_Jess_and_Simone204 HOORAY_Jess_and_Simone036 HOORAY_Jess_and_Simone037 HOORAY_Jess_and_Simone039 HOORAY_Jess_and_Simone052 HOORAY_Jess_and_Simone053 HOORAY_Jess_and_Simone045 HOORAY_Its-Beautiful-Here_Rupert-on-Rupert_272