Vue de monde · Level 55 Rialto, 525 Collins St, Melbourne VIC
Church & Cathedral Wedding · Urban City Wedding · Region: VIC - Melbourne CBD · City: Melbourne
A bouquet of dusky roses by a hotel window, vows in a galleried church on Collins Street, then a twirl on the lawn in front of the Royal Exhibition Building. Becky and Gyu’s Melbourne CBD wedding ran on city blocks and good company, and finished on level 55 at Vue de monde, where they danced under sculptural lights and kissed against a window full of city lights. We were with them all the way up.
Getting ready at the Grand Hyatt · Vows at St Michael’s on Collins Street · Courtyard family photos · Collins Street and Carlton Gardens portraits · Dinner and dancing at Vue de monde · A level 55 kiss at night
Our day began high above Collins Street at the Grand Hyatt, with a bouquet of dusky pink and cream roses glowing against a bright window. Gyu was ready first: cufflinks fastened against the glass, a white rose pinned to his velvet lapel, then a warm handshake with a friend in a blue suit. Hotel windows this high give soft, even light with a wall of city buildings behind, so we stood him side on and let the towers fall out of focus. He sat for a moment in the window seat, calm and looking out.
Meanwhile, Becky was in her satin gown while a loved one in coral and navy settled the long veil over her hair. Her maid of honour, in deep green, helped from the other side. Then came our favourite frame of the morning: that same loved one leaning in to kiss Becky on the cheek as Becky closed her eyes and smiled. Family gathered by the window for photos, all laughing, before we had Becky to ourselves. Backlit by the glass, the veil turned almost silver, and a few frames went to black and white.
It was a short walk across Collins Street to St Michael’s Uniting Church, where the pews curve in tiers around the front under a ring of arches and a great pipe organ. A loved one in coral walked Becky down the aisle, and her maid of honour waited at the front with her bouquet. Because the seating wraps around like a theatre, we could step up into the side rows and shoot down across the whole room, which shows the scale and keeps the couple framed by faces rather than the backs of heads.
Gyu slid the ring onto Becky’s finger and she laughed, and their first kiss landed right in front of the organ. At the signing table, their hands rested on the certificate, both rings showing, which we framed tight with the red leather cover and a spray of roses. Becky and Gyu held the certificate up for the room, then bowed their thanks to family in the front row before walking back out through applause and raised phones. A wide lens from the front step caught every cheering face in the curving pews.
Outside, everyone gathered in the leafy courtyard beside the church, with polychrome brick arches and green shrubs behind. We started with the big group on the steps, everyone squeezed in, then moved through family combinations in the garden, the old brickwork giving each frame warmth without any harsh sun. Courtyards like this, shaded by the towers around them, are a gift in the middle of the day. The two smallest guests got a portrait of their own too, one in a pram and one leaning in, with Becky and Gyu crouched beside them.
Then we took Becky and Gyu out on their own. On the steps of St Michael’s, under the carved arch of the main door, Becky’s veil spilled down the stairs as Gyu led her by the hand. We shot from the footpath, low, so the doorway towered over them. Then we walked them up Collins Street, Becky lifting her skirt and laughing, past festive garlands and old stone shopfronts. A kiss against a grand pale facade with a dark awning gave us one of the most elegant city frames of the day.
Then we headed north to Carlton Gardens and the Royal Exhibition Building. Under a tree-lined avenue, Gyu wrapped Becky inside her veil for a close black and white portrait. They walked arm in arm past the fountain with the great dome behind, then Gyu twirled Becky on the lawn in front of a huge fanlight window, her train sweeping across the grass. The plane trees along the paths give shade and depth, and the pale building works like a giant reflector. Becky even struck a playful pose beside a set of old green doors.
Our last stop before dinner was a wall of pale metal panels a few steps away, which bounced soft light onto both their faces. Becky and Gyu leaned against it, laughing, then shared a long kiss as her veil drifted out along the wall. We asked Becky to walk away and lift the edges of her veil behind her, and the open back of her gown and the long tulle filled the frame. Gyu finished with a solo portrait, hands in pockets, his velvet lapel catching the light.
At the reception, Becky and Gyu changed into flowing evening outfits: soft white and blush for Becky with a silver band at the hem, a long pale grey coat for Gyu. They posed in front of white flowers and candles, then Gyu jumped in the air for a silly one. Their first dance turned slowly under sculptural twig lights, and then the floor filled, with Becky dancing with her maid of honour and Gyu throwing big moves. For our Vue de monde wedding photos, we finished at the window, the couple kissing against a sea of city lights.
Becky and Gyu got ready in a hotel suite high above the city, crossed the street on foot to St Michael’s for the ceremony, then gathered everyone in the brick courtyard beside the church. Their portraits followed along the city footpaths, then a quick hop north to Carlton Gardens and a wall of pale metal panels nearby. The evening belonged to Vue de monde, where dinner, the first dance, a packed dance floor and our closing portrait at the window all happened with the lights of the city spread out below.
Around the church, the surrounding towers kept the courtyard in shade, so the old brickwork glowed warm and faces stayed even in the middle of the day. Out on the street we chased pale facades and dark awnings, which bounce light in from one side and block it from above, a lovely combination for a kiss. In the gardens, the trees softened everything again. After dark the brief changed completely: for the window portrait we kept our light low and gentle on the couple, so the glittering city could do the talking behind them.
The striped brick arch and stone steps of St Michael’s gave Becky’s long veil a staircase to spill down, and we kept low on the footpath so the doorway towered above. In Carlton Gardens, the lawn between the fountain and the huge fanlight window was the place for twirls, and the pale gravel forecourt under the corner tower suited a hand kiss. A set of old green doors brought out their playful side. Back at the reception, the sculptural twig lights made a striking ceiling for the first dance.
A long veil earns its keep in the city: Becky’s streamed along footpaths, wrapped around them both under the trees and fanned out behind her open back gown. Have a friend ready to scoop up the train at kerbs and church steps, as one of Becky’s did outside St Michael’s. A change into flowing evening outfits, like Becky’s soft white and blush and Gyu’s long pale grey coat, lets you dance freely. Then keep a few minutes free after dark for a kiss at the window.