“The Academy” Real Life Wedding 2020

So there is no doubt that the year 2020 completely took all of us by surprise. Many of us, including Ivy and Bleu had big plans for a massive year! We had booked in and scheduled our second “Ivy and Bleu does Bali” Academy Retreat, we had our biggest weddings yet and we were confident that this year of all years was not only going to be our busiest and most exciting but also our most fulfilling.

Well…. weren’t we wrong! With the outbreak of a freak worldwide pandemic we were whisked into a world of unknown. Suddenly we were in a lock down, we weren’t allowed to continue our normal social lives and were confined to living life at home. Obviously for the Event Industry this was devastating. We have become so accustomed to social activities and looking so forward to a new year of events we never dreamt we would ever be without.

After many months of the unknown and restrictions slowly easing the Ivy and Bleu team were able to continue our educational programs as we were finally allowed to have a group of people in the same room.

When organising what we would create for this we had an idea! We have been spending a lot of our downtime in this crazy period creating styled shoots that are so incredibly magical and yet only the team, vendors and models were able to enjoy it. Don’t get me wrong we do!! We love any excuse to go crazy creatively and invite all our industry friends to collaborate with amazing treats, stunning wedding gowns and for us the opportunity to create epic floral installations and table styling.

But this day we really reflected on what a tough year this has been not just for us but also for our beautiful couples. Many have had to postpone their weddings up to three times and many just haven’t been able to get married at all. So we decided this time we would really love to spoil one special couple with an intimate wedding they will never forget.

In October 2020 we decided that our usual Academy program held at our Gold Coast studio wouldn’t be so “usual”. Over 3 days we taught our keen industry friends Sam, Emily, Gemma & Bree about business, floral preparation, coordination and styling and by the end of it we would celebrate by legally marrying a beautiful couple! Yes this is real life! We would have a very intimate ceremony at Ivy and Bleu’s warehouse and we would adore the newly wed couple in whimsical flowers, fairy floss and pink cocktails.

When we first came up with the idea we put the word out on our Instagram stories. We were wanting a real life couple, who in the midst of the crazy world we are currently living in, were not able to celebrate their special wedding day.

Here comes Tahlia and Adam. Tahlia was one of our beautiful brides set to wed at the stunning Osteria in NSW. Not only Covid but a surprise pregnancy meant that the couple had no choice but to postpone or cancel. At no point did they ask for their money back; they simply requested that their deposit be allocated to a ceremony or elopement next year or a beautiful baby shower for their upcoming bundle of joy.

We were quick to lock it in … our couple had just filed to wed (literally that week) and their 30 days was going to be up on the very last day of our “Shoot Me” Course so it was well and truly meant to be! Our amazing team along with our students and talented team of vendors came together to create a magical elopement that our couple would never forget.

Tahlia was whisked away to the hair and makeup chair as she would have been on her special day, where the amazing @mahbar worked her magic. She was dressed in @oscarandivybridal & @lilygrace.bridal and adorned in @homebodii and @thewholebride accessories.

Enter the amazing photography skills by one of our all time favourite’s Dan Chafer @danielchaferphotography, Videography with @pipiandpalm and even The Gold Coast Bulletin as they captured the day in all it’s heavenly glory. We had an up and coming celebrant @rossburbury to wed the couple and the rest was styling, dessert and cocktail history. Think fairy floss by our favourite @flossybyronbay, delicious mouth watering tarts and cake by @thecakethatateparis and free flowing gin & tonic cocktails and a few cheeky mocktails for our new bride! A special Thank-you to our friends at @veryflamingo @blossie & @hamptoneventhire for the finishing touches to our ceremony space & table styling.

We did it! A real life wedding at Ivy and Bleu! It truly is a testament to true love. It doesn’t matter what is happening in the world, how hard things can get, where you are, or what you are doing you can always marry the one you love! With a little help from Ivy and Bleu of course!

We are so honoured that Tahlia and Adam trusted us to create this special moment in their lives. It was a day filled with so much love from so many and a part of 2020 we will never forget!

Congratulations Tahlia & Adam and thank you to all of our Industry friends for coming together to make it all happen!