Susan & Shane’s Tiny Wedding With Uke & Guitar Duo

Susan & Shane a mid century modern bride and groom

When you're a dork, you relate to dorks. So we immediately hit it off with these two radsters.

Susan & Shane contacted us while we were on travelling 'round South Australia. We bought a nice Clare Valley Riesling, and had us an old fashioned double-online-date to get to know them.

Honestly, the second we saw them, we had a couples crush. No bull, no falsities, just good-hearted people with a passion for live music.

We sipped our wine and tried to hide our excitement.

Their wedding was perfect. Small, low-key, intimate. Just 12 guests, live music, and a great team of vendors making the day run smoothly.

It's been a year since the 'big' day, and we grabbed hold of the lovebirds to share their experience, memories and best wedding tips with you.

Here's what they had to say:

MEET SUSAN & SHANE

quirky couple that have alt folk musicians at their wedding

Introduce yourselves! Tell our readers a little about yourselves.

"We're a couple of dorks in our late 30s, brought together by our love of music and Simpsons quotes.

Susan's the more sensible one, Shane significantly less so (but not always). One of us works in the fashion industry, the other has worked in IT for the past 15 years. We'll let you guess who is who :)

We met online in 2014. Shane was initially attracted by my profile name which was the name of my favourite New Order track. We met a few days later at the planetarium and we've been together since.

The proposal was very low key, but perfect. There was pizza and champagne involved."

THE WEDDING STYLE

bride in car going to alternative marriage ceremony with folk wedding band

Susan and Shane wanted a relaxed, vintage style wedding.

Theirs was held at Boyd House II in South Yarra, designed by the architect Robin Boyd in the 1950s.

They invited only close family, and asked them to dress 'mid century modern'.

"We wanted to keep it as low key as possible but still fit into a mid-century style, from the venue to the transport and how we were dressed/styled on the day. There's a shared love for this aesthetic, which kept the organising somewhat simple."

prada red shoes at tiny wedding with guitar duo

Honestly... those outfits! There must be a bit of rockstar influence in there, right? Was there a hint of Bowie in that styling?

"Was it the red shoes that gave away the Bowie influence? We wanted something that reflected our own style so we went for a glam, vintage look."

Indeed, Susan rocked a gorgeous vintage dress, covered in sequins. Shane paired his handsome beard with a heart-print shirt and black velvet jacket.

NON-TRADITIONAL CHOICES

non traditional couple getting ready for wedding in their hotel

Any wedding traditions you intentionally left out?

"Probably the biggest tradition we left out was that of not seeing each other the day before or of the wedding. We stayed in the same hotel room the night before, got ready together and travelled to the venue in the same car."

What features / choices made your wedding unconventional, and totally 'you'?

"The venue, the music and the ceremony all felt like they had our unique stamp on them. Who else has made such a point of mentioning farts during their vows?"

couple make their own tattoos at wedding ceremony

THE TINY WEDDING

guests at boyd house quirky tiny wedding

uke and acoustic guitar duo playing at non traditional melbourne wedding

Tiny weddings. We love 'em. But for those who haven't even considered it, can you offer some thoughts?

"The size of the wedding was definitely us, only having close family attending made it feel very intimate and personal, and we're both family-oriented people.

There was no obligation to spend time meeting and saying hello to people we hardly knew, everyone was close and there was a flow to the socialising that never felt tiring (even for a couple of introverts like us!).

Of course, there is the cost benefit of having smaller numbers too. We also think that if the wedding was bigger the venue may not have been able to accomodate us, so it definitely kept our options open."

THE LIVE WEDDING BAND

fidel and sarah playing beautiful wedding songs for susan and shane's ceremony

Susan and Shane are both music buffs, so when they first started planning their wedding, there was no question about having live music.

"Definitely a must! We love going out to see a band so we thought live music at our wedding would add soul.

Live music adds a bit of personality and atmosphere, and we're both live music fans who enjoy the randomness a live gig can bring! Nothing compares to live music. "

But they wouldn't have any old thing. Susan & Shane told us why they went for a quirky duo like us instead of a standard wedding band:

"Mainstream doesn't really work with us in any aspect of our lives, so it makes sense to go for a couple of misfits like you two! We'd much rather have some Bowie, Cash and Ramones over Chisel, Pearl Jam and Lior (or Mariah Carey, or...)

Who couldn't want a band that plays I Wanna Be Sedated at weddings?"

Uke & guitar duo playing David Bowie wedding song

And of course, we had to ask - what's your music collection look like?

"We share a love for 80s alternative music, from The Cure to New Order and The Smiths. Susan leans more to the goth/punk stuff, while Shane prefers the electronic music leanings of the era (but for both of us, not exclusive to the 80s). We (also) like vintage, Johnny Cash, and a bit of indie stuff!"

ALTERNATIVE CEREMONY SONGS

How did you pick your ceremony music? Did you sit down and listen to songs together? Or always knew what you wanted? Something else?

"It was a bit of the first two. We kind of always knew what we wanted, and went through different suggestions (via YouTube and Spotify) to help ignite ideas."

Susan and Shane walked down the aisle together to our live rendition of Mazzy Star's song 'Fade Into You' as their processional. What was that moment like, we asked?

"We weren't really nervous at all, more excited at what was about to happen. We were also both very happy with how your interpretation of the song turned out!"

And if you're wondering, their upbeat recessional was a live acoustic rendition of David Bowie's 'Modern Love', the opening track on his 1983 album Let's Dance.

fidel and sarah performing at alt folk wedding

You had an awesome tiny group of guests, and they seemed to really enjoy the songs we played. What feedback did you get from your family?

"Everyone loved the music! Even our parents, despite not being familiar with some of the less mainstream choices like I Wanna Be Sedated by The Ramones.

All at our wedding were amazed with how it were as if everyone there, including you, felt just like family over for a relaxed get-together.

On the day, we loved how relaxed and casual you both were and how much you fitted in with everyone else (especially Shane's dad), as if you were family. And of course your performance couldn't have been better!

And Bowie. You played Bowie for us!"

Imagine for a second you didn't have live music during your wedding. How would that have been different?

"We don't know what we would've done if live music wasn't an option!

It would've felt less like a wedding that could happen only as a once-off event. A playlist can be replicated at any time, a live music performance is a unique occasion.

We didn't want anything stale like a DJ or a playlist helping dictate the vibe for a wedding."

WEDDING MEMORIES

One glorious year later, what memories stand out?

"Everything fit together so perfectly for our special day, it's difficult to find any one or two things standing out over the rest.

Perhaps the biggest thing was that everyone there felt like family, including the people we brought in to help put it together."

Any regrets? Non-essentials? Or even just things you would do differently with the benefit of hindsight?

"Perhaps less references to flatulence in the vows." (Both Susan and Shane are in mutual agreement here)

VENDORS & INSPIRATION

Susan and shane marry me dee and fidel and sarah relax after ceremony

Fidel & Sarah hugging Susan & Shane hugging Marry Me Dee. Aww!

From a vendor's perspective, we have to say that the service providers Susan & Shane chose were fabulous. In particular, we can vouch for those we worked with directly. We fell in love with Jess from Brown Paper Parcel photography, Boyd House Foundation were splendid to work with, Peter Rowland catering and Miss Ladybird Cakes provided absolutely scrumptious edibles, and Marry Me Dee was (and always is) a welcome ray of quirky sunshine.

Which wedding publications were most helpful for finding vendors & wedding inspiration?

"Hello May helped us discover our perfect wedding celebrant Dee, who in turn put us onto you guys!

You guys were just fantastic! We're actually sad we can't think of or invent anything for you both to play at in the near future.

The Rock'n'Roll Bride blog was an important part of providing inspiration, too."

miss lady birds delicious white cake with passionfruit on top

Cake by Miss Ladybird Cakes

Peter Rowland catering staff serving food

Catering by Peter Rowland

ADVICE FOR BRIDES & GROOMS TO BE

Bride and groom celebrate with champagne

What advice would you give to other couples considering live music?

"Couples need to find a band that fits in with their personalities, and that they get along with as if they were close friends.

Trust your instincts, we think people would know if they picked the right people for their wedding or not."

Any general wedding wisdom for soon-to-be brides & grooms?

"Keep things small and intimate. Don't feel like you need to include relatives or friends just through obligation, and go with who feels right to you when choosing vendors."

THE FINAL WORD

Stunning wedding shot by Brown Paper Parcel Photography of wedding couple

What makes your partner the best?

Shane: "Her smile, sense of humour, tolerance of my frequent absent-mindedness, her cats, and her endless love and support."

Susan: "His unwavering support and his belief in my abilities, his sense of humour, his love and excellent wine pouring skills!"

Alternative wedding band Fidel & Sarah Melbourne, Adelaide & Brisbane

Live band hire melbourne adelaide brisbane weddings

We're Fidel & Sarah

A Melbourne folk band with wedding sensibilities and punk rock spirit. Most days you'll find us off-grid in the country playing banjo tunes to the kangaroos, or travelling around Australia in our vintage caravan Myrtle. We love 99% dark chocolate, living every day like a holiday, and brides & grooms who aren't afraid to do whatever the hell they want for their special day.

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