Inside a Melbourne city wedding with Comme des Garcon, croquembouche and cheeseburgers

“It was important for us to structure and frame the day around food, our families and friends, and sharing a meal together.”

Here at Fashion Journal, we make no secret of our love of weddings. We’re suckers for a bit of romance and have a soft spot for weddings that do things differently, whether it’s a Las Vegas elopement, a tropical getaway or a Town Hall celebration.

Tash Walker met her now-husband, Max Dowzer-Strode, in 2011 when they were both 18-year-old university students. Though they started off as friends, Tash admits there was always something there. “We would constantly run into or find each other between classes and on nights out,” she says. Eventually, friendship turned into dating and they’ve been together ever since.

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When it came time to planning their wedding earlier this year, the couple did things almost in reverse. Though they’d initially sworn off marriage, their perspective shifted after deciding to have a baby. From there, they booked in a ceremony, with Max proposing soon after. “He surprised me one Saturday morning with a ring in a Maritozzi, which is a Roman cream bun,” Tash remembers, a nod to a previous trip to Italy where they first discovered the treat.

Their Melbourne wedding unfolded in three parts. After an intimate ceremony at the registry office on Spring Street, the couple and their families walked through Chinatown for a decadent lunch at Flower Drum. From there, they continued through the city to The Lincoln in Carlton, arriving to the cheers and applause of around 100 friends. Rather than traditional finger food, the menu featured platters of cheeseburgers and chips, followed by a croquembouche cake. “There was so much love and energy in the room,” Tash says. “We had the best night.”

Fashion Journal: Hi Tash! Congratulations on your beautiful wedding. Can you walk me through how you met Max and how you two got engaged?

Tash: We first met in Canberra in 2011 when we 18 years old studying at ANU. We didn’t get together straight away but there was something magnetic between us – we would constantly run into (or find…) each other between classes and on nights out. Max asked me out early on but I said no. I think in hindsight I was playing the long game. We were inseparable though and eventually started dating.

We were always convinced we would never get married but recently changed our minds after deciding to have a baby. We made the joint decision and first booked in the ceremony, so the engagement kind of happened in reverse. However, Max still ‘proposed’. He surprised me one Saturday morning with a ring in a Maritozzi, which is a Roman cream bun, and a symbol of love and commitment. We first ate them years ago at Bar San Calisto on a trip filled with a lot of special memories. He also played ‘Baby’ by Donnie and Joe Emerson, the song we had chosen for our walk down the aisle. It was the right amount of corny without being ostentatious or over the top.

What venue did you choose for your ceremony and why?

We chose the Marriage Registry on Spring Street. We were set on doing something relaxed and intimate with family only, so it was perfect. We also love that part of the city and live close by. It has such a strong aesthetic with so many iconic Melbourne spots, like Fitzroy Gardens, Parliament and Chinatown. It was also nice to incorporate locations which are meaningful to us.

What did you decide to do for your reception afterwards?

It was important for us to structure and frame the day around food, our families and friends, and sharing a meal together. This was a nod to Max’s dad, the late and much-loved chef Jeremy Strode, and also the role that food plays in building strong relationships and communities.

After the registry, we walked through Chinatown with our families for lunch at Flower Drum. It was the perfect restaurant for a special occasion, we love the old school hospitality and elegance. Max and I chose the menu and we had all the classics going for an element of nostalgia – dim sum, spring rolls, salt and pepper calamari, steamed scallops with XO, peking duck and beef ho fun. We also had a private room so were able to pop some magnums and do speeches. My sister Francesca, who flew all the way from London, MC’d the day. We had a lot of fun. It was the right mix of formal, but cheeky and relaxed.

We then all walked to The Lincoln in Carlton, where we had booked out the front bar for friends to join the celebrations. We were always planning a small wedding but things escalated and we had about 100 people there waiting for us to arrive. Walking up Cardigan Street with everyone outside the pub cheering and clapping was really special. There was so much love and energy in the room, and we had the best night.

Instead of finger food (which can often be awkward mid-conversation) we had platters of cheeseburgers and chips. This was a hit. It was the perfect thing to eat after a few drinks and meant everyone had to commit and get messy together. The Lincoln generously did this for us even though it’s not on their menu. Hopefully they add it as a lot of people thought it was the best cheeseburger they’ve ever had.

For the cake, we wanted something slightly retro and easy to eat, so we had a croquembouche. It was made by Emma Mackay, who was the pastry chef at Jeremy’s restaurant, Pomme, in the ’90s. She’s now a lawyer but came out of retirement just for us. My Nan, Rosemary, is an artist living in Cape Town who couldn’t make it on the day but she drew all the wedding invites and menus by hand, and made us ceramic cake toppers for the croquembouche.

Where was your outfit from, and what was the process of sourcing it like?

I bought the shoes at Acne Studios and another dress online earlier this year. I thought the dress would look good with a pregnant belly but it never felt quite right, especially as I got bigger. It didn’t hang off me in the right way and every time I tried it on I would constantly adjust it.

Before the wedding, I visited Francesca in London and decided to take the opportunity to try and find something else. We went to Paris for a few days where I found the outfit in Dover Street Market. It Comme des Garçons and I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it.

The two-piece jacket and skirt had structure and some traditional wedding elements with the pearlescent satin fabric. At the same time, it had the iconic asymmetrical and deconstructed Comme look with the rosette embroidery and folds. It was formal but had so much fun and energy injected into it, representative of the balance and contrast we were hoping to have on the day.

Max’s mum, Virginia, is a stylist and had a particular vision for the flowers. She commissioned a fabric bouquet from paper artist Amanda May Lee to match the Comme fabric rosettes. Amanda was Virginia’s student at RMIT and later made props for Virginia’s shoots including campaigns at the NGV. They became an extension of the outfit rather than an accessory.

What kind of beauty and hair look did you go for on the day?

I usually don’t wear much makeup and was daunted by the idea of overdone wedding makeup. I wanted it to be as natural as possible while also maintaining a strong look throughout the day. Hair and makeup artist Christine Gaunt was perfect for the job. She nailed the brief and was a joy to work with, starting the day with her gentle energy and positivity.

What about Max’s outfit?

Max is really particular, and he knows what he does and doesn’t like. From day one he knew the type of suit he wanted to wear: double breasted and slightly boxy with a draped cut, but still tailored and well-fitted. He decided on Armani as they pioneered this type of look in the ’90s.

He found a kindred spirit in Tamer Abasiry, the head of Armani’s made-to-measure in Melbourne. Tamer knew exactly what Max wanted and delivered on his vision, while making some executive calls behind the scenes. The suit would have been too boxy and draped for Max’s frame if he’d followed the exact instructions.

Max also wore a white Comme des Garçons shirt and fabric corsage made by Amanda to match my outfit. He also wore Maison Margiela shoes, which were chunky but elegant and stood up to the boxy suit.

How did you capture the event? Did you have a certain vision?

Even though we were going for something casual and relaxed, there was still a lot of intention to the day, and a certain tone and mood that we wanted to capture. We thought Kayla May Petty-Kook would be perfect. We love her hospitality and event photography, and it was more the style we wanted as opposed to traditional wedding portraits.

She has an amazing ability to photograph energy and movement, and you can really feel the atmosphere and vibe in her photos. She perfectly captured our vision and we got some amazing shots. We also had a lot of fun with it (it’s not every day you get a private photographer) and did a series of Diane Arbus-style shots with more serious poses. They are gorgeous and have a slightly editorial feel, really showing off our amazing outfits.

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