Rebuilding a 45-year legacy into a brand for a venue that doesn’t exist yet
The Emerald is a wedding venue in Thomastown that’s been part of Melbourne’s north for over 45 years. After a fire destroyed the original venue, the same family decided to rebuild it from the ground up, with the new venue opening in late 2026.
My job was to rebuild the brand at the same time, so that by the time the doors open, people already know who The Emerald is and why they’d want to get married there.
The brand had to balance two things that don’t naturally go together. It needed to feel fresh and modern because it was a brand new venue, but it also had to reflect 45 years of history and trust.
Another challenge was that The Emerald had always relied on word of mouth. There wasn’t much of an online presence, so for younger couples discovering the venue for the first time, it looked dated even though it had a great reputation.
Everything was done in-house with a small team and a pretty limited budget.
The biggest challenge was that there was no venue to photograph. Most wedding venues rely on beautiful photos of real weddings. We had none of that. Instead, we had architectural drawings, 3D renders and a construction site, so we had to convince people to book a venue that wasn’t built yet.
At first, we focused a lot on the fire and the rebuild because it felt like a powerful story.
It didn’t land the way we expected. People started thinking it was a completely new business with new owners, when it was actually the same family continuing what they’d built over generations. It also shifted attention away from what couples actually care about, which is imagining their wedding day.
We decided to focus less on the fire and more on the family behind the venue.
The rebuild was still part of the story, but it became background. The main message became that this was the same trusted venue people had known for decades, just with a new home.
Once we started sharing the family and their history, the response changed.
People understood that this wasn’t a new business trying to build credibility. It was an established venue starting a new chapter. That made people much more comfortable following the journey and booking before the venue was finished.
I led a complete rebrand, including the visual identity and ongoing social content.
The new identity used deep emerald green with warm orange accents to feel modern and premium without losing the warmth and familiarity the venue was known for. Everything was designed to feel consistent across social media, the website and eventually the physical venue.
I was the design lead for the project.
I led the creative direction and the strategy behind the rebrand, then worked closely with videographers, motion designers and graphic designers to keep content going while the venue was still under construction. I stayed involved throughout to make sure everything felt consistent as the story evolved.
We started building the brand about a year before the venue was due to open.
Even without a finished venue, couples started making enquiries and bookings based on the strength of the brand and the vision of what was being built.
“The rebrand has completely transformed our business. We now attract a younger crowd and bookings have gone through the roof. We’re proud of our new identity and the positive impact it’s had on the business.” Natasha Petrovska
