Real Wedding – Annabel & Robbie, Yarra Valley VIC

 

Despite living interstate, Annabel and Robbie planned their wow-factor wedding at Stones of the Yarra Valley with absolute grace and perfection.

They pulled off a truly memorable day for their friends and family, and with florals as the focal point, the iconic venue was styled beautifully with bright whites and luscious greenery, nailing Annabel’s brief of simple, elegant and classic.

Unsurprisingly, Annabel’s Pallas Couture gown was a knockout, and this whole darling day simply oozed perfection.

Angie and Oli from Rolling Stills used their lenses to capture all the love!

In Annabel’s words…

The meeting.

We met through mutual friends and developed a friendship before I visited him in Adelaide. We have been together ever since!

The ‘one’.

We did long distance for years, and I think the way that we were able to navigate the inherent challenges that come with that, and get through it all, made me realise that Robbie was the one I wanted to be with and that we could definitely be forever. We, of course, went through ups and downs but ultimately we found that we had met a good match in each other. Also, he knows how to make me laugh. I think that is how you really know it’s the one.

The proposal.

It was perfection and very typical Robbie; unassuming and unpretentious. It was just us, in a hotel room, after what I thought was me taking Robbie for his birthday dinner. It happened during football season so it took me completely by surprise and that was the best bit about it!

The planning process.

We wanted to get married quite quickly so the planning was very intense for the first week or so after we got engaged. I did not slow down and take in the moment at all! It was go, go, go. We luckily got a date at Stones of the Yarra Valley after a cancellation and everything just fell into place from there. I really did enjoy the process but I definitely found it time consuming and quite stressful. The lead up was super exciting; it was during Christmas, my favourite time of year, and it was just such a magical time.

Style inspiration.

I was inspired a lot by my childhood. I was fortunate enough to travel the world with my family when I was younger and have so many (albeit vague!) memories of beautiful, manicured gardens in France and England with lush greenery and white roses. We had garden books all over our house with these gorgeous countryside and cottage gardens, and I always wanted flowers to be the focal point of my wedding when I grew up.

My mother has a love of gardens and flowers and some of these memories I have with her are so special and definitely inspired me. I also wanted to make sure there was a country/ ‘outdoorsy’ feel to the wedding, as Robbie and I both spent a lot of time in rural settings as kids.

Other than the flowers, I just wanted everything to be simple, elegant and classic. I have a pretty major aversion to colour when it comes to decoration etc, so everything was clean and simple. I am super OCD so everyone had strict instructions of what I wanted and everything was absolute perfection in the end. Striking the perfect balance between everything I wanted was so crucial to the overall feel and I could not have been happier with how it all turned out. I am so grateful to the venue and all our vendors for making it so beautiful. I look at photographs now and I actually can’t believe it was my wedding!

The dress.

I looked no further than Pallas Couture. I have known for years that I wanted a Pallas dress and the whole process felt incredibly surreal. It was truly the most unforgettable experience of my life! Having a gown custom made was a dream come true. I was able to work with Joy and Rebecca along with their amazingly talented team, to create the most perfect dress that was so unbelievably special to wear. I had rough ideas of what I wanted, but I was very open and very much wanted Pallas to guide me, so I worked with Bec to refine and improve what I thought I wanted. I wanted one look for the ceremony and one for the reception, without actually having to change dresses. So we did a super long and dramatic detachable train and a beautiful cathedral veil for the ceremony, and then the train and veil came off and I added the super chic armbands to wear for the reception, which completely changed up the look of the dress.

Not only did I get the most beautiful dress, the Pallas studio is in the suburb I grew up in Perth, so it was hugely sentimental for me to have such a special piece of my wedding come from home.

Favourite moment(s).

Probably the moments when Robbie and I locked eyes when I was walking down the aisle and when we were saying our vows. We had talked about the moment I would walk down the aisle so much and it was everything we thought it would be. I also loved driving to the venue in my dad’s car with him. It was such a fun trip and I felt so unbelievably happy!

Traditions.

I didn’t think too much about traditions in the planning but I did definitely want my ‘something old’, which was a piece of floral lace that was in my Grandma’s sewing box. My mother sewed it into the silk that tied my bouquet so I could have her there with me.

The meaning of marriage.

To me, marriage means forever. And it means constantly making sure the other person feels supported and loved.

Wedding soundtrack.

Aisle: Use Somebody by Kings of Leon

First Dance: Book of Love by Peter Gabriel

Funny stories/ near disasters.

No disasters, thank god! But it was an incredibly hot day. Lots of uncomfortable, perspiring guests and I think we almost lost a groomsmen to heatstroke at one point during the ceremony! I purposely tried to drink less water than usual (which, in hindsight, was a poor choice) as I didn’t want to have to frequent the bathroom and deal with my dress and train. And of course it was the hottest day ever so instead of dress issues I just dealt with massive dehydration for the 48 hours after the wedding. Worth it!

Planning surprises.

I definitely did not think it would be as stressful as it was. But given how stressful it was, I guess what took me by surprise the most was how relaxed I was in the few days leading up. I felt so calm and just had so much fun in those few days and on the day, which I am really grateful for.

Words of wisdom.

Do whatever the Bride wants! Kidding, sort of. Bride’s usually have a vision of how they want their wedding, and it will always turn out best if you just let them do their thing. I think Robbie would agree!

 

Fancy getting married in the Yarra Valley? Get the low-down on all our favourite venues.

 

 

ANNABEL & ROBBIE’S TRIBE

Ceremony venue / location: Stones of the Yarra Valley

Reception venue / location: Stones of the Yarra Valley

Celebrant/Officiant: Megan Thompson – The Commitment Company

Photography: Rolling Stills. Angie (photographer) and Oli (videographer) put together the most amazing team to capture our special day. They went over and above for us before, during and after the event and I loved having them with us!)

Videography: Rolling Stills

Styling: Bride

Florist: Sugarbee Flowers

Hair: Coil Hair Studio. Cole has done my hair for years. She’s the best in Adelaide and she came all the way over to be with me on the day. We practised so many times in the months leading up as I wanted that undone look that’s actually harder to do than you would think. I was so happy with the end result!

Make Up: Amelia Webb

The Dress: Pallas Couture. Simply INCREDIBLE! I had to travel back and forward to Perth a lot for meetings and fittings and everyone was so accommodating of my schedule and worked tirelessly to fit everything into short spaces of time. They are truly so wonderful to work with and so amazingly talented.

Veil / head wear: Pallas Couture

Jewellery/Accessories: Cassandra Mamone and Cartier

Shoes: Alaia

Rings: Cassandra Mamone

Bridesmaids dresses: Zimmermann

Grooms suit: Briggins

Grooms Shoes: Briggins

Groomsmen suits: Briggins

Bow ties / ties: Briggins

Catering: Stones of the Yarra Valley

Cake / Cake topper: Mad About Cakes & Flowers by Sugarbee

Stationery / Signage:  Cake Ink

Entertainment: Ceremony- Nussy, Reception- Andy McGarvie & Band.

Transport: Father of the Bride’s car

Honeymoon: Qualia at Hamilton Island – HEAVEN!

Other:

‘Shakey’ (Jacob Butler) – An amazing artist who, after photographing our first kiss at the ceremony, painted an amazing portrait of us over the course of the evening. Such an incredible and unique experience for us and our guests to watch it come to life, and the most beautiful keepsake for us.