Real Wedding – Courtney & Shane, Curlewis VIC
There is a regal elegance to Courtney and Shane’s beautiful Curlews wedding day.
A decade after meeting, the pair pulled together a wild and enchanting celebration that left their guests speechless. Hands on with all the darling details their day was dotted with French elements and moody, regal hints that reflected them as a couple.
Pierre Curry was there to capture all the magic as this perfect pair and their guests partied the night away.
In Courtney’s words…
The meeting.
Shane and I met at University about 10 years ago, we both lived at college and knew each other but weren’t close. We had lots of mutual friends and about seven years after leaving college we caught up at a friends engagement party and completely hit it off.
Shane and I live in Melbourne, but I am originally from the Bellarine. About three months after Shane proposed his parents brought the house across the road from my parents – so the Bellarine area is very special to us and it was an easy decision to get married there.
The proposal.
Shane proposed, he had it all very well planned and took me completely by surprise!
Shane had designed a stunning ring, which was a three-month process, and by the time it arrived it was almost Christmas 2015, so our calendar was filling up quick. Shane found a free night where we had planned to be visiting my parents before I headed off on a hens weekend. He snuck down to see my dad that week and asked his permission (Dad of course said yes). Shane then booked a log cabin near the beach in Ocean Grove and had them set-up flowers, rose petals, candles and champagne.
On the Friday we drove down and took an impromptu walk along the beach. It was raining and very windy but I still had no idea and strolled along happily. Shane then said he wanted to go exploring and we walked to where the cabin was. He opened the door and walked in by which time I finally thought ‘that’s weird… something’s up’. When we walked in and there were flowers and candles lit I was completely shocked, Shane got down on one knee and I didn’t know what to do so I just copied and got down on one knee as well, and there, both kneeling, he asked me to marry him.
Style inspiration.
We had been to lots of weddings and trolled through numerous Instagram pages, Pinterest boards and wedding magazines/blogs, so we had a good idea of what we liked and what we didn’t.
We wanted our wedding to represent our style and be very authentic to us. We love being outdoors exploring and really wanted to capture this.
The style inspiration we kept applying was wild and enchanting. There were French elements to parts of the design, as well as moody and regal hints.
I loved styling the wedding. I hand-dyed all the table runners to get the right moody look, we used vintage candle sticks and a initial crest to add the regal element. It’s hard to have one style element otherwise it can take over, so having different influences really helped achieve the eclectic by complimentary look we were after.
My dad was a star in the styling prep – he sketched our invites, built seats for our ceremony and event built the alter!
I paid lots of attention to the detail and it was such a joy to see all the bits and pieces come together on the day. One thing we did which I will always remember was use photos of guests as their seat finder and wedding gift. We collected almost 100 vintage brass and silver frames (to match the candle sticks and regal look) and found photos of each guest with with Shane or myself, or both and used this on their seat. It was lots of fun to do and lots of fun to see & hear peoples reaction when they walked in. There were lots of old and funny photos which brought back many fond memories.
I was really glad we put the time and effort in to do this because it was a great conversation starter and helped communicate with everyone just how much we adore them in our lives and there to celebrate our day.
Words of wisdom.
Enjoy it!! Planning a wedding can be a bit daunting but take a breath and remember why you are doing it and enjoy the process – it’s a huge party celebrating your love! Whats not to enjoy… And remember it’s your wedding, so make it unique to you.
COURTNEY AND SHANE’S TRIBE
Location: Baie Wines – Baie has so many spectacular locations to get married, we opted for the driveway because it provided a very unique canvas for us to build on. It was also protected from the wind.
We carried the mood, wild, enchanting theme of the ceremony through to the reception. Baie’s cellar is stunning on its own, and only required a few touches to make it unique to us. We opted for greenery and candle-light as our main WOW factor.
Baie was the first venue we looked at! We promised ourselves we wouldn’t fall in love with the first one but we did and nothing could compare. Finding a place that you both love and that is meaningful is a truly special experience. Anne and Peter made the whole experience even more enjoyable.
Celebrant: Lana Ryder – Lana was amazing! She made the whole planning process very fun and easy.
Photography: Pierre Curry – Pierre was exceptional! Not only was he great and effortless on the day, he was also a huge help in the lead-up. We really wanted authentic shots, that were casual and captured the atmosphere of ourselves and our guests – Pierre was like a little mouse and was able to sneak around capture some very special moments.
Florist: Wild Daughter – Rachelle from Wild Daughter. We loved her style; it is very wild and unique. Rachelle had a team of florists working on the set up on the day, as we had a full-service including candles, they did a great job!
Styling: Bride.
Hair: Arlie from Blush Bar Geelong. Arlie was fantastic and helped me work out a hairstyle that was perfect for me. I would highly recommend her. Arlie also did a couple of the bridesmaids hair.
Make-up: Amanda and Ally from Blush Bar. Ally also did some of the bridesmaid’s hair. I was thrilled with the hair and make-up.
Bride’s dress: Luci Di Bella, Armadale – After trying on LOTS of dresses I had a really good idea of what I didn’t want, but wasn’t very clear on what I wanted. There was one Luci Di Bella dress that gave me butterflies when I tried it on, but it still wasn’t quite right. So I went back to Luci and we designed the dress together using her Georgia dress as a base. I wanted something very elegant, classy and minimal but with a real WOW factor. Somehow the dress achieved all this. I had long back cape that was detachable for the reception and the back had s modern mesh/lace detailing. It was very comfortable and every part of it was very “me”.
Shoes: Shoes of Prey – I would recommend this to any bride. I was able to customise every element of these shoes and they were perfect for the ceremony and photos. I wanted a chunky heel for comfort, closed toe for protection (you trek around a lot for the photos), and a modern leather look to keep the minimal-chic style.
Accessories: Viktoria Novak – gold leaf crown.
Bridesmaid’s attire: All of my bridesmaids are very different and I wanted to celebrate this so we opted to have the dresses made and put them in all different styles.
I picked a colour that would compliment the ceremony but also make the girls look elegant.
Each girl then worked with me to select a dress style we liked and a family friend (who happens to be an exceptional seamstress) made all four dresses.
They had gold accessories to keep in theme with regal and the bangles were styled like branches and leaves to look add to the ‘wild’ vibe.
Menswear: Peter Jackson suit, shoes, belt and pocket square, with Otaa tie. Cufflinks from Ties n Cuffs
Rings: Ellissi Melbourne
Catering: Truffleduck – Erin and the Truffleduck team completely surpassed our expectations. Not only was the food and service exceptional but the support in the lead-up and on the day was so valuable to us. If you are getting married in Geelong and need caterers you must get Truffleduck!!
Hire: Nomad Styling – We had rugs and a signing table from. Shonel was a great help and the order process was very easy!
We hired speakers and microphone from the Music Workshop in South Geelong.
The marquee extension was from Surfcoast Party Hire. This was a last minute decision and one of the best things we did… in the weeks leading-up we didn’t need to worry about the weather
Transport: McHarrys.
Entertainment: Las Pappas – acoustic duo Kiam and Harry. Las Pappas have played at lots of wedding we have been to and we just love them! They are great fun and create a fantastic vibe.
Favours: Vintage photo frames collected from various op-shops
