Real Wedding – Emma & Chay, Bellarine Peninsula VIC
For Chay and Emma, soaking up the love that comes when you combine so many different friendships and family connections into one space was paramount to their stunning celebration. Their fresh, monochromatic styling and carefully considered details were merely the aesthetic flourishes to accompany the effortless romance of the day.
With the sun beaming down upon the lush grounds and surrounding ocean views of Terindah Estate, Chay and Emma exchanged their meaning-filled I Dos. Emma’s dream gown and veil from Kyha gave minimalist sophistication, while Chay wore a classic black suit and bow tie from MJ Bale and Otaa.
Guided through the day by the catering team at Truffleduck, the new Mr and Mrs were the epitome of relaxed excitement and loved-up bliss, captured with delicate artistry and style by the indomitable Jess Nicholls.
Scroll on to watch this light-filled, luminous celebration unfold.
The meeting.
Chay and I met in high school and shared the same friendship groups coming from a small country town, but it was years later when we bumped into each other after Dunked Races. We had both moved back home to Hamilton for a short period and decided to catch up for a coffee, and from then on, the rest is history!
The ‘one’.
From early on we both knew that we had something special, we both slotted into each others families very easily. We were both able to get along together so seamlessly and could totally be ourselves around one another. We have always enjoyed the small everyday moments together and that to us is very special.
The proposal.
We went to Hamilton Island for Chay’s 30th birthday and stayed at Quaila. Chay asked me before dinner one night on the balcony overlooking to ocean and surrounding islands and it was so special. We got to enjoy some champagne and soak it all in before some pre dinner cocktails. The weather wasn’t ideal while we were there so Chay likes to tell people he had to do something to cheer me up!
Chay actually tried to ask me the day before, we were driving around the island on the golf buggy and got out to look at an incredible view. Chay thought that was a great spot only to see the I had got back into the buggy because I was sulking about the weather. How it happened in the end was perfect though.
The proposal.
The planning was fun, we locked in most things very early on which was exciting, We are pretty organised people so during the year we just chipped away at things, Towards the end it got a little overwhelming but having a venue with an amazing event co ordinator really helped. Kristie at Truffleduck did a lot of the hard work for us and I also got a lot of help from our amazing photographer Jess. The day ran perfectly!
Style inspiration.
Classic, elegant and timeless. Our dress code was black tie, we had cream roses for the bouquets and chose cream, white and green flowers and foliage. Our table setting was minimal with flowers and candles and beautiful linen napkins – we wanted to be able to look back in 20 years time and still love all of our styling choices
I loved the Ivory Tribe blogs and I loved looking at photographer’s Instagram pages for ideas. The hardest thing for us was choosing the bridal entrance song. One Sunday afternoon we went through every real wedding on Ivory Tribe looking at everyone’s reception entry song choices!
The ceremony.
Our ceremony was short and sweet, I had my two cousins walk me down the aisle which I’ll remember forever. I loved having two people to hold onto, and it was really special having our niece and nephews walk down the aisle also. A beautiful moment was the mention of our grandparents who weren’t with us on the day and the mention of Chay’s grandma Penny as I have her diamond on my engagement ring
The outfits.
Before we were engaged I already knew which dress I would choose – it was the first one I tried on at Kyha, but I still loved trying on more styles. I also had the most beautiful veil from Kyha, which I wore over my face.
Chay chose MJ Bale for his suit and the experience was so much fun!
Favourite moments.
We honestly loved our whole day, from start to finish. We loved looking around every now and then and seeing everyone having so much fun and always laughing and smiling.
Meaning of marriage:
In our celebrant’s words: “To you both, marriage means a promise between two people to share their lives with one another. Someone you can love, adventure with, laugh with and go through all of life’s good and hard times. Someone who will always love and support you, as you’ll do for them. You have surrounded yourself with wonderful people and found in each other a once in a life time love that will continue as you move into this next exciting chapter.”
Wedding soundtrack.
Aisle: Beyond by Leon Bridges
Reception entry: The Way You Make Me Feel by Michael Jackson
First dance: Angels by Robbie Williams
Funny stories or near disasters.
The boys had pocket squares and they completely forgot about them until they got to the venue! I didn’t even notice until Chay told me!
We had a handful of guests fly from interstate and Chay’s aunty from South Africa – all of their flights were either cancelled or delayed, everyone made it in the end, though!
Planning surprises.
Obviously the cost of things – it’s all the little things that seem okay at the start but in the end all add up. In saying that though we wouldn’t change a thing, we feel so lucky and grateful we were able to have a wedding, we kept it small with 80 guests but we are so happy we got to experience all of the fun and happiness on one day with our friends and family.
Words of wisdom.
It will most likely be the only time in your life that you will get all the different groups of family and friends from all around the world, that mean the most to you and your partner, all in one venue at the same time, the day goes so quick so make sure you stop, look around and soak it all in and have fun with the whole process! Its truly all so worth it.
Don’t worry about the little things as our friend’s beautiful nana told us, things will happen and it will make for wonderful stories in years to come!
Trust your vendors, they have done this all before and it will definitely all come together in the end.
For a similarly effortless feel and stunning style, and chic black and white palette, look no further than Ben and Mikaela’s gorgeous real wedding.
EMMA & CHAY’S VENDORS
We wanted to keep our vendors all local as we feel we are spoiled by choice in our region and wanted to support businesses in our area.
Ceremony & reception venue: Terindah Estate. Terindah was the first and only venue we looked at. We loved the idea of having both ceremony and reception at the one place and they have the most spectacular views of the Melbourne bay. They also have a beautiful wet weather option just in case!
Catering: Truffleduck. We are very fortunate to have been guests at a couple of weddings that were catered by Truffleduck – the service that the staff provide is exceptional. Our co-ordinator Kristie did all of the hard work for us, she was so wonderful and helpful and we can’t thank her enough. The Truffleduck team are the best you’ll get. A highlight during the year was going to their menu launch, it was so much fun and you are just spoilt for choice!
Celebrant: Emily Rawlings – Emily Rawlings Marriage Celebrant. Emily actually lives in Tasmania, one vendor that we sourced from outside of the Geelong Region. Emily happens to be a good friend of ours, so it was a no brainer for us to put our trust in her to run our ceremony. It felt so special having a beautiful friend marry us and she did the most wonderful job in the lead-up and on the day.
Photography: Jess Nicholls. Our photographer Jess was just the best, her photos speak 1000 words and she has captured our day so beautifully. Jess is so talented and so much fun! We actually didn’t worry about a videographer because we knew our photos would be everything.
Florist: Anna Loughnan Flowers. Anna did the most incredible job with our flower arrangements, our brief was simple, classic and timeless. Annas arrangements were so beautiful and she was so helpful in the lead up to the wedding.
Hair: Ashlea Simmons Hair
Make-up: Studio 2 Makeup
The dress & veil: Kyha Studios – the Halston gown and Sheath veil
Shoes: Gucci
Rings: Leskes Jewellers Port Fairy and Duffs Jewellers Geelong
Bridesmaid’s dresses: Aje and Sir the Label
Suits: Mj Bale
Bow ties: Otaa
Favours: Towards the end of the night our mums made flower arrangements with our flowers for our guests to take home.
Cake: Georgia from Giggles Bakery in Geelong. We had a divine Burnt Basque Cheesecake as our wedding cake!
Stationery / Signage: Victoria from Vh Designs in Geelong
Entertainment: Sarah, Angus and Joey from Unplugged Entertainment. Sarah, Joey and Angus were all so incredible, they were so much fun! I loved looking around and seeing everyone have so much fun on the dance floor!
Transport: Wedding Jaguars of Geelong and Abda Buses
Hire: Napkins from Coeur Studio and Candles from Signs to Celebrate
Honeymoon: Mitchelton Winery and Africa.
