Real Wedding - Felicity & Steve, Dromana VIC

June 20, 2018 In Real Weddings By Natalie Drum

Real Wedding – Felicity & Steve, Dromana VIC

For Steve and Felicity, wedding planning was a joy. After their engagement, they sat down together, envisaged what they wanted and then set the plans in motion for an incredible day.

When Felicity met Steve at the end of the aisle, it was such a beautiful moment, made even more meaningful as they exchanged their vows under the arbor Steve built.

The grounds of Tanglewood Estate gave their celebration a romantic yet relaxed vibe and was the perfect backdrop for Tess Follett to capture all the love-filled moments.

In Felicity’s words…

The meeting.

We have known each other for 10 years, meeting at work (actually sitting in neighbouring cubicles!) and were friends for years. When the time was right, Steve made the move of asking me out on a date. As it turns out, we both had a crush on each other the whole time! We have now been together for nearly six years.

‘The one’.

Steve and I had been friends for years, so we already knew each other well and I knew what an incredible man he was. When we had our first kiss overlooking Bells Beach (both successfully transitioning out of the ‘friend zone’!), I immediately knew that he wasn’t just my best friend, but was indeed the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.

The proposal.

Steve and I had been house-hunting for months and finally had success in purchasing our own home. Moving day came and we had a huge day of moving and settling in. After hours of unpacking, we stopped to have a celebratory drink and, amongst the boxes, Steve recited a poem he had written for me which concluded with popping the question! It was not only a sincere and thoughtful way of proposing, but was also a perfect start to the new chapter in our lives. Afterwards we walked up to our new local wine bar for a celebratory dinner and drinks. We didn’t tell anyone that night, as we wanted to keep the moment just between us but the next day we did the ring-around and everyone was thrilled!

The process.

We have been to a lot of weddings together and were very clear from the start what we wanted and didn’t want. I think due to this, we actually found the wedding planning enjoyable. We did all of it together, so Steve was very involved during the entire process and had plenty of ideas, including wanting to build the arbor for the ceremony. We are both generally quite organised people, so we just worked through each of the elements and what we envisaged.

Style inspiration.

We wanted a relaxed wedding that was essentially a big party. We also both love the outdoors, so wanted a relaxed outdoor/rustic setting. We both have connections to the Mornington Peninsula so it was a natural choice for the location, and we felt that Tanglewood Estate entirely embodied our idea of relaxed and rustic.

The floral and interior styling was done by the very talented team at Creating Beautiful (the Director of which who also happens to be a good friend of ours). I simply liked the colours, as I felt they complimented the vintage style of my dress and would work as a pleasant visual contrast to the natural hues of the setting, and Creating Beautiful obviously worked their magic from there.

The dress.

I was always a big fan of Anna Campbell, having bought a few of her cocktail dresses over a decade ago. When she moved to bridal gowns I continued to love her style, so it was a simple decision to head to Anna Campbell when the time came. I actually had other styles in mind and only tried on the Adelaide gown when suggested by my Mum. I immediately loved the vintage feel of it and the shoulder and back details. I love that the dresses are designed and made in Melbourne and I was actually lucky enough to also meet Anna herself at one fitting.

Favourite moment.

Which one!? The whole day!

Meeting Steve at the end of the aisle was a dream come true, and then turning around to see all our favourite people in the one place was very surreal. One moment in particular for me was during the reception, we went outside together as the light was disappearing and the trees were all lit up with fairy lights, and we had a moment just together to take it all in. Seeing all our family and friends inside celebrating our day was just a very touching moment.

Also, in Steve’s speech when he recited a poem he had written for me, that was also a favourite moment.

Traditions.

We wanted a very relaxed day, so we actually excluded a few traditional aspects. We did, however, use a reading that we liked which was recited at Steve’s parents wedding. I also wore my Grandmother’s ring attached to my bracelet, so that a part of her was with me on the day.

Meaning of marriage.

A partnership in love, confirming that you will be there for each other through thick and thin. It is supporting, trusting and loving each other unconditionally, and laughing together while you’re at it.

Wedding soundtrack.

Aisle: Stay Alive by Jose Gonzalez

Ceremony: Sea of love by Cat Power and Heartbeats by Jose Gonzalez

Exit: Lovin’ You Baby by Charles Bradley

All performed by our very talented friend Jack Poulson aka JP Klipspringer.

Funny stories (or near disasters).

We used a few Jose Gonzalez songs during the day as we love his music. We went to see him at the Melbourne Recital Centre the week following the wedding, and were actually able to meet him before the show!

Planning surprises.

We were very lucky that both our planning and the day itself ran smoothly! However, the main surprise to me was how fiddly it was to pull everything together in the month leading up. Have good communication with your vendors, keep organised and stay on top of your emails!

Words of wisdom.

We found that it was great that we discussed upfront what we both envisaged and wanted for the day. This way, we were able to make easy decisions about what we liked and didn’t. Shop around but also be decisive, this will just make your life easier!

Get to know the vendors as you are putting a lot of trust and money into them. You want to be happy and confident with their contributions to the day and a large part of our day running well was the professionalism and organisation of our vendors.

Think carefully about the music you choose as the atmosphere later in the evening is based on the dancefloor activity.

We also would strongly recommend that couples tailor the day to what they want. Exclude the traditions that you don’t like or don’t want to do.

Also, a great piece of advice that I received was in addition to a general run-sheet for the day, also make a photography run-sheet for family for following the ceremony. This ensures that you get the family/friend photos that you want and can do them quickly!

One last piece of advice – take a moment during the day/night, find a quiet spot, and take it all in together. It all goes by so quickly and is such an incredible day, so take a moment to drink it all in together, then get back to the party!