The one.

Nath and I have known each other for a really long time, it has been 13 years. I have been trying to think about us and how it happened and when it happened, and I really can’t exactly pinpoint when I knew that he was ‘the one’, but what I do know is that from the moment I met Nath we had something. There was something between us that I had never felt before with anybody, a friendship, a desire, a connection and as every year has passed that ‘something’ developed, grew stronger and certainly took some tumbles, twists and turns. But here we are and I can wholeheartedly say that what we have now and the love and passion I have for him and us is untouchable.

The proposal.

On New Years Eve, Nath surprised me with a city hotel stay. After some gorgeous beauty treatments I made my way back to the gorgeous hotel room where Nath and a delicious looking dessert were waiting.  In order for me to be able to eat the dessert, Nath insisted we play a game. He used his phone to play the game “Heads App” (it’s a game that flashes words on a screen and you have to act out and give clues as to what it is for your partner to guess – basically a modern charades!) After winning a few rounds, all of a sudden ‘STACEY, WILL YOU MARRY ME?’ flashes up on the screen! Unsure how to act this one out, I was completely surprised and speechless that the man I loved was asking me to marry him.

The planning.

I have dreamed about getting married for a really long time so as soon as Nath popped the question I began planning. I wanted to be on top of the really important things and get them booked so that I could dedicate the rest of the time to planning the smaller and finer details that would bring the whole vision of our day to reality. I found myself a little consumed by it at times, (which I’m sure Nath will attest to) but overall I enjoyed the planning and seeing everything we had done come together.

Style inspiration.

A relaxed rustic/vintage vibe; anyone that has been to The Barn will know that the inspiration totally comes from within that beautiful, characteristic and charming building and surrounding property. It really whisked me away from reality the first time I laid eyes on it! It truly did get better and better every time I visited and then on our day it really did take my breath away!

The dress.

The dress I wore wasn’t particularly fancy, traditional or ‘bridey’. I looked tirelessly through magazines, the internet, Pinterest and blogs to pick styles and brands that I really loved and to see if I could pin-point that perfect dress. I was getting nervous as nothing really seemed to jump out at me. It was a trip to Melbourne with my very patient sister and very honest mum that I knew I would be sure to find a dress I loved – I had three boxes that I wanted to tick:I didn’t want a strapless dress, I wanted to be comfortable and I wanted to be able to sit down easily. We had bookings all weekend at some very beautiful stores, and I tried probably 10 or more dresses on, but I just didn’t feel like myself.  I was totally bummed. Then, as I stepped into Rachel Gilbert, I just knew that my dress would be walking out with me that day. It ticked all the boxes and more. I felt great in it, it fitted me like a glove and in my mum’s words “it’s just YOU!” – success, I had found MY dress.

Favourite moments.

My most favourite moment of the day was our ceremony and reading our personal vows to each other – there could have been a train running right through the blue gums and I wouldn’t have noticed – our ceremony was entirely about Nathan and I, and very personalised – it was perfect.

Tradition.

Our ceremony was a blend of traditional and non-traditional – we kept some very traditional vows but then also wrote our own. I also made sure I was wearing, something old (my earrings and garter), something new (dress), something borrowed (veil and earrings) and something blue (garter and shoes).

The meaning of marriage.

Loving another in the truest form – having the confidence to be yourself no matter what! Flaws and all. Marriage for me is a relationship that encourages you to grow, trust, respect, love and be loved, it’s committing to one person and acknowledging them as your number one – it’s a friendship that is forever. You tackle things together, talk about things together, make huge life decisions together and most of all, you experience this beautiful, precious and inspiring life together.

Wedding soundtrack.

Aisle: Instrumental version of ‘Home’ by Phillip Phillips – Piano Boys

Signing registry: ‘Levitator’ by LP

Reception entry (bridal party): ‘Uptown Funk’ feat Bruno Mars (Mark Ronson)

Reception entry (Bride and Groom): ‘Happy’ by Pharrell Williams

Cutting the Cake: ‘Sugar’ by Maroon 5

First dance: ‘No Matter Where You Are’ – US the Duo

Father/Daughter + Mother/Son Dance – ‘Ain’t that Love’ by Darren Percival

Funny stories (or near disasters).

The only thing that I can think of was the anticipation of trying to be weather girl and my massive bridezilla moment on the Tuesday night before the wedding – eeeekkkk! I’m not proud of it but heck it was warranted at the time! Luckily for my AMAZINGLY calm now husband, matron of honour and her husband, helped me get through it. After my tantrum, the rains were not brave enough to show up until our reception started and we were all indoors- thank goodness.

Planning surprises?

Being an organised kind of lady, none of the planning took me by surprise – we ran ahead of time on the day, a full hour! I had dedicated a lot of time leading up to specific detail and I believed it helped when setting up the couple of days before the wedding – I was very clear on the vision I had and we did everything we could to make it a reality.

Words of wisdom.

Get the big stuff locked and loaded as soon as possible, decide on the really important things to you and your hubby-to-be and make them happen! For example, our top priority was booking our venue and cinematographer and entertainment. We made sure that these were the first things we chose and booked. You can’t and won’t please everyone – it can be a stressful time planning a wedding, but I promise you this, you can get through it as long as you and your hubby-to-be stick together. Be on the same page, talk things through and communicate every detail. The most important advice I could pass on is to remember exactly what the day is about – it’s about getting to marry your best friend, your number one.

 

 

NATHAN AND STACEY’S TRIBE (and some warm words about them)…

Location: The Barn – Wallington. – It’s hard to put into words just how perfect the venue was.  The Barn, to me is the most charming, charismatic and exceptional property that oozes warmth & inspiration. Glenys, John, Herb and the staff were unbelievably helpful.

Celebrant: Linda Hamill – Civil Marriage Celebrant – WOW! WOW! WOW! This lady totally got it and us! Besides being absolutely gorgeous on the outside, Linda is the sweetest person. She listened and understood exactly what we wanted our ceremony to be.

Photography: Simon L. King  – The most calm, creative, talented and coolest photographer I have been privileged to meet. The photos are indicative of how good this guy is and we feel so lucky to have had him our day. He truly is one of the best.

Cinematography: Love Soldier Weddings – Where to start with our man Stu and his boy Connor from Love Soldier Weddings – the epitome of cool, smooth and suave rolled into one. Stu understood just how important having a video of our day was to us and when you watch our highlights video you will understand why he makes vids for a living – no words – just watch!

Styling: Our styling was all DIY, I used Pinterest and internet searches to look for inspiration and ideas, I also looked at past weddings that had been done at The Barn to gather up some great ideas as well! For the most part we didn’t go overboard with styling as anyone that knows The Barn understands that it has its own unique style! I added some finer details like ‘bathroom break baskets’ in the men’s and women’s bathrooms. We scattered games like Uno, pick up sticks, Kendama and puzzles inside The Barn to make sure everyone was entertained. We had a basket with blankets that had a sign ‘to have and to hold in case you get cold’. Another big styling feature for us was the fairy light wall on the double doors at the back of The Barn. Knowing what my sister (Wallflower Ward) and I had planned for the floral installations I didn’t need any more styling than that!

Florist: Wallflower Ward – who also happens to be my little sister and maid of honour – literally took my breath away with her floral installations, the bouquets, my floral comb and all of her additional floral pieces. She understood and listened to my brief specifically and I whole heartedly trusted her to make choice with flowers that she thought would best suit. She is passionate, creative and an artist – she takes pride in every single detail and created absolute masterpieces that made our day complete.

Hair and Make Up: All of our hair-dos were done by the ladies at Kalo. They were fantastic – relaxed, helpful and on time. Sandra did my hair and I can’t even describe how amazing she did – I had a hairstyle in mind and had brought in a few pics but the finished product was even better. Make Up – Megan Bell & Mariah Fox – I have known Megan for years. She again listened to me and understood that I am an ‘au naturel’ kind of girl, I never felt pressured to wear more makeup than I wanted to. She brought along her gorgeous friend Mariah to help out and she too was fantastic when it came down to the brief for all of my bridesmaids – the two of them were just gorgeous and helped us all look and feel gorgeous as well!

The Dress: Rachel Gilbert – Alexia Gown

Headwear: Borrowed veil from Sarah one of bridesmaids and my floral comb was made by Wallflower Ward.

Accessories: I borrowed my pearl earrings from a very good friend, Bree, who actually wore them on her wedding day and she had borrowed them from her mum. They complemented my dress perfectly! I also wore a three-stone aquamarine and diamond dress ring, which I purchased from Salera’s and a channel set diamond ring that my older sister gave to me.

 

Rings: My rings were all made by Varoujan Jewellers in Sydney and Nath’s Ring was a PW Beck which we also got through Varoujan Jewellers.

Bridesmaid’s dresses: My bridesmaid’s dresses were all different brands and five out of the six were purchased online.

Suits: MJ Bale

Groom’s Shoes: Calibre 

Bow ties / ties: Nath’s tie was from MJ Bale and the groomsmen ties we purchased online from The Tie Bar.

Catering: Steampocket – Cam and the crew at Steampocket know how to run a tight ship – unfortunately they had to deal with weather and a few other glitches on the night but took it all in their stride and our food was so yummy and exactly what we wanted.

Favors: Sweet things by Caroline – We gave each guest a chocolate initial which was hand-made by Caroline, the guests chose what chocolate (milk, dark or white) they wanted through our RSVP online form. 

Cake / Cake topper: Miranda Jane Cakes – She absolutely nailed our brief, we went with coconut mud cake, caramel mud cake and carrot cake – a little different but oh so yum and the vanilla butter cream between the tiers was beyond amazing! I made the cake topper and Court (Wallfower Ward) just left a whole bunch of flowers for Miranda to use to style the cake on the day!

Stationery / Signage: My sister and I did all the stationary and then I had it printed at Snap Printing on Bellarine St – they were incredible to deal with and by far the best value for all the printing I needed done. We bought our big wooden signs from gorgeous Kathleen who got married at The Barn a year prior and then my dad had some vinyl lettering done which he put on for us.

Entertainment: Like This Corporate Band – These guys know how to get the guest dancing! We saw them at Nathan’s cousins wedding and they were a definite for us – a great group of friends that are passionate about what they do and absolutely rock at it – what more could you ask for?

Transport: Nath and the boys arrived in some very sexy Range Rovers and then our buses for guests were arranged through a friend of a friend.

Honeymoon: European Summer Vacay! Our itinerary was France, Spain, Italy, Greek Islands and to finish a week in the Maldives – truly the trip of a lifetime.

Other: I’ve got a bit of a weakness for Ice Cream so we had an ice cream van for the guests which is owned by Laurie Stendt. We also hired a wooden bar for the champagne area from Brett at Geelong Wedding Hire. Another big feature for us was the fairy lights that were hung on the back barn doors by Neil Searle at Delighting.