Real Wedding – Andrea & Laurie, Sunbury VIC
Inspired by the Australian bush, high school sweethearts Andrea and Laurie, created a wedding day full of heart.
Emu Bottom Homestead was the perfect backdrop for their incredible celebration. They began the day with a ceremony full of love, laughter and personalised vows, before partying the night away in the historic woolshed with all of their nearest and dearest.
It was romantically rustic and there to capture all the charm were talented photographers It’s Beautiful Here.
IN ANDREA’S WORDS…
The meeting.
Laurie and I are high school sweethearts. We started going out at the end of Year 10 in 2004 and haven’t gotten sick of each other yet. Our initial connection grew through time hanging out on the basketball court before school, MSN chats and finally revealing that we liked each other through a chain email.
The ‘One’.
If someone told me when I was 15 that this boy with wild curly hair and a cheeky grin would be my husband, I’m not sure I would have believed them. But if they then told me about the adventures we would have, and the love that would continue to grow over the next 11 years, I wouldn’t hesitate.
The Proposal.
The proposal is one of Laurie’s finest moments, as it was a total surprise. For our tenth anniversary in November 2014, we organised a romantic weekend away up in the Dandenong’s. On the morning of our anniversary, Laurie handed me a ring-sized box and I open it to reveal two stud diamond earrings. They were beautiful, but clearly not what I’d been hoping for, so in my mind I eliminated the possibility of us getting engaged that weekend. The next day, we’re strolling through the National Rhododendron Gardens in Olinda. We reached a lookout point and I turned around to find Laurie down on one knee with a stunning opal ring in his hand. He proposed, I said yes, we embraced and there were some happy tears. Then I asked, ‘So were those diamond earrings real?’ Laurie reassured me that yes, he may have used them to throw me off the scent, but the earrings were the real deal.
The Planning.
We were driving past Emu Bottom on the way to an Engagement Party and thought we may as well drop in. I’m so glad we did, as photos did not do the venue justice. It ticked all the boxes for us – Australian bush theme, ceremony and reception in one place, great wet weather option, excellent place to take photos and it already looked good without any decorations. When we were told the usual dinner in the Woolshed is roast lamb on a spit, it sealed the deal.
Our wedding was inspired by the Australian bush. I love the raw beauty of the landscape – it’s harsh but romantic, full of amazing colours and textures. The browns of the Woolshed and green of the Cottage Garden set the tone for the styling, particularly the contrasting blues, burgundy, orange and yellows I wanted to bring out.
We chose decorations to complement the venue’s natural charm and homely feel. I wanted the native flowers and warm lighting to be the stand out features. I also wanted to make or borrow as many of the decorations as I could for the wedding, to add a personal touch and reuse things we already own. I drew the invitations, inspired by the view of the gumtrees from the balcony of the place Laurie and I stayed when we got engaged. My wonderful friend Shannan used her eye for design and photoshop skills to polish them up and create our logo! I also designed the seating chart, guest book and drew all the signs that were used on the day.
The Dress.
My dress was designed by Rachel Gilbert. This was the first dress I tried on! I still made my very patient bridesmaids and Mum watch me try on 20 more that day, but we went back and bought it the very next day.
Favourite moments.
I’ll always remember the look on Laurie’s face as I walked down the aisle. My face hurt from smiling so much. This was closely followed by signing our names on our marriage certificate and realising that we were now married. Laurie’s favourite moment was when I jumped the gun and kissed him during the ceremony, before our celebrant had got to the big moment. He had a split second to decide whether to pull away from me, or just go with it. Fortunately, he didn’t leave his bride hanging.
Traditions.
One of my favourite styling items was the beautiful painting of a lady in white walking through the bush that has been in our family for years. Hanging in the venue, it looked like it was always there.
Meaning of marriage.
Getting married for us was a celebration of what our relationship has been and what it was about to become. Marriage means being lucky enough to have someone you love and respect to share your life with.
Wedding soundtrack.
Aisle – This Old Love by Lior (We thought it would be appropriate as we’ve been together since the dawn of time).
Reception entry – Jungle Drum by Emiliana Torrini. It’s such an infectious song that celebrates being in love.
First dance – Sea of Love by Cat Power. A beautiful ballad that allowed us to just ‘be’ together for our first dance and not have any pressure to bust any fancy moves.
Words of wisdom for other couples planning a wedding?
Go with your gut. The hardest part about planning a wedding is making a decision. Do your research beforehand, set up a meeting with the vendors you are already 99 per cent sure you want and then you won’t hesitate to select them if the meeting goes well. Remember the day is about you and your partner. Make decisions together and make the ones that feel right for you. Don’t panic – it’ll be awesome!
Last words.
Our celebrant Melissa suggested a great structure for our ceremony, which was done and dusted in about 20 minutes. We wrote our own vows and Melissa read our ‘5 Things we love about each other’ for the first time at the ceremony. Our vows and 5 Things was a mix of serious, sweet, and having a subtle dig at each other, which is typical of our relationship.
ANDREA & LAURIE’S TRIBE
Location: Emu Bottom Homestead. Our ceremony was held in the Cottage Garden and our reception was in the Woolshed.
Photography: It’s Beautiful Here. Kat and Scout are such legends and were wonderful to work with. I had seen their work on wedding blogs and loved their use of natural light and documentary style which makes you feel like you are right there at the wedding. We are thrilled with the photos and can’t recommend them highly enough.
Hair and Makeup: Beth Haywood. Beth was so cool, calm and collected on the wedding day and made getting ready such a fun experience for the Bridesmaids, my Mum and I. She listened and provided advice about the style we wanted and we were so happy with the results.
Styling: There was a lot of DIY and family and friends helped so much in the creation of out day. My Mum and Dad were a huge help and had an array of rustic decorations and jars kicking around the backyard or collected from op shops. The props, stationary and paper goods were all done by me, with some help from my family and friends! Invitations were printed by Vistaprint. A huge thank you goes to those friends who let us borrow jars, bunting and a polaroid camera for the day. We are lucky to have such generous people in our lives. My Dad deserves a special mention for making the arch and sign for our ceremony. He’d tell you it he just knocked them up in a few hours, but putting in this effort means a lot. My Mum also collected and dried out rose petals for months for the end of the ceremony!
Florist: Flower Buds. Michelle and Lauren just knocked it out of the park. They had a clear understanding of the native theme I wanted and the arrangements they produced for the day were just spectacular. The girls were accommodating and worked damn hard to produce flowers for the bridal party and arrangements for the ceremony and reception including a gorgeous feature on our ceremony arch. My flower crown and bouquet on the day were stunning and exactly what I’d imagined.
Celebrant: Melissa Fahey from Mine Forever. Melissa is such a gem and we knew she was the celebrant for us as we clicked right away.
Transport: Southern Cross to get the groom and groomsmen to the venue, and Laurie and I to our hotel afterwards. My Dad drove myself and the bridesmaids to the venue in the family car.
Music: Baker Boys Band. I had several guests come up to me and say they were the best wedding band they’ve heard. They were fantastic to work with during the planning stage and picked a great soundtrack for the night to keep the dance floor filled.
Catering: Emu Bottom Homestead. Dinner was served buffet-style in the Woolshed, which was a big drawcard for us because we knew our guests wouldn’t go hungry!
Cake: Sweet by Nature. We just wanted a simple wedding cake and Sweet by Nature hit the mark. Our cake was delicious!
Favours: Flavoured salt. My Bridesmaid Emily very generously gave up her time and Thermomix to help me make the flavours, Rosemary Salt and Citrus and Chilli Salt. The jars were from Just Jars and I designed and printed the labels through Vistaprint.
Accommodation: My Bridesmaids and I stayed at Gisborne Cottage Accommodation the night before the wedding and got ready the next day. It’s such a beautiful property, perfect for photos beforehand and hosts. Mark and Margot made sure we had everything we needed on the day.
Engagement rings: Opals Down Under
Wedding rings: Charles Rose. They were fantastic at helping us design a ring that would complement my oval engagement ring.
Brides dress: Rachel Gilbert.
Brides shoes: Nine West.
Brides accessories: Opal earrings from Johnston Opals.
Brides flower crown: Flower Buds. I wanted something a bit more bohemian than a traditional veil, so the flower crown hit the mark.
Bridesmaids dresses: Swish.
Bridesmaids accessories: Earrings and necklaces were made to order by an art glass jeweler I walked past at St Kilda’s Sunday Market called Hooly Dooly Designs.
Groom’s suit, shoes, belt and bow-tie: Peter Jackson.
Opal cuff links: Johnston Opals.
