Antique hydrangeas, chocolate brown and vintage lace
With a historic bluestone homestead, antique hydrangeas, chocolate brown bridesmaids and a Rachel Gilbert gown finished with an oversized bow, Chloe and Mitch’s wedding was all about relaxed, old-world charm.
Inspired by the things Chloe loves most – vintage pieces, burgundy and brown, homestead-style celebrations and florals that feel a little gathered rather than overly polished, the day was warm, considered and wonderfully personal. Chloe and her mum created the incredible florals themselves, bringing her vision to life across the beautiful grounds.
Before walking down the aisle, Chloe and Mitch shared a first look and exchanged their vows privately, giving them a quiet moment together to really soak in what was about to happen. With Smith + Archer behind the lens, those intimate moments, along with golden-hour portraits across the property, were beautifully captured.
Later came wood-fired pizzas, plenty of laughter and the kind of relaxed celebration that makes you want to linger a little longer.
The result was a wedding that felt elegant without being too formal, beautifully styled without feeling overdone, and completely true to Chloe and Mitch.
And their best piece of wedding-planning advice? Hire an on-the-day coordinator. Trust us, they’re onto something.
The meeting.
Mitch and I met back in 2014 at one of the local football club functions in my area, the “Boat Raffle”. Mitch played football for a club in a different league and had come along on a bus trip organised by one of the guys who had ties to the club hosting the function.
I was there with a group of friends, feeling a little worse for wear after the night before. I remember seeing Mitch for the first time, hobbling around on the crutches he’d earned playing footy the day before, and making a comment to my friend about how bad “that guy’s” haircut was. Mitch still says it was love at first sight the moment he saw me!
We were all sitting at a table playing drinking games, a table away from their bus group, and they thought it looked like fun, so they joined us. Mitch and I ended up sitting across from each other, got along really well, and added each other on Facebook and Snapchat. We talked on and off from there, and the following year, before the Boat Raffle, we said we’d meet there again.
And that was that.
The one.
I knew I had found the one by how relaxed I felt with Mitch from the very first day we met (and again, the second time a year later!). I always felt like I could be completely myself around him, without judgement. We just really got along, had fun and seemed to get each other in the most perfect way, straight away. We moved in together after just six months of dating.
Mitch, of course, would say he knew he’d found the one as soon as he spotted me when they drove past us on the bus on the way into the club car park.
The proposal.
We were walking down the street to have dinner for our anniversary when Mitch wanted to stop and take a photo,which was extremely unlike him. I still don’t know how I didn’t realise something was up!
I protested because it was windy, my dress kept blowing up, my hair was sticking to my lip gloss and the pram was a nightmare to push through the sand, but Mitch insisted. We ditched the pram and headed down to the beach, where I set up a few self-timer photos before Mitch took over for the next few.
It was then that I instantly noticed the little red dot when he switched the phone to video, and I knew he was about to propose.
Mitch bent down and pulled his Nan’s old mustard velvet engagement ring box from his pocket. I already knew he’d had it tucked away in his bedside table for a while, with her ring inside.
I have to admit, I swore when he opened the box and I saw my dream ring inside!
I think there was a bit of a speech planned, but nerves took over and, instead, it was a perfectly simple: “Will you marry me?”
Planning process.
I am a terrible organiser and really didn’t enjoy all the planning leading up to our wedding. I’m bad at technology and emails, so it really isn’t my thing! I kept putting it off for a very long time.
We fell pregnant with baby number two shortly after getting engaged, so I decided to wait until he was born before we started planning anything. Then came postpartum life with a newborn and a toddler, and things were pretty hectic. Mitch was an amazing help throughout, which I’m so grateful for.
We had a mental list for a while of a few vendors we definitely wanted for our day, so we eventually sent off a couple of emails and crossed our fingers. Unfortunately, our dream venue, musician and makeup artist were all already booked, and the caterers we wanted no longer travelled that far. I was shattered!
Thankfully, we had locked in Ali, our amazing photographer, who ended up being such a huge help and a big part of why our day was so amazing. She helped us narrow down some new venue options, find our equally amazing celebrant, Becky, and our caterers, who we absolutely loved.
Once all of our vendors were booked, I definitely relaxed a little more and the rest of the organising was fairly smooth.
My mum and I did all of our floral arrangements about a month before the wedding. I had purchased and fluffed all the faux florals well in advance and knew which live greenery I would grab in the few days before the wedding to fill everything out — some from the side of the road and some from a florist.
I definitely could have done more in the weeks leading up to the wedding, like sorting all the décor into what went where, but honestly, it was too overwhelming for me and I didn’t!
Don’t be like me.
Style inspiration.
I think my inspiration was really just a combination of things I loved – antique hydrangeas, homestead-style weddings, vintage pieces, burgundy and brown. I knew I didn’t want anything too modern or overly “done”; I wanted the day to feel warm, relaxed and a little bit collected over time.
My mum is a collector of many, many things, so I popped around to her house and raided her basket, crystalware and lace tablecloth collections. We hired some vintage couches and, slowly, the vision started to come to life.
Our superhuman on-the-day coordinator, Sarah (@TheWeddingStylist), was the final piece of the puzzle. We also hired a few décor pieces from her, and she spent the entire morning running around, somehow turning the slightly chaotic picture in my head into something that looked even better than I’d imagined.
The ceremony.
My dad walked me down the aisle, and we had a really long walk through the beautiful blossom-canopy pathway. I loved having that little pocket of time together before we reached everyone else. Dad was quite emotional, which made it feel even more special.
Our three-year-old daughter also walked down the aisle as our flower girl. I didn’t get to see much of it, obviously, but the photos are gorgeous and I love having those memories captured.
We also surprised both of our mums during the ceremony by asking them to be our witnesses. Watching them realise that our celebrant was talking about them was so beautiful. They both cried, then held hands as they walked up together to sign our papers.
It was such a lovely moment and one I don’t think any of us will forget.
The outfits.
Mitch had been saying for years that he wanted to wear black RM Williams boots when we got married, so I bought him a pair for his birthday before the wedding, along with a matching belt for Father’s Day. We kept things classic with black suits for Mitch and the groomsmen, adding a little point of difference with black buttons on Mitch’s shirt. We simply went with the first place that was recommended to me by a past bride/client and it was all very easy.
I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to wear. I just knew I wouldn’t be caught dead in a beaded, sparkly tulle wedding dress! I’d looked in shop windows and at expos and nothing felt like me. My co-workers kept telling me I needed to go dress shopping, but I continued to put it off until, less than four months before the wedding, I finally caved.
Mum, my sister and I headed to Melbourne after I spotted a couple of dresses I liked at Rachel Gilbert. As we walked into the store, they both pointed out the dress on the mannequin in the window. It definitely wasn’t what I had imagined, but I promised myself I wouldn’t say no to anything before trying it on.
I tried on about five dresses, including the window dress, and loved it, along with another favourite from the website. We left for lunch, found some shoes, then went back to try the dresses on again with them.
I fell in love with the window dress. And that was it. So easy!
Favourite moment.
My favourite moment of the day was the official ceremony, when we finally said, “I do”. I’d only been waiting 10 years to be his wife, so my moment had FINALLY arrived! We got married on our 10th anniversary, which made it even more special.
Our private vows and seeing each other before the ceremony were really special moments for us both too.
It’s really hard to pick just one moment. We both had the best day ever and were in a happy little love bubble all day.
Meaning of marriage.
Marriage, for me, is feeling loved, respected, valued, safe and wanted every day. It is knowing that we are a team and that, no matter what life brings, we’re facing it together.
It is being able to be completely myself, without judgement, and feeling accepted for exactly who I am.
It is creating a life with your best friend, sharing new experiences, supporting each other’s dreams, raising a family, laughing through the chaos and making memories along the way.
Marriage is about choosing each other every day, not because you have to, but because you genuinely want to.
It is finding comfort in the ordinary moments, celebrating the big ones together and building a life that feels like home.
Wedding soundtrack.
The bridesmaids and I all walked down the aisle to “Millionaire” by Chris Stapleton. All of our music and songs on the day were performed acoustically by our band. As it was a really long aisle, the band played the opening chords for a while until Dad and I made it closer to the ceremony.
Our signing song was “Born to Love You” by Ray LaMontagne, and we walked back down the aisle to “Cowboy Take Me Away” by The Chicks.
We didn’t do a big entry or have a song for that. At the last minute, we decided to do a first dance so we had those photo and video memories. Just over a week out from the wedding, we asked the band if they would learn “Man I Need” by Olivia Dean, and they said yes! That became our first dance song and it truly set the scene for the rest of the night.
It was so much fun.
Words of wisdom.
Choose your vendors wisely and pay attention to how they communicate from the very beginning. If communication doesn’t feel right early on, it’s worth considering your other options, particularly when it’s a really important booking.
If your budget allows, hire a wedding planner or, at the very least, an on-the-day coordinator. We had Sarah, and she was incredible. She took so much stress out of the day and was genuinely one of the best investments we made.
At the end of the day, it’s just you and your new husband or wife. As long as you had fun and you’re married, that’s all that really matters. Your guests don’t know what did or didn’t go to plan, so don’t sweat the small stuff!
Chloe and Mitch’s Vendors
Ceremony and reception venue: Mount Mitchell Estate – an extremely stunning venue with so many options for ceremony and reception spaces.
Celebrant: Marry Me Becky B was our celebrant and also MC during our reception, she was so easy to get along and work with. We loved how relaxed she made us feel prior to and on the day of our wedding, she has such a calm presence and voice to listen to and feel she told our story really well.
Photography: Smith + Archer – Ali is the most helpful, kind and patient photographer I have ever met. She definitely saved our day more than once, so many check-ins and messages seeing where we were at in the planning process and helping out where she could, offering advice when choosing venues down to what the styling was like for getting ready. I can guarantee I would have been one of her more unorganized brides on the day but she still got it done regardless of updated photo lists and run sheets. We are so happy with our photos, especially our sunset shots on the front lawn, we regularly look at our wedding photos and relive the memories all over again. Thank you so much for everything Ali!
Videography: Annette and Dani – we only decided we would hire a videographer a couple of months out from the wedding, I knew it would be the one thing I’d regret not having all along but we just couldn’t make it fit in the budget and then saw that Ali was in the planning process of working with her videographer friends to do a package wedding deal, we asked a few questions and made it work within our budget and booked it in. We are obsessed with our wedding video and have had so many people comment on it that it is the best one they’ve ever seen.
Styling: The Wedding Stylist – we met Sarah at the Warnambool Bridal Expo and knew after a 5 minute chat when she called her self a gopher that we would be booking her. No notes, zero regrets, 10/10, book her for your day asap!
Florist: My mum and I
Hair: Shayla and Lenyce – We opted for a 90s inspired slick bun for the girls on the day due to the wind, Shay and Lenyce absolutely nailed the brief. I loved my ceremony look, it was so simple and very me, due to the hectic wind I got sick of it blowing in my face and had them do a quick, messy pin up during the reception. I was/ still am obsessed with what they did in literally 3 minutes in a friends caravan before anyone noticed I was gone.
Make-up: Polly Pleban – Polly arrived at our venue at 4.30am and didn’t bat an eyelid about the insane start time. She absolutely nailed all 7 make up looks and we looked and felt absolutely beautiful all day. Incredibly talented.
The dress: Rachel Gilbert
Veil: Shein
Shoes: Billini
Rings: Leskes Jewellers
Bridesmaid’s dresses: Bec and Bridge and Chancery
Bow ties / ties: Tarocash
Catering: Signorino Pizza – Gianna and Vincenzo were absolutely amazing to work with, most of the booking was via email and then a phone conversation just prior to the wedding to hash out finer details, Gianna was so helpful suggesting alternative options for some of the pizzas due to guests with allergies etc. All of our guests absolutely loved all of the food and still comment how good it was. Will not stop recommending these guys to anyone wanting pizza and gelato for their wedding.
Stationery / Signage: All designed by me on Canva, printed by Print My Sign
Entertainment: We first saw The Knots at a friends wedding a year prior to ours. They sounded great, the dance floor was pumping and it was exactly what we wanted. We had a quick chat with them between sets and emailed them the next week to lock in our date. They absolutely nailed all of our song requests and the vibe of the day. They learnt our first dance song that had only been released 2 months earlier in just over a week and set the scene perfectly for the rest of the night. I heard so many of our guest through out the night commenting how good they were.
Transport: Powers Bus Lines
Décor: Rustic Wedding Party Hire
