Real Wedding, Aaron & Elly, Yarra Glen VIC
Aaron and Elly were simply thrilled to be married, so nothing was going to dampen their spirits when they wed in gorgeous Yarra Glen.
Having spent the week leading up to their day apart, the anticipation of seeing one another was at an all-time high. When they finally faced one another their smiles said it all, and an emotion-packed ceremony followed suit.
Despite an unexpected torrential downpour on their otherwise scorching summer day, Elly and Aaron were all smiles and happy hearts, nothing was going to stop this party and talented Tribester Jeremy Blode was there to capture it all.
In Elly’s words…
The meeting.
Aaron and I met at the start of secondary school. I was at a different school but some of my closest friends went to his school so I met him occasionally when hanging out with them on weekends.
I eventually moved to Aaron’s school in year 10 and somehow out of a year level of 120 kids Aaron and I were in every class together. We became best friends and were inseparable both at school and on weekends.
Aaron was a bit of a ‘player’ at school and often Monday would come around and we would be sitting in the library with him telling me about his interesting festivities from the weekend! I was never attracted to him until we both got really drunk at a friends 18th birthday in the middle of year 12 and ended up kissing. Our relationship was literally sealed with a kiss that night! We have been together ever since…
The ‘one’.
When we agreed to start officially dating in year 12 we both knew that we were in it for the long haul. It was a hard decision to make at the time whether we officially started to date or not because we knew it could make or break our friendship. When we decided to go ahead it was pretty much a done deal!
The proposal.
Aaron took me to our favourite Italian restaurant in Lygon Street – Tiamo, for dinner. His cousin Adam Harpaz is a well known musician in Byron Bay who happened to be in Melbourne that week doing some gigs.
Our usual routine is dinner at Tiamo and then across the road to Brunetti’s for ice-cream and coffee, so this is what we planned to do, but when walking down the street Adam happened to be there busking on the street!
It wasn’t strange to me because I knew he has been busking around the city that day so we stood and watched him play some songs and all of a sudden he started playing our favourite song, an acoustic version of Love Never Felt so Good by Michael Jackson and Justin Timberlake.
I thought it was strange but it was so good that I loved it so much!
Aaron suddenly got down on one knee and asked me to marry him…
I was so shocked, excited and extremely overwhelmed that I forgot to give him an answer until we got into the car to go home an hour later!
It was easy for him to assume it was already a YES!
The process.
Honestly, it was stress free. Aaron and I live in Sydney so I left it all to our mums to organise because it was easier that way. Our mums get on really well and they did most of the meetings with suppliers and the caterers together. They would just keep me updated in between.
The only thing Aaron and I really had input about was the venue. We really wanted an outdoor wedding and dance floor!
Style inspiration.
Rustic, boho.
The dress.
Because my sister got married one year prior to me, she had her dress designed and made from scratch. I went to every fitting and meeting with her to choose the fabrics etc. It was a really special experience to go through with her and her dress was absolutely SPECTACULAR, but my personality is very different and especially because I am so indecisive I knew that if I went through the same process I would change my mind a million times!
I knew I needed a dress that would be very low maintenance and I also didn’t want to look like I was a little girl playing dress ups in my mum’s wedding dress. My dress had to be comfortable, unstructured and feel like ‘me’ which is exactly what it ended up being!
One Day Bridal was the second place I went to and where I ended up buying my dress from. Their team are so lovely and their store is so gorgeous that I constantly looked forward to going there for my fittings!
Favourite moments.
Sitting at the Bedeken (Jewish tradition – veiling of the bride) surrounded by our family and our closest friends waiting to see Aaron for the first time after a week apart! It was such a special moment full of emotions.
Meaning of marriage.
Realising that it’s a lot harder to online shop now that our bank accounts are linked… not to mention deliveries being addressed to the same living address! Its getting significantly harder to hide new purchases!
Wedding soundtrack.
Aisle (bridal party and grandparents): Love Never Felt So Good by Michael Jackson and Justin Timberlake.
Aisle (groom and his parents): Follow the Sun by Xavier Rudd (Played by Aaron’s cousin, Adam, on guitar)
Aisle (bride): Perfect by Ed Sheeran (Played by Aaron’s cousin, Adam) – I walked down to this song halfway together with my parents and the rest of the way with Aaron, going on to circle him seven times (Jewish tradition) under the Chuppah.
Funny stories (or near disasters).
Well I didn’t have any wedding shoes until the day before the wedding… it was a mixture of being disorganised and also not liking what I previously had thought would look good with my dress. I was pretty stressed about it…
Aaron and I had seven days prior to the wedding where we didn’t see or speak to each other but we had surprise gifts to give for each day leading up to the wedding day with little notes attached.
Aaron actually surprised me the day before the wedding and bought me a pair of heels I ended up wearing on the day!
Planning surprises.
Maybe that if you are thinking of having an outdoor wedding/winery wedding in the peak of summer, ENSURE that you have hired a back up generator!
A blackout at a wedding is never a fun idea…
Lucky we were told to do this as our day was 35 degrees and there had been blackouts in the Yarra Valley before!
Words of wisdom.
Many people said to me to take a moment on the day to stand back and take it all in… I didn’t really think much of this advice until the day actually came. I am so glad I took the time to do so.
It goes by so quickly that you really need to stop and treasure every moment. It is so incredibly special to be surrounded by so much love and happiness by your closest family and friends! I would do it all over again if I could!
Planning for your ceremony can take some thought – click here for our tips on navigating weather woes, stylish set-ups and all the other important on-the-day necessities you might not have considered.
AARON & ELLY’S TRIBE
Ceremony and reception: Acacia Ridge Winery, Yarra Valley – Cathy and Lachlan own Acacia ridge. They really make everything so easy and nothing is too much trouble for them! They are so helpful and happy to adapt to anything that the bride and groom want. They had never done the dance floor outdoor prior to our wedding and they had fixed umbrellas into the flooring outside where we wanted it. Lachlan physically removed every umbrella himself just so we could have the dance floor of our dreams under the stars! Easy to say they truly went ABOVE AND BEYOND for us!
Rabbi: Shua Solomon
Photography: Jeremy Blode Photography – I couldn’t recommend Jeremy more highly. Everyone that attended our wedding and that has seen our photos have all said how accurately Jeremy captured the day and how each image depicts exactly what the energy was like! Working as a photographer at a Jewish wedding is certainly not an easy task! It can get rough in those Horas but Jeremy managed to get into every angle, never missing a shot!! Battered and bruised by the end, no doubt!
Videography: C2 Films – Matt and Murphy were our videographers, they were an awesome team to work with. Together with Jeremy Blode they really added value to the fun and energetic dynamic of the day, helping make the formalities informal and fun!
Styling: Y Korbl Styling and Weddings of Distinction
Florist: Edward and I – We found Cassandra and her team three weeks out from the wedding day after our previous florist cancelled on us!
We never met with Cass, only speaking to her over the phone and sending her through photos of what kinds of florals and designs we wanted. She was so incredibly laid back, understood exactly what we were asking and was very reasonably priced! Cass and her team absolutely nailed it on the big day! It was such a thrill showing up on the day with getting such a beautiful surprise of what they had put together!
Hair: Dimitri Kyvetos with Caitlin Wilson – Dimitri did my hair on the day and I absolutely loved it. He did such a great job that it lasted me the entire day even in the heat. The only time it got ruined was when it started pouring down with rain at 10pm! Dimitri worked with Caitlin to do all my bridemaids hair as well. They were so lovely and incredibly efficient! All my girls looked absolutely stunning!
Make-up: Claire Vyverberg with Natalie Erlington – I had one trial with Claire before my wedding day and she knew exactly what I wanted! The brief was to feel and look like myself on the day and she was able to do exactly that! I didn’t feel too made up and considering it was 36 degrees and I was sweating the entire day, I didn’t even have streaks in my makeup and still felt good! Claire worked with Natalie to do makeup for the rest of my bridal party. They were also extremely efficient, relaxed and made all the girls look and feel like themselves!
The Dress: One Day Bridal – The team at One Day Bridal were amazing. They made the process of choosing and creating my wedding dress so effortless. I chose a design from ‘off the rack’ that they created and fit to my size. It was great knowing exactly how my dress was going to turn out!
Veil / headwear: The same veil my sister wore on her big day, made by Elly Sofocli.
Shoes: Bianca Buccheri from Dolce Firme
Rings: Maimon Designs
Bridesmaid’s dresses: Whatever they wanted!
Groomsmen’s suits: Whatever they wanted too!
Catering: Kosher Classique – Lazer and Shoshi are an amazingduo! Their catering is like no other!! We had food stations at our wedding including a BBQ which was done so beautifully! they set up long tables with the food stations surrounding so people could sit down and keep getting up for more food when they wanted! It was set up in the barn house of the venue. The whole vibe was amazing… I just wish I got to eat the food on my wedding day!! I did hear the food was absolutely delicious though!
Stationery / Signage: Paperless Post for wedding invitations
Entertainment: DJ – Yo Mafia – Her energy and soundtracks are like no other! She kept going even when it started pouring down with rain! What a legend!
Décor and Hire: Acacia Ridge Winery (They had lots of things for us to use on site), Weddings of Distinction and The Valley Collective .
Honeymoon: Yet to decide on somewhere to go! As I said…. We are super organised….. Maybe African Safari at the end of this year!
Other: Chuppah (Canopy) Created by hand by Aaron’s Nanna which every grandchild of hers has been married under. A piece of each bride’s dress has been sewn into the fabric of the canopy with the bride and groom’s names and wedding date.
