Real wedding – Alexandra & Mitch, Dromana VIC
Real wedding – Alexandra & Mitch, Dromana VIC
Real wedding – Alexandra & Mitch, Dromana VIC
Real wedding – Alexandra & Mitch, Dromana VIC

Real wedding – Alexandra & Mitch, Dromana VIC

 

For laid-back lovers Alex and Mitch, a beautiful, relaxed day filled with delicious foods, Aperol spritz a-plenty and sweetly styled details felt perfectly them.

Blending a curation of timeless traditions with fresh modern details made for one stunning soiree. Against the backdrop of Tanglewood Estate’s gorgeous wooden chapel, their colour palette of champagne, muted peach and ivory with sharp black suits for the gents echoed classic glam and contemporary chic.

Keeping an open mind when selecting her gown led Alex down a completely different path to the one she imagined. Rather than a figure-hugging gown in which she felt restricted, Ella Moda bridal had the ultimate combination of corseted structure and romantic, flowing skirts, elevated further with modern lace detailing and softened with lace ties. Her handsome groom Mitch is quite obviously as dazzled as we are, looking fab in a custom suit by Your Suit Guy Tailors.

While both claim they were nervous before a camera, Justin Westwood and C2 Films worked true magic, capturing every moment of the natural emotion and magnetic energy between the newlyweds without an awkward moment between them.

For a dip into this stylish, romantic dream day, scroll on.

 

 

The meeting.

We met at a mutual friends birthday party in November 2013.

 

The ‘one’.

We joke about this a lot. For Mitch, it was 100% love at first sight; he always knew something was different with me. On our 3rd date, we spent the day in Warburton then went to a Thai restaurant for dinner. I remember looking at Mitch, and his eyes were a vivid blue (the lighting played a part in this for sure) – in that moment, I knew he was the one.

 

The proposal.

We had a six-week European trip booked. Halfway into the trip, we were in Sorrento, Italy. We had left the hotel and were on our way to find somewhere for dinner; we were a little early, so we walked around a little and stopped at a little lookout, both just taking in the beautiful scenery and amazing weather. The next minute, Mitch turned me around to face him (his face was white as a ghost) and started to tell me how much he loves me and that he couldn’t imagine doing life without me. He asked me to close my eyes whilst he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I was beyond shocked! We had never discussed getting married, although we knew we wanted to be with each other forever. It was by far the most incredible day of my life.

 

Planning process.

Initially, this was really easy; we were on the same page with everything we wanted for our big day. When we started meeting with vendors, it seemed to be a really easy decision for us, and we locked them all in pretty quickly. Venue, celebrant, photographer, videographer and cake were all booked within a matter of weeks, one after the other.

Covid, of course, had to play a part. Our wedding was originally planned for December 2020, but in September 2020, we made the tough call to postpone it for 12 months.

As we got closer to the bid day, it was pretty stressful; we didn’t know what the wedding would look like because of Covid. Could we have 90 guests? Do we have to wear masks at the alter? Can we dance?! A wedding is stressful enough to organise, but to throw Covid in makes it a whole new ball game.

We knew we could go ahead with the wedding when the vaccination targets were announced; we were confident we would get there and just had to trust that the government would keep their word (not an easy thing to do, it’s completely out of your hands). We knew we would be free of restrictions two weeks before the wedding, according to the roadmap. But it still made it hard to get excited; we were so worried it would get taken from us and that we would have to postpone again, which is not something we wanted to do.

 

Style inspiration. 

Mitch and I are very easygoing – we like good food and Aperol Spritz. It was important that our wedding reflected who we are; we wanted our guests to come and say, “yep, this is defiantly Alex and Mitch’s wedding”. We didn’t want a formal occasion where guests chose either chicken or beef to eat, and we didn’t want a rustic wedding where guests were sitting in a barn because this isn’t us. We wanted to make it everything that we love and not cater to any external influences.

 

The ceremony.

My grandparents have a beach house in Blairgowrie, Victoria. Every December since I was little was spent down there. When I met Mitch, he started coming down with my family and me. We have such great memories and love it so much down on the Mornington Peninsula, we knew as soon as Mitch proposed that we wanted to get married down there.

When it came to the ceremony itself, we wanted to keep it fairly traditional. We didn’t write our own vows; we kept to the traditional, “I choose you Mitch, to have and to hold, from this day forward, through sickness and in health.” We didn’t want to take away from what the day was, we were committing to each other forever, and to us, traditional vows were the way to go.

 

The look. 

I hate being the centre of attention, and I hate that it’s always about the bride’s dress – the groom should feel equally as special in his suit. Mitch is an electrician so wearing a suit isn’t something he gets to do very often. When we went to YSG (Your Suit Guy), Dylan spoke to us about a custom-made suit, and we both agreed this was the option for him; a suit that would fit like a glove. Also, having a custom-made suit isn’t something you do every day (much like wearing a wedding dress!).

I tried on a few dresses and was failing miserably. I always wanted a fitted dress, but after trying one on, I could hardly move in the thing. I felt so uncomfortable, and the thought of wearing it all day stressed me out. I tried on a fuller skirt and instantly was able to walk and move like normal, so although it wasn’t what I imagined I would wear on my wedding day, I knew that’s what I wanted to look for. I saw a few dresses online from some designers that were WAY out of my budget. I then came across Ella Moda in Brisbane; they had a dress that was very similar to what I was looking for. My mum and I flew up there and made a girls weekend out of it. As soon as I put on the dress, I knew it was the one. We made a few adjustments, added the bows to my shoulders and put a slit in the front of it. It was perfect.

 

Favourite moments.

It has to be after the ceremony when it was just Mitch and me with our photographer and videographer, it was the first time, as newlyweds, that we could enjoy each other and just breathe.

 

Meaning of marriage.

Marriage was never super important to me; I never thought that you needed a white dress and a chapel to prove that you love each other and that you want to be together forever. But, it sure is an incredible commitment to make to each other. Marriage brings you so much closer together and finds a deeper love for each other, one that you never thought was even possible. Marriage is everything our vows said it is; it’s committing to each other forever, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and cherish, till death do us part.

 

Wedding soundtrack.

Aisle: Canon in D Major by Johann Pachelbel

Reception entry: Sorrento Moon by Tina Arena

First dance: The Night We Met by Lord Huron

Father/Daughter dance: Tougher than the rest by Bruce Springsteen

 

Funny stories or near disasters.

None involving me, thank goodness! My bridesmaid got make-up on her dress; she tried to get it off with micellar water and made it ten times worse! She was almost in tears, but luckily it eventually dried, and her bouquet hid it perfectly.

 

Planning surprises.

I would describe myself as extremely organised, but for some reason, the final days before the wedding were super hectic. It’s all the little things you don’t think about (like packing a pen for the guestbook) and working out the logistics of the day, making sure everyone is where they need to be and how they are going to get there, etc.

 

Words of wisdom.

The bride sets the tone; if you are running around like a headless chicken, then everyone else will be too. Keep calm; there is only so much you have control of, and when it comes to the wedding day, you just need to let it happen. There is nothing you can do once the day starts. And make the day what YOU want, be true to yourself. If you want to do your own make-up, then do it! (I did my own!) – go with your gut feeling.

 

 

Want your own love story captured to perfection? We have some super talented wedding videographers on our directory, all ready to help you feel like natural superstars, while their work their magic for your special celebration. Be prepared for tears as you scroll through their incredible work!

 

ALEX & MITCH’S VENDORS

Every single one of our supplies were incredibly supportive and understanding, especially when it came to postponing our wedding; they changed our wedding day at the click of a finger. They made our day what it was, and they are the ones who created our fairytale wedding. For that, we will be forever grateful.

Ceremony venue: Tanglewood Estate, Dromana. I always wanted to get married in a white chapel, and as soon as we found Tanglewood, we knew it was the one. Where it is located is so unique, you drive down this dirt road and feel like you are in the middle of woop woop, then, out of nowhere, you pull into Tanglewood, and at the end of the road is this stunning, 110-year-old, wooden chapel that has been relocated from Woomelang in country Victoria.

The estate houses two other buildings that you can use for your reception. Donna (the owner) was kind enough to let us use just the chapel and have access to the whole entire property for photos.

Reception venue: The Epicurean, Red Hill South. Another hidden gem. From the front of the venue, you would have no clue as to what is inside; every single one of our guests were blown away with the space. To top it off, they do sharing platters, they bring out incredible food, line the tables, and then guests help themselves. It was such an incredible way to have our reception! I don’t know many guests who leave a wedding and comment on the food because it’s always pretty bland – our guests RAVED about the food! They were blown away and commented on how much there was!

Celebrant: Andrew Redman. There is a reason why this man has been voted ‘Best Male Celebrant in Australia’. I cannot speak more highly of him; from the moment we met Andrew, he made us feel so comfortable. We chatted like we had known each other for years, and as soon as Mitch and I left his house, we looked at each other and just smiled. We knew we had found the man who was going to marry us.

We told Andrew how nervous we were about the ceremony, and he instantly put us at ease; he took care of every single thing! Out meetings with him were just friends catching up, yet somehow, from those meetings, he created the most beautiful ceremony. He added touches that other celebrants might not consider. Throughout the ceremony, he would gently guide where Mitch and I stood, ensuring we were in the centre of the chapel window, which meant every photo Justin took had us perfectly framed. He also suggested that he walk my mum in. She was arriving with the bridal party and me but wasn’t part of the procession, so Andrew came out to meet us when we arrived, then escorted mum into the chapel! What a man! My mum cried when I told her Andrew was going to do this!

Photography: Justin Westwood. We were incredibly lucky to find Justin! Justin is one of my cousins’ good friends, and at lunch with my Aunty one day, she told me about his work; as soon as I saw his Instagram, I fell in love.

When we met Justin, it was again like talking with an old friend, we had an instant connection, and he made us feel so comfortable. In the lead up to the wedding day, Justin would send me emails with reminders and advice; honestly, this was one of the best things because we had no idea what to expect! We hadn’t been to many weddings together, and Justin spoke from experience. The day wouldn’t have gone as smoothly as it did if it wasn’t for Justin’s advice and guidance.

Also, Mitch and I take awful photos, we hate selfies, and we were both dreading wedding photos. I don’t know what Justin did, but he managed to make us feel so comfortable and was able to capture our wedding day in a really natural way.

Videography: Marcus from C2Films. Thanks to Covid, our first meeting with Marcus was over Zoom, but you could feel his passion and energy through the call, and we were excited to have him join our team.

Between Marcus and Justin, I called them my hype crew! On the day, they made me laugh and smile, but most importantly, they made me feel comfortable; this is reflected in our photos and video. They brought the best out in us and then captured that moment.

Florist: Hello Blossoms. Alison did an incredible job with our flowers; I left a lot of it up to her, I guided her with the colour scheme I wanted, and she took care of the rest. She made some incredible arrangements. The thing I love most about Alison is that she had a wrapping table set up at the Epicurean, so at the end of the night, my mum could tell some of the guests to grab the flowers off the tables, wrap them up and take them home!

Hair: Runway Room Sorrento.

Make-up: I did mine myself. I wear make-up every day and wanted to look myself on the day. I contemplated this for a long time, and a lot of people told me not to do it myself, but it was the best decision I made. Runway Room Sorrento did my bridesmaid’s make-up, as well as the mother of the bride and mother of the groom’s.

The dress: Ella Moda. I mean, these girls are something else. I had one dress fitting in person, and the plan was to return to Brisbane for two more prior to the wedding. But, thanks to border restrictions, it made it impossible for me to get up there before the wedding. So, we had to improvise and had virtual dress fittings. Mum was guided by Claire to take all the measurements we needed, the girls finished the dress for me then posted it to Victoria (STRESSFUL!). The dress arrived and fitted like a GLOVE! I just had to get the length taken up a little.

Shoes: Nine West – because I am already as tall as Mitch, so I needed a heel that wasn’t going to make me tower over him! Plus, I wanted to be somewhat comfortable

Rings: Cliveden Fine Jewellers

Bridesmaid’s dresses: Forever New. I had originally bought dresses from Nookie, but postponing the wedding meant I changed my mind! I ended up buying more dresses from Forever New.

Suits/ Bow Ties/ Ties: Your Suit Guy Tailors. Dylan was incredible; he did Mitch’s suit, the groomsmen, father of the bride and father of the groom. Whilst dealing with covid lockdowns, Dylan moved mountains to get us these suits. Mitch’s suit was beautiful, and he looked incredibly handsome, thanks to Dylan and his team!

Cake: The Butchers Daughter. Hannah not only makes the most incredible desserts, but she also makes the tastiest cakes! I have a huge sweet tooth, and everyone knows I LOVE dessert, so the cake had to be epic! Hannah did not disappoint; the cake tasted like heaven and looked stunning!

Invitations: State of Elliot

Stationery / Signage: Menu’s and seating plan: Designs by Brea. Ash helped me create custom menu’s and a seating plan to match, I showed her some inspo pics and our invitations and BOOM, she created our beautiful menus and seating plan! She was an absolute pleasure to deal with.

Entertainment: Marc Lucarelli – Devine Audio 

Transport: JC Jags

Honeymoon: TBA – thanks, COVID. New Zealand pending, it was our first trip together so seems right to have our honeymoon there.




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