Real Wedding – Amanda & Justin, Coldstream VIC

April 3, 2024 In Black and White, Real Weddings, Victoria By Ivory Tribe

Real Wedding – Amanda & Justin, Coldstream VIC

For fresh romance and effortless glam, look no further than Amanda and Justin’s perfectly on-point day. These two sweet souls tick every box: approaching their wedding with a grounded, fun-filled perspective, creating a stunning aesthetic vision, and enjoying every minute of their dreamy day.

Surrounding themselves with a team of vendors who no only know their stuff, but are experienced and skilled enough to support their couples every step of the way made the planning process a fun part of the celebration.

Against a whimsically elegant white-on-white arbour by Little Stag Floral Couture, Amanda and Justin exchanged promises led by the vibrant creative talent of The Celebrandt. Justin’s teary-eyed response to Amanda’s entrance is everything, setting the tone for a heartfelt and genuine celebration, underpinned by a sweet soundtrack by our friends at Hey Jack.

And wow, does Amanda glow. Wearing an epic gown by fashion superstar Georgia Young Couture, complete with full skirts and dynamically beautiful draping, Amanda is equal parts soft romance and contemporary chic.

It’s the little moments that make milestone memories, and Lost in Love Photography and Love and Other cinematography capture every one of those to perfection.

Scroll to see it all unfold.

The meeting.

On Justin’s first day of work, Amanda spoke to him about recruiting paramedics for a research project, and took his blood later that day. There wasn’t a lot of interaction, but Amanda fondly remembers Justin declining her offer of a lolly afterwards (red flag?). Amanda and Justin reconnected again later after bumping into each other several times over the course of a year.

The ‘one’.

The first meal Amanda made for Justin was a sage and mushroom gnocchi. He said he loved it, so on every special occasion, Amanda would make it for him. Years into their relationship, Justin built up the nerve to tell Amanda he actually doesn’t really like gnocchi that much. Or mushrooms, for that matter. He only loved how happy it made her to cook it for him. From that moment on, they both knew. Justin tolerated mediocre gnocchi for years because he knew it was special.

The proposal.

On a trip to South Australia, Amanda and Justin had wine on the agenda. Amanda had joked to Justin for weeks before that he’d better be careful his bag doesn’t beep through airport security, and later found out he actually contacted the airline because he was worried it would and would ruin the surprise.

By the time they left for the trip, Justin had convinced Amanda there would be no proposal and that she should just enjoy herself – she completely bought it. On the morning of, Amanda’s best friend (and bridesmaid-to-be) messaged her asking if she had seen a box in his pocket – Amanda said she had already checked and no, there was definitely no box, not knowing he had hidden it elsewhere. They walked into the first winery, and later, Justin told Amanda he thought he would propose there but was stopped short when Amanda looked around and said the venue was ‘a bit underwhelming’. However, Amanda was in awe of the second venue, and somehow, Justin orchestrated a perfect moment where they stood amongst a busy walkway surrounded by vines where not a single other person was in sight except for a lovely couple he asked to take a photo. He dropped down on one knee, and all Amanda remembered thinking was, “How did I not see this coming?” It took her a good 30 seconds to respond after lots of happy tears.

Planning process.

We were engaged for 20 months before our big day arrived. Planning was honestly a dream – we allowed ourselves to completely soak up the engagement bliss before thinking about a wedding.

Once we were ready, we decided on our top three must-haves: to have all of our loved ones attend, have excellent food and genuine fun. Anything that didn’t align with these goals was out or slipped down in the ranks of our budget allocation.

Our goal was to make sure we enjoyed the process, and we absolutely did – from involving our loved ones in special roles on the day to reminiscing on our early days of dating when chatting to our celebrant; every step of the planning process was genuinely full of love.

Style inspiration.

We wanted our wedding to be a reflection of us – fun, full of love and not too serious. Through many Pinterest boards and screenshots of blogs, at a glance, our mood board reflected lots of smiles, a little injection of colour and decor that was paired back but intentional.

The most helpful thing for us was reading stories of Real Weddings. This reminded us that the purpose of having a wedding wasn’t just to enjoy the one day before it’s all over but that it’s a process that should be enjoyed every step of the way. If we’re committing to saving for our one special day for so long, we’d better at least have a little fun with it.

The ceremony.

Kat, our celebrant, was the perfect fit for us. She genuinely made us feel as though she was there with us from day one of our relationship in the way she listened and shared our story. We had so many guests commenting on how ‘us’ our ceremony was, which is maybe the biggest possible compliment a bride or groom can receive. We also had our dogs Duke and Major walk down the aisle and enlisted the help of Silly Wags Bridal Pups, who from pickup to bed time took care of every single thing.

The outfit.

Possibly a cliche, but I chose the first dress I had tried on! Despite having six bridesmaids, I went dress shopping with just one (excellent decision) and just before sliding into the changeroom, was handed it by her and told to ‘just try it on’. Despite it not being what I initially had in mind; I knew from that first moment it was perfect. I went to three other stores – some experiences better than others, but in the end couldn’t stop thinking about that very first one.

Favourite moments.

There was a moment on the dancefloor when things were getting a little warm, so Justin stepped outside for some fresh air, and I followed him. Freed From Desire started playing, and it would be criminal not to dance to it, so thinking some of our guests would follow us out, we started dancing in the pouring rain. It turned out the weather made it less appealing for the guests, but we turned around whilst the rain was pelting at us, just married, to see everyone on the dancefloor cheering us on. It was a pinch me moment for sure, despite it being completely unplanned.

Meaning of marriage.

Marriage means we are a team. It means celebrating each other’s wins as if they were our own, picking up extra snacks even if we weren’t asked to, and always remembering that compromise and peace feel better than being right.

Wedding soundtrack.

Aisle: Heartbeats by Jose Gonzalez

Reception entry: Gimme Gimme Gimme by ABBA

First dance: Ocean Eyes by Billie Eilish

Final song: The Climb by Miley Cyrus

Funny stories or near disasters.

Justin was rostered on to a night shift the night of our wedding and almost forgot to request leave!

Planning surprises.

We were both genuinely overcome with gratitude to our friends and family. People always say no one is as invested in your wedding as you are, and while that may be true to some extent, the countdown texts, the beautifully heartfelt cards and thinking about the hours of travel, annual leave and dollars spent on making it to our wedding makes that very arguable.

Words of wisdom.

As cliche as it sounds, enjoy the process! It’s really not ‘just one day’ – it’s like planning a trip, you get to enjoy all of the happy milestones leading in to it.

Wish for a grounded and fun planning and process, like Amanda and Justin? We’ve got the perfect assistant for you – Wedding Plans. A physical guide to help map our your dream day, all in one sweetly stylish little package.

AMANDA & JUSTIN’S VENDORS

Ceremony & reception venue: Stones of the Yarra Valley

Celebrant: Kathryn Brandt, The Celebrandt

Photography: Lost in Love Photography

Videography: Love and Other

Florist: Little Stag Floral Couture

Hair: Rachael Anne Evans Hairstylist

Make-up: Rhodia – Make Up and Hair

The dress: Georgia Young Couture

Veil: Lola Knight

Shoes: Loeffler Randall

Rings: Grew & Co