Real Wedding – Amie & Sam, Rosebud VIC

Boho-inspired with distinct coastal vibes – it’s the lifestyle Amie and Sam love to live, and so their wedding day reflected them to a tee.

In a backless gown that Amie had always dreamed of, she made her way down the aisle to Sam leading the way to a raw and emotional ceremony they will treasure forever.

Their celebration was as relaxed as it was elegant and from a private property ceremony, a sweet restaurant setting for the evening, and a stunning sunset session in-between – it’s impossible to pick a favourite element of this seaside soiree.

See how their day, (with a few minor hiccups they can now laugh at!), unfolded by White Shutter Photography.

In Amie’s words…

The meeting.

We met when I was about 14 and Sam 16 through a mutual friend at (wait for it) a fish and chip shop during the school holidays. Then decided we loved each other by the time I was 18 after we reconnected as friends!

The ‘one’.

It was easy, I think because we were always good friends the love part came easy. So we were both pretty sure we would get married to one another by the time we were in our early 20’s.

The proposal.

Sam took me to a back beach in Sorrento on the sunrise of our 6th anniversary together, we were taking a walk and sat on the beach watching the sun. As we were about to leave, he got down on one knee, said a bunch of beautiful things I didn’t hear because I was busy crying and semi screaming, I said yes before he even finished his speech.

The process.

Organised chaos! Most of my main suppliers were booked and paid within the first couple of months of our engagement so we actually did not have to worry about too much. The week beforehand was the craziest, from the wrong veil to organising bridal party clothing mishaps! I was surprisingly calm and excited, I always knew things could/would potentially go wrong and taking it in my stride was easier then freaking out.

Style inspiration.

Sam and I both have a love for coastal/boho lifestyle, so our inspiration was to truly have a wedding that reflected our personalities and interior style/ general lifestyle. So we really just embraced our coastal, peninsula home life and brought it into our wedding.

The dress.

I always knew I wanted a backless, Ivory dress (that was my only criteria) so it was actually easy to find the one! One of my BM’s found a designer (Lovers Society), that she thought was really ‘me’, a nice combo of classy/timeless with a hint of boho.

We booked into The Bridal Atelier because they stocked the brand – the first dress I chose and tried on, I just knew that was the one. Backless, form-fitting, very thin straps with a little bit of a v-neck – lace and beautiful paneling – I would love to get married again!

Favourite moments.

That is so hard to say, the whole day was amazing. But it would hands down have to be the first moment Sam and I locked eyes. We didn’t do the “reveal” before the ceremony, so it was a very raw, emotional moment when we got to see each other. And he cried, so that was such a beautiful moment to share.

Meaning of marriage.

Marriage to both of us was really just a way of acknowledging our relationship on the most epic of levels. It means that through the good and the bad, we choose to love each other each day. And really, our relationship was a marriage well before we actually got married, but it was pretty amazing to legally acknowledge it.

Wedding soundtrack.

Aisle: Big Jet Plane by Angus and Julia stone (live version, covered by a family friend, Sam O’Connell and Coco Michelle – so beautiful)

First dance: Simple Things by Ziggy Alberts.

Funny stories (or near disasters).

A few! My veil was wrong when we first picked it up, then wrong again second time. By the third time, it was the right one. BUT! It had a massive tear right down the bottom of it. I cried, then laughed in a matter of minutes and said, ‘oh well, it’s down the bottom anyway.’

One of my bridesmaids did not try her dress on since we initially bought them, and it unfortunately didn’t fit (this was realised at about 10pm the night before the big day) and I was calm (to everyone’s surprise) whilst everyone else was freaking out. We found an eBay seller who was selling the same designer and colour, just different stlye by the smallest fraction and she was a local (divine intervention) and she drove it over to us that night, bless her heart – thank you, kind stranger!

Planning surprises.

Not really an aspect of the planning, but what took us both by surprise is how weddings can sometimes bring the worst out of people. So without saying too much, “people” were an aspect of the wedding planning that surprised us.

Words of wisdom.

Book and pay things as soon as you can, it takes a lot of the stress out of things later. Mostly, just enjoy things as they come. If things go wrong (which they will, that’s just weddings!) embrace it and try to resolve the situation, or get one of your bridal party members that you trust to help with things. Delegate a couple of things to the bride’s mother and the groom’s mother, so it makes them feel involved – they don’t have to be major aspects, but just little things that help.

Last words.

It is true; the day does fly by so quickly. So even if something is not perfect, laugh it off and stay in the moment.

For more boho-inspired wedding celebrations, dip into our archives here – we’ve saved you the search.

AMIE & SAM’S TRIBE

Ceremony: Family friend’s acreage in Boneo/Rosebud – The Four Oaks.

Reception: Alatonero, McCrae. All the staff were so amazing. The venue itself is gorgeous so we didn’t have to go OTT with extra decorations.

Celebrant/Officiant: Emma Tomlinson Civil Celebrant – Emma made the ceremony so perfect and catered every little detail to us. She felt like a family member on the day, she is gorgeous.

Photography: Anne from White Shutter Photography – Holy cow, she is a superstar at what she does. We didn’t want “cliché” bridal photos, we wanted unique, in-the-moment shots and she absolutely delivered. In addition, she was hilarious, felt like we had a best friend with us just making us laugh all day capturing the most amazing moments

Videography: we decided against one as we spent a decent amount on photography, which we knew we would treasure more than a video. But each to your own!

Styling: Styling was actually done by my Aunty Tracy and myself, we were the A team and hand-made most of the decorations and she styled it on the day for me after weeks/months of planning, conversations and location visits.

Florist: Poppy Culture for my bridal, flower girl bouquet, and the button holes for the groomsmen and the fathers. They absolutely nailed what I was going for! The bridesmaids flowers were self-sourced and the beautiful ladies at Poppy Culture transformed them into gorgeous sets for the girls.

Hair and make-up: One of my best girlfriends, Ruby, by Ruby. Was so special having a close friend do that and be amazing at their job. She did my hair, plus my mum, my sister (flower girl) and all of the bridesmaids. Absolute legend.

The Dress(es): ‘The Wyatt’ by Lovers Society from the amazing girls at The Bridal Atelier.

Veil / headwear: My veil was called the “the classic”, it was 3m long head-to-toe and I purchased from The Bridal Atelier.

Shoes: Wittner

Rings:  Janai Jewellery, Melbourne, shout out to Tim!

Bridesmaid’s dresses: The one and only Shona Joy, classic cocktail dress in the colour ‘mist’.

Menswear: Peter Jackson

Catering: Alatanero – the food that I did manage to eat was AMAZING. We received a lot of compliments from our guests on the food and service.

Cake / Cake topper: Cake was made by my mother in law, and the beautiful florals were from poppy culture and it matched my bouquet.

Stationery / Signage: My husband is a graphic designer and I paint with water colour, so we designed them together and had them printed at Bay Print in Mornington. The envelopes were from some fancy envelope place that my husband made us drive 45 minutes to collect, this is normal for people who love all aspects of design.

Entertainment: The Calmer Miles – they are AMAZING, totally our vibe, good mixture of classics and new songs and fit our boho chillness. Our best man created a beautiful masterpiece of a playlist which played in between their sets. In addition, our MC was a mutual best friend Livv, very special to have her run the evening.

Transport: Kombi Dreams – This was one of my favourite things to have on the day. They were a gorgeous couple and Lola the Kombi was just a perfect fit for our vibe.

Hire: Peninsula Party Hire for the chairs at the ceremony. They were very easy to work with!

Honeymoon: we didn’t have one! We took two weeks off work and did all of our favourite things together, like winery hopping, beach swims and walks. Shout out to my parents who spoiled us with three nights away in Daylesford where we got to visit the very fancy restaurant there.