Real Wedding - Ash & Nathan, Monbulk VIC

February 26, 2023 In Latest Posts, Pastel, Red, Rustic, Winery By Ivory Tribe

Real Wedding – Ash & Nathan, Monbulk VIC

Ash and Nathan’s advice to couples planning a wedding is to keep the focus on what is essential to the two of you. For them, this resulted in a truly stunning soiree filled with timeless modern style and effortlessly epic vibes.

A wedding party in monochromatic tones underpin a colour palette of florals in dramatic autumnal hues; deep crimson, vibrant vermillion and soft rusty caramel. A dusting of ivory and blush orchids accents the arrangements to create the perfect backdrop for our glamorously gorgeous newlyweds to say their I Dos.

Ash looks every bit a radiant stunner in her sheath-like gown by Jane Hill, softened with a beautifully draped bodice and sweeping train. But, for us, it’s the tears in Nathan’s eyes as he first catches sight of his dream gal that hits right in the heart.

As much as this day has absolute aesthetic appeal, it’s the sweet sense of fun, the loved-up romance and the incredible smiles that radiate from every shot by visual poet Fern and Stone that really take it to the next level. Nothing beats love!

To see it all unfold, scroll on.

The meeting.

We went to high school together, but it wasn’t until a couple of years later, after a few sneaky kisses at the local nightclub that our love story truly began.

The one.

We were so young when we got together it’s hard to pinpoint an exact moment, but we always talked about our future together and couldn’t imagine doing life with anyone else. Our relationship has always just felt so right, we have grown up together, and our love continued to evolve as we did.

The proposal.

Nathan bought the ring in the midst of the 2020 lockdowns, so as soon as we could, he organised a dinner at one of our favourite restaurants. There was a beautiful park next door that he had built a few years earlier, so he said he wanted to go and have a look before dinner. We had a quick walk around and, on the way back, Nathan stopped under a big oak tree and got down on one knee. Between the mask and the tears, I eventually managed to spit out a yes.

We were too excited to sit down and eat our meals, so we ordered takeaway and went home to celebrate with our families. It was so nice to be able to share that moment with everyone, especially after being in lockdown for so long.

Planning process.

Given so many weddings had been postponed throughout 2020, we decided to have a longer engagement; this meant we were able to secure all our favourite vendors really easily. We locked in the big things (venue, celebrant, photographer, and videographer) straight away, and then we were able to relax and enjoy the planning process over the next couple of years.

Style inspiration.

The setting at Yarra Ranges Estate really speaks for itself, so we drew from that and decided on something modern but timeless. We kept the venue styling and bridal party outfits really simple and let the florals hero. Liz from Forget Me Not knows the venue really well; her advice was so valuable!

I spent countless hours perusing the real weddings on Ivory Tribe; it’s such a great source of inspiration, but also helped me to locate suppliers who could bring that inspiration to life!

The ceremony.

The ceremony ended up being one of our favourite parts of the day. We only met Ally once before our wedding, but she was able to understand us and what we wanted so quickly. She told our story as if she had known us for years and set such an amazing vibe for the rest of the night.

There were so many special moments throughout the ceremony. My brother in-law walked my mum down the aisle which was a really nice touch. We also surprised two of our closest friends and asked them to be witnesses. Although, I think the highlight for us were the vows we wrote to each other. We didn’t share them until the ceremony, it was such a raw and emotional moment, one we are so glad we got to share with our family and friends.

The outfit.

I really struggled finding the perfect dress, I wanted something really simple and elegant, but I found most were beautiful but felt a little underwhelming. Jane Hill had so many stunning dresses, but the Dove gown gave me exactly what I was after. The rest of my outfit was based around a pearl bracelet my Pa gifted to my Nana which I wore on the day.

Nathan’s outfit was much easier, we couldn’t go past a classic black Tux!

Favourite moment.

I don’t think anything can beat the moment you first see each other at the end of the aisle, all the suspense leads to that moment and as soon as we got to each other there was such a sense of joy and comfort.

Meaning of marriage.

Committing to each other forever. Although we are not super traditional, we feel like this was the next step in our relationship. Being able to call each other husband and wife feels like it gives some gravity to the feelings we have for each other.

Wedding soundtrack.

Aisle: I’m With You by Vance Joy, cover by Cal Young

Reception entry: I Was Made For Loving You by KISS

First dance: I’m Gonna Be by The Proclaimers, acoustic cover by Cal Young

Funny stories (or near disasters).

Like most weddings this year, La Nina almost ruined our plans for a beautiful outdoor ceremony. It rained pretty consistently all day, but by some miracle cleared up right at 4pm for our ceremony. The moody lighting was also amazing for photos and videos, so we were incredibly lucky!

Planning surprises.

How enjoyable it was!! I hear so many stories about how stressful planning a wedding can be, but we loved every moment of it. We enlisted the best team of vendors to help and just focused on creating a day that was reflective of us.

Words of wisdom.

It is so easy to get caught up in other people’s expectations; try your best to focus on what is important to you and your partner. As soon as we got engaged, we talked at length about what was important to us and kept coming back to these priorities when we were making big investments and decisions.

Ash turned to real weddings like those featured on our blog for her styling inspiration. To focus your deep dive into the gorgeous rabbit hole that is real wedding bliss, choose your style here!

ASH AND NATHAN’S SUPPLIERS

We used a mix of blogs such as Ivory Tribe, Instagram and word of mouth to find our team. Friends and vendors were an amazing source of information and recommendations.

Ceremony and reception location: Yarra Ranges Estate. We are spoiled for choice living in the Yarra Valley, there are so many stunning venues. Yarra Ranges Estate has such a beautiful backdrop, but what really sold us was how warm, welcoming and accommodating Anna, Anton and the rest of the team were. They were incredible throughout the planning process and even more amazing on the day.

Celebrant/Officiant: Ally Parker-Smith – Ceremonies By Ally. As soon as we met Ally we knew we wanted her as our celebrant. She was so warm, funny and instantly made us feel comfortable. Ally is so brilliant at what she does. She told our story as if she had known us for years and set such an amazing vibe for the rest of the night.

Photography: Fern and Stone Photography. Jess is the best in the business, we feel so lucky to have had her a part of our wedding. From the start she was warm, professional and was more than willing to provide advice or assistance whenever we needed. Jess’ photos speak for themselves, not only is she incredibly talented, but she was an absolute joy to share our special day with. Jess was so much fun and helped us feel so relaxed in front of the camera. She has such a wonderful way of providing gentle guidance, without feeling posed, creating the most natural candid portraits that we will cherish forever.

Videography: AC Media. When choosing our vendors we wanted a team that would help make our day really enjoyable. Aaron was so much fun to be around, he helped make the portrait sessions so relaxed! We received a sneak peak of our video a couple of days later and it was incredible!

Styling: Ourselves

Florist: Forget Me Not Floret. Liz was incredible, we gave her a very vague brief and a few reference photos and she created the most perfect arrangements, beyond anything we could have imagined.

Hair: Hair by Kaleigh Codrea

Make-up: Shelby Makeup Artistry

The dress: Jane Hill

Veil / headwear: Amelie George Bridal

Shoes: Alias Mae

Rings: Michael Hill

Bridesmaid’s dresses: Shona Joy

Suits: Black Tie Classic

Bow ties / ties: Black Tie Classic

Cake / Cake topper: Nathan’s mum made our cake which was such a nice touch.

Stationery / Signage: Atelier Creative

Entertainment: Cal Young