Real Wedding - Aylin & Dan, Bellarine VIC

March 9, 2017 In Real Weddings By Jo Betz

Real Wedding – Aylin & Dan, Bellarine VIC

The beautiful Bellarine was the ideal location for Aylin and Dan to begin their happily ever after.

Planning all the way from their San Francisco home may have made things extra busy for the bride and groom, but once their perfect day played out, you never would have known.

Inspired by their natural surrounds, where the beach meets the bush, their day was sweet, simple and elegantly styled, with talented shutterbug, Dan Brannan documenting it beautifully.

In Aylin’s words…

The meeting.

Dan and I worked at the same company in Melbourne. For a couple of years our paths never really crossed. We would occasionally bump into each other in the hallway, smile and stare a little. I could tell he was always checking me out! I thought he was pretty cute, he reminded me of Simon Baker — a babe, the resemblance is seriously uncanny!

It wasn’t until a mutual friend introduced us did we move into the friend territory and we started meeting for coffee and lunch. The sporadic coffee and lunch sessions went for almost a year before Dan mustered the courage to ask me out on an official date.

The proposal.

Dan proposed on the night of our four year anniversary. We had a spectacular dinner at Chez Panisse in Berkeley, a restaurant famous for its organic, locally grown ingredients led by the incredible Alice Waters. We ate and drank until we could eat or drink no more.

When we arrived home I thought it was the perfect moment to give Dan the gift I bought him for our anniversary. He opened the package, but didn’t seem too impressed with the watch. I thought I nailed his present, but he seemed distracted! Little did I know that he had something else on his mind. A moment later Dan reaches for his bag, turns around to face me and gets down on his knee.

I’ll never forget the look on his face. He asked me to marry him. I was overjoyed. There was no answer other than yes.

The planning process.

A little chaotic as I was organising our wedding from San Francisco. Thank goodness for Instagram, the best wedding stylist ever and family who were happy to run errands for us.

Style inspiration.

We were thrilled to head home to celebrate our wedding in the best country in the world with our loved ones. The Bellarine Peninsula was the perfect blend of beach town, wineries and bushland. We wanted the styling to reflect the wonderful colors, aroma and ambience that is Australia.

The dress.

I knew from the very beginning it had to be Toni Maticevski.

Favourite moments.

Every moment!

Traditions.

We entered One Day Estate with the traditional Turkish flute and drums. It was the perfect way to kick things off, hearts were racing and we loved seeing our guests on the dance floor having a good boogie.

Wedding soundtrack.

Aisle: La Vie En Rose by Louis Armstrong

First dance: Fly me to the moon by Frank Sinatra