Real Wedding – Belinda & Matt, Bellarine Peninsula VIC
A truly elegant affair made for the wedding of sweethearts Belinda and Matt.
Their Bellarine celebration was styled to perfection, complete with berry-hued blooms and mega-watt smiles on everyone in attendance. Belinda, in her incredible Craig Braybrook Couture gown, was a show-stopper and into the evening with a packed dance floor of 160 guests – there’s no doubting this day was one to remember.
Katie Harmsworth Photography has captured this darling day beautifully.
In Belinda’s words…
The meeting.
Matt and I met at University when living on campus at Queen’s College in 2007. We were best friends first and then started dating 18 months later.
The ‘one’.
I’m not sure there was a singular point in time, we just found it really easy to talk about the future and always saw each other together in the long run.
The proposal.
Matt proposed during a lovely weekend in Daylesford. We had dinner on the Friday night at Kazuki’s and potentially had a bit too much to drink. We were the last ones to leave after slow dancing in the restaurant for a bit! It was just magical. The next morning in our pajamas waking up to a 40-degree summer day, he took me outside and got down on one knee, surprising me whilst I still had toast in one hand and a cup of tea in another. I dropped the toast and put down the tea and said “Yes!” To top it off, Matt had booked lunch at the Lake House so we celebrated with an amazing lunch and champagne!
The planning.
Despite thinking that we were going to be ‘those really relaxed people that don’t organise anything and it all works out’. We soon realised that we needed to get a few things sorted like a venue, photographer and celebrant. So we scouted out venues close to us and fell in love with Terindah Estate, booked in Katie Harmsworth Photography (we had met Katie at a previous wedding and really liked her, and of course her photos!) and organised a teacher from my primary school to be the celebrant. Once we got those locked in, we sat back and just let everything else slowly take form.
Style inspiration.
We wanted to celebrate the Bellarine Peninsula area that Matt and I love so much. We love the coast, land and space that this area has and so we really didn’t “style” it too much. I think we just wanted it to be both classic and colourful in keeping with the natural landscape. We chatted to Danielle from Moss Industries a lot to come up with an idea for the colours. These were also carried through with the stationery that Morgan from Colour and Skulls put together.
The dress.
One of the most enjoyable parts of the preparation for me was going bridal dress shopping with my mum and a couple of my bridesmaids, who we affectionately called my “bride tribe”. I’m a hopeless shopper and never know what suits me until I try it on, so I gave the girls the task of choosing at least one dress each that I had to try on in each store. It ended up being hilarious! I tried on everything from meringues to mini skirts so we had a lot of laughs!
I am a very practical person, so in my mind I thought I would have a reasonably simple dress (nothing too big or fussy), so I could be comfortable and dance the night way. However, every time I tried on a dress with a bigger skirt I would come out of the change room with the most ridiculous grin on my face and would sashay around the room. The girls and I decided that maybe I could try and get a simple dress for underneath and an overskirt, which would be both practical and fun. This way I was able to have a bigger dress for the ceremony and photos and then I would be able to take the skirt off for the reception so I could dance and move around more easily. I know it sounds cliché, but I honestly felt like a princess in my dress and was so comfortable! Being comfortable was a big priority for me!
I ended up getting my dress made by Craig Braybrook as I couldn’t quite find what I wanted in the shops. It was a special experience getting the dress made, and he really paid attention to detail. On the day I couldn’t have been happier or more comfortable in my dress!
Favourite moments.
There were a few moments throughout the day which we really special. Firstly walking down the aisle with my dad. The wind was catching my veil and at one point wrapped us up together, and I joked to dad that he has to let me go at some point!
Secondly, as we were exchanging our rings under the flower arch, I sort of forgot that I wasn’t meant to and reflexively went to give matt a quick kiss. I had to stop myself half way and our celebrate Marion had to quickly jump in and said, “not yet Belinda,” and we all laughed.
Thirdly, we decided to do our first dance as soon as we were introduced at the reception so we could get the party vibe going. After our dance, we got everyone up dancing, so at 6 o’clock before any entrees or anything we had 160 people up on the dance floor. It just perfectly set the vibe for the night!
Traditions.
I wore my grandmother’s sapphire engagement ring for my ‘something old’ and ‘something blue’, I borrowed my grandmother’s pearl bracelet which she had been given on her wedding day, and had a sixth pence in my shoe which my mum had especially organised to have from my birth year. My something new was my dress!
The meaning of marriage.
For Matt and I – we really wanted to celebrate with all our friends and family and that’s what our wedding was; just one big celebration of love and friendship. For us, marriage means the ultimate partnership and being there for each other through life, sharing life together.
Wedding soundtrack.
Wedding Dance – Latch by Disclosure
Ceremony song – Acoustic version of Summer by Calvin Harris
Words of wisdom.
I really enjoyed involving my friends and family with the planning and preparation and I think they enjoyed it too! I couldn’t have done it by myself and I wouldn’t have wanted to. I actually really enjoyed the planning and preparation!
BELINDA & MATT’S TRIBE
Location: Terindah Estate. “Terindah” in Indonesia means “most beautiful” which was particularly meaningful for us as Matt spent four years in Indonesia growing up, so it was a nice to have that link.
Celebrant/Officiant: Marion Church. Marion was my sports teacher at my primary school and it was lovely to have that connection with her. We met with her a couple of times before the wedding and it was like catching up with an old friend. Matt and Marion also connected through their dutch heritage. It was important to us that we were comfortable with her so it when it came to it on the day, we knew she would take care of us!
Photography: Katie Harmsworth Photography. We had previously met Katie at another wedding and she was so lovely to chat to – we instantly felt comfortable. On the day she broke the ice with the bridal party by telling a few jokes. From then on we were in stitches of laughter – in fact there is hardly a single photo where at least one person isn’t breaking out in laughter!
Videography: Alastair Innes from She Takes Pictures He Makes Films. What can we say about Alastair, he was simply amazing and we were so comfortable with him. To be honest, he blended into the crowd so much that he really felt like a guest at our wedding. I think that’s why the video he put together seems so natural, like a fly on the wall!
Florist: Danielle Fraser from Moss Industry. Danielle SERIOULSY blew us away with the most amazing floral arrangements!
Hair and makeup: Cassandra De Bruin. Cas was the best to work with. She made us all so comfortable and had a blast. There were lots of laughs getting ready; maybe too many as she had to tell me to stop smiling and hold still whilst doing my make up!
The dress: Craig Braybrook Couture
Veil / head wear: Craig Braybrook Couture
Jewellery/Accessories: Pearl earrings Paspaley and an antique bracelet and ring from my late grandmother
Shoes: Valentino
Rings: McAlister Jewellers
Bridesmaid’s dresses: White Runway
Groom’s suit: Joe Black
Groom’s Shoes: Christian Louboutin
Bow ties / ties: DECLIC
Catering: Terindah Estate
Cake / Cake topper: Alice Wright (Millstone Patisserie). Espresso Martini and butter cream mud cake with hazelnut and raspberry praline. Simply delectable!
Stationery / Signage: Morgan Jamieson from Colour and Skulls. She was brilliant! We gave her a brief of a few colours and types of flowers we planned to use and she created the most beautiful images from there!
Hire: Memphis Hire and chairs from Dress my Wedding.
Entertainment: The Club. We couldn’t speak more highly of them. We had a 7-piece band and they just brought the house down with the best music and vibe. We had people on shoulders and at one point they had the whole dance floor crouched down ready to jump up when they said so. It was almost like mosh pit!
Transport: ABDA buses
Honeymoon: Hamilton Island and Airlie’s Inlet. A perfect mix of adventure and relaxation!
