Real Wedding – Ben & Charlotte, Coldstream VIC
Ben and Charlotte’s wedding day had the intangible, but ever-present, energy of a celebration planned with intention.
Their considered and cohesive nuptials were the result of many months spent poring over the details on date nights, all with the goal of gifting their loved ones an unforgettable guest experience.
When looking to curate an occasion underpinned with elevated elegance and punctuated with timeless style, Coombe Yarra Valley was an unrivalled choice. The romantic sensibility of the day was amplified by Charlotte’s classic bridal aesthetic befitting a modern royal.
From an iconic ‘Flower Man’ entrance to kick off the formalities in a light-hearted fashion, to an audio guest book by our friends at Off The Hook, the contemporary inclusions were as interactive and entertaining as they were atmosphere-enhancing.
A wedding-specific email address, to accompany the tried-and-true spreadsheet companion, is among the duo’s top practical tips, many of which were spawned by encountering a suite of planning surprises along the way.
Read their words of wisdom, and see how their fairytale day unfolded through the artful eye of exceptional photographer Tess Follett, below.
The meeting.
The two met in Christchurch whilst Ben was on a business trip and Charlotte was working for the client he was there visiting. Ben initially asked Charlotte out for dinner, but she politely declined. A few months later, after a couple of business chats, Ben heard Charlotte was moving to Sydney for a new job. A LinkedIn message to say ‘congratulations’, an exchange of phone numbers, and a coincidental trip to Sydney followed and within the month they were dating.
The ‘one’.
Charlotte can’t put it down to a single event, but she recalls seeing Ben around his family and how his actions matched his word – both things were important to her. Ben rang his housemate the night of their second date and told him he’d ‘found the one he was going to marry’, but when Charlotte’s first met the family, he knew for sure. The pair did long distance between Brisbane and Sydney for just under a year – over 50 flights – before settling in Brisbane. On reflection it was hardly long-distance, and they both knew they were each other’s person very early on. They say that time really helped to develop a strong foundation, friendship, connection and alignment in values.
The proposal.
Ben took Charlotte away to Heartwood Farm, Byron Bay, under the guise of a birthday getaway. Heartwood Farm was the perfect venue; very ‘them’, very romantic and exactly what they like in a weekend country getaway…and what they’d always pictured for a proposal. They went for lunch at The Farm before returning for a private picnic along Wilsons River where there was a photographer hiding – with nerves, excitement and anticipation, Ben proposed before Charlotte had even sat down. She said ‘yes’, and they couldn’t wait to tell family and friends.
Planning process.
We spent some time really enjoying our engagement before doing a lot of research on different weddings – we had been to a lot, but online resources were helpful – Ivory Tribe especially! We centred on the key aspects of the wedding we wanted and then found a venue and location that would work best. From there, it was spreadsheets, a wedding-specific email (highly recommend), enquiries, phone calls, and lots of late nights. We were also deliberate in going on dates through the latter months – Thursday nights at our local to plan and walk through anything – and drawing upon immediate family for support. There was a lot in the planning that you don’t anticipate or don’t think of – online guides are helpful, but also make sure you customise as you’ve got to plan your own wedding according to your timelines and details. So, our recommendation – enjoy the engagement phase without any wedding planning and then get straight into planning it well in advance. Nothing can be done too early.
Style inspiration.
We wanted a classic style wedding that embodied romance and elegance in an understated way. We wanted to be able to look back on our wedding and feel that it was a classic style that ages well. We had a lot of people travelling for our wedding from across Australian and New Zealand and so we wanted to make as much of it as we could about our guests and giving them a good experience. We took a lot of inspiration from real weddings, including those featured on Ivory Tribe – we spent a lot of time going through many of these. Once we chose a venue, we then also took a lot of inspiration from looking at the tagged photos on the Coombe Yara Valley Instagram page to figure out how we wanted to style the venue and find quality suppliers.
The ceremony.
We kicked off our ceremony with Ben’s cousin Jakob as a Flower Man. He did the best version of that role we’ve ever seen and that really helped create a relaxed and fun environment prior to the formalities. Our minister Chris also made it personal and about us – he has known us for a lot of years now, and that was special to have someone that invested in getting to know and support us, and to bring this out in our ceremony. Coombe provided a well-supported and intimate ceremony venue, and, for us, being able to make that commitment so closely supported by our family and friends was really special.
The outfits.
Charlotte went in with an idea of what style of dress she wanted. She had never gravitated towards lace but decided to keep an open mind and ended up getting a custom-made dress with a detachable lace jacket. Ben wanted a classic, black-tie style. We looked at a few options, and MJ Bale felt the best and was the right balance of classic and contemporary. Both suppliers were very supportive and accommodating of some last-minute changes.
Favourite moments.
We both have so many, it’s hard to narrow it down, but a couple spring to mind… Ben’s favourite moment was seeing Charlotte as she appeared at the top of the aisle. That was a feeling that words will never be able to properly capture. Charlotte’s favourite was when the two shared a special moment together at dinner – both of them in their own little bubble, looking around and seeing it all come together exactly as they wanted.
There were so many moments we continue to reflect on often – sharing our vows privately, late night photos with Tess, watching the band do their thing, the dance floor, celebrating Charlotte’s dad’s birthday on the same day, seeing our family and friends all together, getting ready for the day, debriefing the day when we arrived back to our hotel. For us, it really was the most perfectly happy day and there’s nothing we would have changed.
Meaning of marriage.
For both of us it’s about having a best friend, a teammate, a second half to enjoy life’s ups and to work through life’s downs together with.
Wedding soundtrack.
Flower Man: Love Is In The Air – John Paul Young
Aisle Song: (I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons – Nat King Cole
Registry Signing: L-O-V-E – Nat King Cole
Recessional: April Sun In Cuba – Dragon
Reception Entry Song: All Night Long – Lionel Richie
First Dance: Can’t Take My Eyes Off You – Frankie Valli
Parent Dance: My Girl – The Temptations
Farewell Circle: This Will be (An Everlasting Love) – Natalie Cole
Funny stories/near disasters.
There was nothing that we would describe as a disaster. There was a car crash, things forgotten, things missed, things left to the last minute, all in the week leading up to it, but for us, all these things were just part of the journey. All the big things are essentially done by a week out, and there’s going to be things that don’t go to plan – remember what the day is about and try (although it’s hard!) to not worry about the details in that week – things have a way of working themselves out.
Planning surprises.
There is a lot more things to think about, decisions to make and different views to what we were expecting. Getting really clear on what the critical elements are for your wedding makes it a lot easier to work through these things. It was more stressful than we imagined, as planned as we felt we were. It was challenging – but we learnt to play to each other’s strengths, and to take on tasks that best suited each of us.
Words of wisdom.
Spend as much of the day together as possible – don’t leave each other’s side. You then get to share the same memories and enjoy the day together, which is really what it’s about. We did this from the ceremony to the end of the day and we’re so glad we did. That would be our biggest recommendation.
For more real wedding magic, check out Laura & Lachie’s intimate, aesthetic day.
BEN & CHARLOTTE’S SUPPLIERS:
We had the best team around us and that really helped make our day perfect. Put thought into making sure you have a great team around you. We met with several suppliers and went with the ones that felt right – we got along with them, and felt they were the right feel for the day we wanted. All suppliers were super amazing, and we would recommend all of them!
Ceremony & reception venue: Coombe Yarra Valley –Angela and team at Coombe were absolutely incredible! Angela is the best wedding coordinator you could ever have, and the whole team at Coombe made the day both seamless and special.
Officiant: Major Chris Clarke, The Salvation Army – Chris and Cherie Clarke were so supportive and really helped guide us on our journey to marriage. Both of them supported us with pre-marriage counselling and this is something that we would recommend for all couples to help set you up for success.
Photography: Tess Follett Tess made us feel so relaxed and comfortable – it didn’t feel like a photo shoot, but time enjoyed together celebrating with a friend.
Florist: Flower Head Events
Hair: Tonic Agency (Fran Santa Cruz)
Make-up: Tonic Agency (Stephanie Bottrell)
The dress & veil: Calèche Bridal
Rings: Larsen Jewellery
Bridesmaid’s dresses: Jadore
Suits & ties: MJ Bale
Cake: Crème de la Cakes
Stationery / Signage: Peppermint Press
Entertainment: Like This Entertainment Like This were incredible – the best in the business, and we couldn’t be happier.
Décor: Hueseeka Decor & Candle Co
Wedding Night Accommodation: Helen & Joey Estate
Audio guest book: Off The Hook
Honeymoon: Japan
