Real Wedding – Ben & Sarah, Red Hill VIC
When Sarah walked towards Ben down the natural aisle the wild and winding pine forest created, she was wearing a whimsical Karen Willis Holmes gown.
The sculptural showstopper featured light, floaty layers of hand-draped matte Organza creating drama befitting a memorable bridal moment.
After trying on upwards of 30 dresses across five bridal stores, the Karen Willis Holmes masterpiece gave Sarah the unique, ‘wearable art’ statement piece she was desperately seeking and inspired much of the elevated textural styling woven throughout the dual location soiree.
The tousled elegance was a match made in heaven for photographer Tess Follett’s editorial, high fashion framing and resulted in a deeply romantic gallery breathtaking for both its form and feeling.
Scroll on to enjoy.
The meeting.
We met in London in 2017. I had just moved abroad alone, decided to download Bumble and came across Ben’s profile. We exchanged a few short messages and decided to meet at a wine bar – The Humble Grape in Clapham – to share in our mutual interest: red wine. There was an instant connection, and it has been an adventure ever since!
‘The one’.
We both say it wasn’t any single moment, but rather a sense of homecoming, comfort and familiarity. We’ve had to deal with Covid long distance, lengthy visa processes and moving Ben to Australia from London but each hurdle has brought us closer than ever.
The proposal.
We travelled to Ben’s childhood vacation town, in the South of France, for a holiday with his parents. We went on a hike we had done many times together, up to a huge rock that overlooks the vineyards and mountains. We sat down to share a beer and enjoy the sunset and when my back was turned, Ben tapped my shoulder and popped the question! I was completely surprised but Ben had been planning it for months – it was the most perfect, private proposal in a place that means so much to the both of us.
Planning process.
The planning process was surprisingly smooth! We decided we wanted something smaller and sentimental – a day filled with love, our favourite company, delicious food and great wine. We set out to look at venues in Red Hill and at the very first stop, Polperro, we sat down on a chair in the garden, overlooking the vines under the huge gum trees and instantly knew it would be the place.
Polperro offered us the ability to leave the food and drink to the experts and focus on everything else. I had my heart set on Tess Follett as our photographer, so we quickly checked her availability and locked it all in.
We took a lot of guidance from our incredible suppliers and chose vendors we could trust to just ‘do their thing’. We turned wedding planning into date nights which helped us enjoy the process, and let everything fall into place easily.
Style inspiration.
Our vision for the wedding was a garden party, followed by a great big dinner party, surrounded by everyone we loved. With our guests travelling from places like South Africa, England and New Zealand, we wanted to emphasise all the beauty and abundance Australia has to offer.
The Pine Forest by the sea was a stunning contrast between the wild setting and very formal outfits, and Polperro was a lush, green vista of rolling hills filled with vines, huge, towering gum trees and the stunning dark interior of the dining room. Everything about our day was pure magic and captured our vision perfectly.
I loved reading through real weddings on Ivory Tribe and scrolling through Instagram to learn what we loved (and didn’t love). Social media is a treasure and a curse – once you start looking, it takes over your feed and can become disorienting and incredibly overwhelming so every now and then you need to take a step back, have a breather and remember to trust your gut for decisions.
The ceremony.
We chose to have our ceremony in the pine forest on a cliff by the sea in Shoreham. I walked through a natural aisle the forest created, where I met Ben at the base of two huge pine trees. Our guests naturally formed a semi-circle around us as we spoke our vows to each other with the waves in the background.
We wanted to extend cocktail hour as much as possible, so we actually had two. Following the ceremony, we walked down to a meadow, where champagne was popped and poured to the sound of a live Spanish guitarist, taking a moment to enjoy the feeling of just being married with our friends and family, before heading to Polperro.
The outfits.
Our journey to finding our outfits was very different. Ben was recommended P.Johnson by a friend that recently got married and instantly knew it was the tailor for him. It was a refined and classic tailoring experience done in the most approachable way. From start to finish the process was seamless.
I, however, tried on over 30 dresses at five different stores before I found ‘the one’. I was looking for something special and unique. Not just a dress, but an architectural piece that inspired me – I wanted to make a statement and feel like I was wearing art! The team at KWH made the experience so lovely and comfortable and were so accommodating to any small adjustments. Putting the Phoebe Mila gown on was love at first sight, it seemed to draw inspiration from vintage Dior and felt as if I was wearing a haute couture masterpiece. I felt so happy in it on the day, and it felt very ‘me’.
Favourite moment.
There are almost too many to count – we would live our wedding day over and over if we could!
Our top two would be having a coffee and croissant together at our ceremony location in the forest the morning of before parting ways and getting ready.
Secondly, looking around at our loved ones eating, drinking and chatting away at dinner and feeling an incredible sense of gratitude.
Meaning of marriage.
Marriage is working every day as a team to support each other in all our wildest dreams – providing a safe space to reach our fullest potential but also living a life full of silliness love and laughter that keeps you feeling young forever.
Wedding soundtrack.
Aisle: La Vie en rose – Louis Armstrong
First dance: Right Down the Line – Gerry Rafferty
Dance floor starter: What is Love – Haddaway
Last song: Rocketman – Elton John
Near disasters.
Our hired ceremony chairs for the forest never arrived and Ben’s Mum had brought beautiful ivory ribbon all the way from the UK to tie on the back of each one. We felt so bad that we hadn’t been able to use the ribbons but having no chairs actually meant that our ceremony felt much more intimate and, looking back, we wouldn’t have had it any other way!
Also, they say if you don’t have a wet weather plan, it will definitely rain. We took a risk with an exposed outdoor ceremony and a very blasé back up plan, and the weather really turned it on for us, with a gorgeous 26C day and blue clear skies. The weather surrounding our day wasn’t so great, so maybe don’t follow in our footsteps – but it fortunately worked out for us!
Planning surprises.
Personalised letters are so incredibly special, but oh my goodness they take forever to write! If you are planning to write letters to your guests, start early and write a few each day, to ensure they remain meaningful and well thought out. Our guests loved ours and it was so special to watch them open and read their letters at the table, so they were well worth the months it took to write them in the lead up.
Words of wisdom.
Take time out to breathe it all in on the day – those will be some of your most cherished memories. Also don’t let other people’s thoughts or opinions change the way you do YOUR day, you only get one, and it needs to be a true reflection of you as a couple – you might hurt some feelings but, in the end, everyone wants what’s best for you.
BEN & SARAH’S SUPPLIERS:
We found our team of suppliers through recommendations from our venue, Polperro, and our photographer, Tess Follett. This made the entire process incredibly easy and each of our vendors was genuinely amazing and talented. We followed them on Instagram, explored their personal websites, and also checked out features on Ivory Tribe to get a feel for their style.
Ceremony location: Shoreham Pine Forest
Reception venue: Polperro
In the lead-up to our wedding, Kim and her team were incredible – always available, super organised and made the whole planning process feel effortless. On the day, everything ran so smoothly, allowing us to truly relax and enjoy ourselves. The Polperro team were equally amazing during the reception, creating a calm, seamless experience that our guests are still raving about – especially the food and wine!
The accommodation at Polperro was also stunning and made the weekend feel extra special. Lauren and her team were fantastic, handling all the setup with ease, and leaving small treats as a special touch. We had pizza with our families in the farmhouse the night before the wedding, which was so special. Getting ready in the villas and farmhouse was so relaxed and the spaces made for gorgeous photos.
Celebrant: Shannon Jeans
Shannon was an absolute joy throughout the entire process. Her energy and engagement is one in a million and we are so glad we chose her for our special day. She kept us calm and collected, helped us with speech writing suggestions and made our ceremony so special. Our family and friends commented on how it seemed as if Shannon had known us forever.
Photography: Tess Follett
Tess is a true expert in the field – we planned our entire date around her availability, as her photography work is incredibly special. Tess captures feelings, not just images, and we constantly find ourselves looking back on pictures of the day, remarking how excellent they are. Tess turned our photos around so quickly and with such professionalism. She was able to keep our family and friends calm, collected and natural, providing a true snapshot of every moment and kept us laughing all day.
Content Creator: MLT Socials
Molly captured our day beautifully. We didn’t want our wedding feeling like a movie set and Molly blended seamlessly with the guests, capturing moments we didn’t even realise would be so important. Molly turned our videos around so quickly and we will cherish them forever.
Florist: Babylon Flowers
The team at Babylon Flowers are true artists. We were absolutely blown away by the stunning arrangements they created – they not only brought our vision to life, but elevated it beyond anything we imagined. Every detail perfectly captured the mood and style from our brief.
Throughout the planning process, the team was so lovely, professional, and incredibly accommodating – always happy to make changes along the way when we came up with new ideas. I’ve been recommending Babylon Flowers to everyone I know planning a wedding. Book them – you won’t be disappointed!
Hair and Makeup: Kim (Hair) and Giuliana (Makeup) from Tonic Agency:
Kim was a gem to work with, understanding my vision and always encouraging me to wear my hair as I wanted. She worked so beautifully and nothing was too difficult, she kept the mood high and relaxed all morning and I was so happy with the results!
Giuliana is such a pro, her makeup was expertly adjusted to each person’s taste and lasted so incredibly well – all my family members felt so beautiful on the day!
The dress: Karen Willis Holmes
Shoes: Edward Meller
Suits – P Johnson Tailors
Entertainment: Ian The Saxy DJ & Spanish Classical Guitar
Ian seriously brought the vibes. We all had so much fun dancing the night away to his DJ tunes and saxophone solos and we would recommend him to anyone!
Anthony on the Spanish classical guitar was a non-negotiable for the day. Anthony’s skills were so perfect to ensure the cocktail hours and ceremony were filled with romantic relaxing background music.
Décor: DIY
My beautiful mother did hand calligraphy on all the stationery and signage, and my Dad made our direction signs from scratch!
