Real Wedding - Chloe & Daniel, Coldstream VIC

January 10, 2020 In Church, Classic, Pastel, Pink, Real Weddings, Uncategorized, Victoria, White, Winery By Jessica Brawn

Real Wedding – Chloe & Daniel, Coldstream VIC

It took a while for Daniel to secure a first date with Chloe – but boy was she glad she said yes in the end! After 8 incredible years together, they finally tied the knot, hosting their wedding at the stunning Stones of The Yarra Valley.

The second they laid their eyes on this venue, they knew it was the perfect place to say ‘I do’.

This couples dream day encompassed everything they love as a couple, resulting in the most magical modern classic celebration with the nearest and dearest in their life. Chloe did the groundwork to bring together some of the industries very best vendors with petal power supplied by Poppy Culture, a gorgeous gown by One Day Bridal and talented tribe photographer, Chloe May. Keep reading for an insight into every divine detail of their day.

In Chloe’s words…

The meeting.

My sister introduced us in 2010 at a nightclub in Melbourne. After the first night we met I saw him out a few more times and each time he was pretty drunk so he wasn’t really putting his best for forward. Haha! After about 6 months of him asking me to catch up and me not really being keen, I finally agreed. I thought we’ll just get this over with and put it down to a bad date and move on. We caught up for a coffee one night and we sat in the restaurant until it closed. I knew then that there was so much more to this party boy than I had given him credit for. After that, we were pretty much an item and “official” a few months later.

The ‘one’.

There was no exact moment, but I remember early on that it felt different to anyone that I had dated before and it was just a feeling that I knew we would end up getting married. Everyone told me early on that Daniel wasn’t really the dating type, but I just knew and 8 years on here we are.

The proposal.

Daniel’s Nonna has an apartment in Burleigh Heads, Queensland, which we had not been allowed to use as we were not married, without me knowing he had told his Nonna that he planned on proposing while we were up there. She agreed and we went on our little getaway.

After a couple of failed attempts, Daniel finally had the chance to propose on Melbourne Cup morning 2017, we had gone down to get Acai bowls for brekkie and to relax on the beach before we had a pre-planned Cup Day lunch with friends, Daniel had suggested we go for a walk up the beach and on our way back while I was yapping about something he tugged on my hand and I turned around to find him down on one knee.

It was absolutely perfect and so unexpected. I burst into tears and couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. We went back to the apartment to call our families and some close friends and then celebrated for the rest of the day with our friends! It was so unexpected, and I love that it was in a place that was special to Daniel, and now the two of us. We planned our mini honeymoon back in Burleigh Heads straight after the wedding as we weren’t leaving on our European honeymoon for a couple of months.

The planning.

It is the most fun, exciting, stressful and overwhelming time but I absolutely loved it!

I knew planning a wedding would be no small task, but I underestimated just how much it took to organise! The constant emails to and from vendors, meetings and sourcing inspiration, it felt like there was always something to do.

I had a checklist and ticked off a lot of the big things early and then just went about getting all the little things done as soon as I could. I did a lot of the footwork myself as I knew what I did and didn’t like and what would fit our style. My mum and bridesmaids were amazing and constantly checking in with what I needed help with and whatever it was they were on it. For the most part, I had it organised and just went with my gut; keeping it all in line with what felt like “us”.

By the time the wedding came around I was pretty relaxed and just couldn’t wait to see everything come together.

Style inspiration.

I had seen the Stones of the Yarra Valley years ago on Instagram and always thought I’d love to get married there “one day”. Never really expecting that we would book it but still wanting to see it in person, I made an appointment for us first thing in the morning before we looked at a few other venues in the area. As soon as we turned up the driveway with my parents, all four of us were speechless. We agreed right from the start that we wanted to make sure we had great food and wine and loved that it was a venue that none of our friends had used. The Stones ticked all those boxes and more.

We really just wanted our wedding to truly be the people we loved most and those who had helped shape us as individuals and as a couple and for our day to represent “us” and our love. I loved that we were able to have the ceremony and reception all in one place, reducing the amount of waiting time for guests in between while we had photos.

The inspiration behind our day would probably be what you called “Modern Classic”. We wanted it to be fun and fresh but be able to look back in years to come and still be in love with everything. With the Stones being such a beautiful venue in its own right we didn’t want to go overboard. By adding all the beautiful flowers and incredible hanging installation by Poppy Culture, along with candles and pops of gold, I think we really achieved that modern classic look we were after!

The dress.

I had always loved Nadia Bartel’s J’aton beaded gown and always said I wanted to have something similar remade. However, I did want to go and try some dresses just to get an idea and decided that I would only go to two different places being One Day Bridal & Jane Hill. I changed my mind on getting a dress made only because I felt more comfortable being able to try a sample of a dress on first. I tried on a range of different dresses and ended up deciding on a Jane Hill dress. On the way home I was having second thoughts and the following day One Day Bridal posted a sneak peek of the Lucille Gown on their Instagram stating that was available to try on later that week. As soon as I saw the picture, I knew that this was the gown I was going to wear. I tried it on that Thursday and didn’t look back. It is actually a similar cut to what I had loved about Nadia Bartel’s dress but instead of being beaded it was completely plain. I LOVED my dress and felt amazing in it and I was lucky enough to be the first bride that wore it. The girls at One Day were so beautiful and I absolutely loved my experience with them.

Favourite moments.

Our ceremony was hands down my favourite part of our day! Having the Chapel doors open and walking down the aisle with my dad to my teary husband to be was a surreal moment and one that I will never forget.

We prepared our own vows and kept them as a surprise for each other. Our Celebrant, Megan Watson, said to us that one of the best gifts you can give to another person is your word and I am so glad we took the time to write our own! They were so heartfelt and special!

Megan created the most magical and loved-up vibe and I had multiple guest comment on how amazing she was and how it was one of the best ceremonies they had ever attended. We wouldn’t even begin to be able to thank her enough.

The meaning of marriage.

Marriage to us means committing wholeheartedly to your best friend for the rest of your lives. It means you’ll always be their person. It means you’ll always encourage each other and be each other’s biggest supporter, while continuing to grow as individuals and a team.

Wedding soundtrack.

Aisle – Angels by The XX

Entry – Tell Me You Love Me by Galantis & Throttle

First Dance – Latch by Sam Smith (Acoustic Version)

Father/Daughter Dance – Can You Feel The Love Tonight by Elton John

Funny stories (or near disasters).

Near disaster; My bridesmaids and I arrived at our Airbnb the day before the wedding after having just had our spray tans to a town-wide power outage due to the hot weather and no running water. We didn’t know if we’d be able to wash our tans off at the right time but luckily the power came back on and everything was fine.

Funny story; Our Best Man when asked to provide the rings went to put my wedding band on my finger during the ceremony instead of giving it to Daniel to put on my hand. The whole chapel was laughing.

Planning surprises.

Just how in-depth the actual process is, constantly sourcing inspiration, the chasing down of quotes, emails and meetings etc. Perhaps in hindsight, I would think of getting a planner to do all the little things so I didn’t have to do the groundwork, but I also I can’t tell you how satisfying it was to see everything come together on the day knowing all the hard work it had taken. All of my suppliers and vendors were amazing in helping us create the perfect day!

Words of wisdom.

Everyone says it but just enjoy every moment, take a minute with each other during the day/night to just take it all in. We had the most relaxing and chilled day getting ready but as soon as we got in that limo on the way to the Chapel it was go, go, go and before we knew it the day was over.

Remember that it is about the two of you and your love story and your day should reflect that!

Also, have a planner/checklist and get as much as you can get done early so you don’t feel frazzled leading up to the day. I had a file that I would save pictures too and constantly check back in to for inspiration and make sure I was staying true to our style.

CHLOE & DANIEL’S TRIBE

Ceremony venue / location: Stones of the Yarra Valley

Reception venue / location: Stones of the Yarra Valley

Celebrant/Officiant: Megan Watson – if you need a Celebrant, look no further! From the first time we spoke we connected and by the time the wedding came around Megan felt like a friend! She really got to know each of us as individuals and as a couple and therefore our Ceremony truly reflected US! It really was absolutely perfect!

Photography: Chloe May – her photos speak for themselves! Finding out 3 weeks before our wedding that the photographer we had hired wasn’t actually going to be the one shooting our wedding on the day, I was feeling a little uneasy. I had come across Chloe’s profile after booking our photographer and figured I would try my luck and (amazingly) she was available. I was completely at ease with our decision to switch. All of her photos of past weddings I had seen felt like the perfect fit for Daniel and I who prefer that more candid style of photography. I am OBSESSED with our photos!

Videography: Lensure

Florist: Poppy Culture

Hair: Natalie Jaye Hair

Make Up: Jodie Melissa

The Dress(es): One Day Bridal

Veil / headwear: One Day Bridal

Shoes: Manning Cartel

Rings: David Larson

Bridesmaid’s dresses: Dresses: Bec & Bridge

Bridemaids shoes: Bellini

Grooms suit: Calibre

Groomsmen’s suits – MJ Bale