Real Wedding – Chris & Ash, Fyansford VIC
It was during their first date back in 2016 that Ash just knew Chris was the one. So, it is only fitting that their wedding day be a romance-filled, beautifully stylish celebration of their modern-day love story. Their venue, the glorious Grand Hall at Fyansford Paper Mill, adds dramatic detail to their dream day – the perfect choice for aesthetically impactful moments in a stunning setting.
Ash looked every bit a radiant goddess in her gown and veil by superstar Kyha, accessorised with pearl detailing to enhance the contemporary chic style. It was all boundless beauty when she took her place beside dapper Chris – the two only to be outshined by their darling dog, bounding up the aisle. Celebrant talent Sam Lavery set the tone of the day to perfection with a fun-filled, romance-focused ceremony.
Gorgeously glowing shots by Tahnee Jade Photography captured every emotion-filled moment between the newlyweds as they soaked up the sweet sunset.
As the sun went down, the dance floor ramped up in the hands of Melbourne Entertainment Co. Ash was every bit the show stopper in her Scalon Theodore gold embossed party frock, leading her new husband and their nearest and dearest in a party to remember.
Scroll on for every fun-filled moment.
The meeting.
Chris and I met in 2016 at a bar in Richmond after an AFL game. We are both mad Melbourne Demons supporters and were commiserating over another loss with our separate groups of friends when we ran into each other on the dance floor!
The ‘one’.
After our first date, I went home and told my family that I had met my future husband! So I didn’t muck about!
The proposal.
Chris proposed at Diamond Bay in Sorrento on a beautiful afternoon. This is a place that is really special to us as we spend a lot of time on the Mornington Peninsula. After the proposal, Chris had organised for our families to celebrate that afternoon, so everyone was in on the surprise.
Planning process.
We set about doing the planning upfront and booking vendors as soon as we were engaged. This made the process so much easier as we could relax knowing everything was booked for the big day. We had the most amazing vendors- all of who provided amazing guidance and support along the way and were just so easy to deal with.
Also, I married an accountant, so we had an extremely detailed and nerdy Excel spreadsheet!
Style inspiration.
We wanted a moody and romantic wedding venue. We wanted it at a venue that not many people had been to before, so it was special and unique. We were so lucky to be able to hold our ceremony venue in Site 3A at Provenance Wines.
The look.
I wore two dresses. My first dress, which I wore for my ceremony and some of the reception, was a one-shoulder Kyha gown with button detailing down the back. It is quite a simple dress, but I had a beautiful pearl veil (also from Kyha) which elevated the look.
I also did an outfit change as the dancefloor started into a two-piece Scanlan Theodore gold sparkle set. I wanted something that wasn’t white for my party dress and something that was fun and would allow me to get on the dancefloor.
I would recommend two dresses to everyone!
Favourite moments.
Our most memorable moment was having our Golden Retriever, Ted attend our wedding. He was the last one to walk down the aisle towards us; it was so sweet to watch. He is such a huge part of our lives, and we knew we wanted him there to witness his parents getting married.
Meaning of marriage.
Marriage to us hasn’t changed anything a great deal. We have been committed to each other for a long time; however, it is nice for it to finally be official and celebrate our love with our families.
Wedding soundtrack.
Aisle: Video Games by Lana Del Ray
Reception entry: Hey Baby by DJ Otzi (90s classic!)
Funny stories or near disasters.
A week before the wedding, the weather forecast looked perfect and sunny. As the week went on, the temperature kept climbing and eventually settled at 38 degrees. It was a bit stressful knowing how hot the day was going to be and the impact that would have on our photos and guests, but as everything always does, it all worked out in the end.
Planning surprises.
How much work it actually is! The key is definitely to be organised and let friends and family help if they offer!
Words of wisdom.
Enjoy the process; it truly is the best day of your lives.
Second outfits – are they worth it? We’ve found our favourites to help you make the dream day dress decisions (spoiler – we love a party frock!). Read on, here on the blog.
ASH & CHRIS’ VENDORS
To find our team, our venue supplied us with a list of their regularly used vendors, and we worked from that list as well as suggestions of vendors from our friends who had recently been married.
Ivory Tribe was the first website we went to for inspiration. To have a directory that lists every possible vendor you could ever need was so helpful in assessing which direction we wanted to take our wedding.
Ceremony venue: Site 3a at Provenance Wines. We felt it was a unique wedding venue that many of our guests hadn’t attended. Food and drink were extremely important to us, and Provenance has the best of both these things!
Reception venue: Provenance Wines
Celebrant: Sam Lavery The Celebrant
Photography: Tahnee Jade Photography. We wanted a photographer who was going to capture what was important to us on our special day. For us, that was amazing pictures of us, our family and our guests. Tahnee captured a picture of every one of our 120 guests enjoying themselves, and that was so special to us.
Videography: Luca Zarik Films
Florist: The Posie Place
Hair: Shannon Brache Hair
Make-up: Makeup by Giuliana
The dress & veil: Kyha Studios
Party dress: Scanlan Theodore
Shoes: Bared
Bridesmaid’s dresses: Custom-made Erika Georg
Groomsmen’s suits & bow ties / ties: MJ Bale
Catering: Provenance Wines
Bar: Liquid Infusion
Favours: Donation to a charity close to our hearts- Eastern Palliative Care
Stationery / Signage: Danger and Moon
Entertainment: Melbourne Entertainment Co
Honeymoon: Greek Islands and Italy
Pet sitter: Leave and Retrieve
