Real Wedding - Claire & Brady, Woodend VIC

June 2, 2024 In Garden, Green, Latest Posts, Outdoor, Pastel, Pink, Real Weddings By Natalie Drum

Real Wedding – Claire & Brady, Woodend VIC

Celebrating the incredible Macedon Ranges region, and the talented suppliers local to the area, was of huge priority when Claire and Brady set about planning to celebrate the next chapter of their eight years together. Leaning on the advice of their incredibly talented team, they created a harmony of uplifting aesthetics and boldly blissful fun, captured with delightful artistry by Smith and Archer.

Glowingly gorgeous Cadella Park set the stage against which the celebrations unfolded, fully meeting the brief of an outdoor wedding with dancing under the stars and an elegant marquee. Add to the mix the people they love most in the world, the talent of The Baker Boys band and stunning styling vision by Prunella, and you have a uniquely exquisite celebration.

Claire is radiant in her Maticevski gown from our friends at Bluebell Bridal, striking the perfect balance of classic elegance and contemporary style. Paired with her dapper husband-to-be in his classicly slick Ted Baker suit, they are a relaxed, happy dream. With celebrant wonder Megan Thompson leading them through the ceremony, the party tone set in to perfection – and didn’t let up until the sun was well below the horizon.

To see every darling detail of this stunning day, scroll on.

The meeting.

Eight years ago, I (Claire) went to London to visit my friend Jess, who was living with Brady at the time. Jess took it upon herself to play matchmaker, and after a weekend of a fleeting visit, we continued to keep in contact with each other. Sparks were flying, and I decided I wanted to live in London and join in the fun. So, three months later, I had arrived at their house, moved in and the rest was history! Brady’s visa expired the following September, meaning he moved back to Sydney, but I stayed on another year, and we did long distance. It was tricky with the time difference, but we made it work. When it was my time to move home, Brady moved down to Melbourne from Sydney, and we have lived together in our apartment in Essendon ever since.

The ‘one’.

Is it cliché to say we knew we found ‘the one’ over the course of that weekend visit? When you know, you know. Something clicked that weekend, and we both knew we would see each other again. Fate stepped in when a room became available in their share house when Claire moved to London, and it forced the two of us to act on our feelings quite quickly. Luckily, we were both committed and found our feet. When we look back now, it’s wild that Claire moved all that way and that we moved in together. So much could have gone wrong, but it didn’t, and here we are today, eight years later and finally happily married.

The proposal.

After what felt like years hoping a proposal would happen, it finally did in the Summer of 2023 in the Sydney Botanical Gardens. It was the end of a fabulous summer holiday up on the South Coast of NSW with all of Brady’s family, including his brother who was over from Canada with his wife. We concluded the trip with a weekend in Sydney to watch the Artic Monkeys. It was a very late night, and the boys thought it was essential that we all get up early the next day and walk around the Botanical Gardens before Blake and Naomi flew home to Canada. What a horrible idea this was, were Claire’s initial thoughts, and the sour look on her face was hilarious. She was grumpy in the Uber until we arrived, and she realised just how beautiful it was. We walked around the gardens, before for the first time ever, Brady said to Claire ‘Let’s get a photo’, Claire turned around and there Brady was on one knee with the ring. Claire burst into tears, before finally saying the biggest yes! The engagement photo is iconic in itself, with the Sydney Harbor Bridge and Opera House in the background on a picturesque Sydney morning.

The planning.

The first person we called (apart from friends and family) was Ali from Smith and Archer. Ali photographed Claire’s best friend’s wedding, and Claire taught Ali’s daughter, so the second we became engaged, we contacted her. Ali was the most incredible wealth of knowledge we could have asked for. We sat down in her office, and over hot chocolates, Ali spoke to us about what we would ever hope for on our day. We spoke to her about wanting to showcase the Macedon Ranges (where Claire grew up) and if the weather gods were kind, we would love an outdoor wedding, dancing under the stars, marquee, sensational food, a big band and surrounded by our family and friends.

Ali recommended Cadella Park, and we ended up meeting Vanessa from the team a couple of weeks later. When we arrived, Vanessa and her team were setting up for a wedding that day, and she was not even breaking a sweat! Vanessa and her team were a well-oiled machine, and we knew this was the venue for us. From locking in our date, everything fell into place. Claire designed a mood board inspired from saved Instagram photos, and then using this, Yolandi from Cadella Park took over the planning, and the process was a dream. Cadella Park have exclusive use of Prunella Flowers, so that was all taken care of, with cozy meetings at their HQ in Kyneton. From there, we trialed our menu by Spoonful, which was incredible, and we also liaised with the lovely Monica from Mignone Cakes, who was also recommended by Ali. We travelled to Port Melbourne to watch The Baker Boys Band, who were outstanding, and were our entertainment for the big day. We also enlisted the help of the local school bus driver at Claire’s work to transport all our guests to and from the wedding.

The lead up to our wedding was enjoyable and easy, because of the organisation, communication, and work from the team at Cadella Park, Ali, Kimberly Moore (our amazing videographer who was also recommended by Ali), Baker Boys, Mignone Cakes and O’Riley’s bus. Claire’s a teacher, so she was also very organised! But your vibe attracts your tribe! The only time were stressed was the day before the wedding at the rehearsal, when we were unpacking all of the BYO alcohol, and Claire realised she forgot to order the white wine! (maybe she isn’t too organised after all!) After some phone calls and an amazing team effort by the team at Dan Murphy’s – the wine was on the way!

We both believe that remaining calm and trusting the process was the key to our success. We had incredible vendors, and so much was by word of mouth – hair, make-up, accommodation, suit shops, bridal houses, so we went with the flow. We always remained friendly in our emails, phone calls and communication, as well as being open to ideas – we were not set on stone for anything apart from that we wanted a celebration for everyone to have a great time!

Style inspiration.

How did people plan weddings without the use of social media? Cadella Park and Prunella had a wide range of photos of weddings they had done, as well as other images Claire had saved throughout the years. We knew we wanted to showcase the region and have a garden wedding as Claire’s mum is an avid gardener, and the family home boasts beautiful gardens, so finding a venue that had something similar was the challenge, until we found Cadella!

Magazines and online publications including Ivory Tribe were visited and saved regularly. Reading through the Real Weddings section of Ivory Tribe allowed us to think about practicality and build ideas around what the priorities were for the day. The idea of a circus-style marquee, white umbrellas, signature cocktails, festoon lights, flowers, flowers, flowers, and dancing to a band was what we had always dreamt of. The only issue with this was the weather. Cadella have a beautiful barn, so that was our back up plan if the weather turned, but luckily for us, it was a magnificent 26-degree day, meaning we could get married down the driveway and hold our canapé hour, reception, and dancing all on the grass, under the festoon lights and marquee.

Ivory Tribe and their list of suppliers helped us incredibly with opinions, feedback and what we could look for depending on the style we were aiming at. I was reading about the pros and cons of Band vs DJ for quite some time before we ended up with the Baker Boys, which again was based off reading about them on the site. The Real Weddings section allowed us to look at different styles, bridal party attire, vendors recommendations and photo ideas too. It really pays to look around and see not only what others are doing, but to educate yourself on advice around your special day. This included what to stress over, and what to let go as it was enjoyable reading about real weddings, not ones staged for a photo shoot!

The ceremony.

Our ceremony was a phenomenal experience. We had the honour of being married by the wonderful Megan Thompson, who captured our story and the importance of those with us during our ceremony, as well as those we had lost. Megan’s a talented wordsmith, and she also supported our friend Jess, to speak in the ceremony and share her version of events of how we met. Megan was the perfect mix of humor, love and the ‘official duties’. Both of us wrote our own vows, with Megan supporting us and giving examples when we were stuck or had a case of writer’s block.

Both Claire’s mum and dad walked her down the aisle, which was a dream come true. The driveway at Cadella served as the aisle, with Claire arriving in her Mini Cooper, driven by her dad. The driveway was lined with our nearest and dearest, with Claire waving to everyone as she walked down, given that we had already done a first look beforehand. Our two original housemates from London were our witnesses, which was also very special for us.

Claire’s Nan was there in spirit when her favourite song, In the Mood by Glen Miller played whilst signing the marriage certificate, and Brady’s dad was with us through a photo of Brady and Kevin when Brady was a child pinned to the inside of his jacket.

The outfits.

Word of mouth was our key factor in organising our attire. I went to visit the team at Bluebell Bridal, who were exceptional. I had no idea of my dream dress, but I wanted to experience it all, and the team suggesting things suited to my body shape. I only picked one dress that I really wanted to try, and that was the Toni Maticevski. It was tight fitting, something I never thought I would wear. When I put it on and walked out to show my mum, I burst into tears. I couldn’t believe how beautiful I looked in a dress I thought I would never be able to wear. I tried on some other gorgeous gowns, but it was Maticevski the I kept returning to. A couple of weeks passed, I returned, tried it on again, cried some more and then swiped the credit card. The team at Bluebell had their work cut out for them altering it to fit me, but they are renowned for a reason, and my gown was a dream come true.

Brady and the boys were suited up by the lovely team at Men’s Suit Warehouse in the Melbourne CBD. He was keen to wear Ted Baker, and the tuxedos were of gorgeous quality. I think he looked like James Bond! The alterations team there have a very quick turnaround, which we can attest to, given the best man flew in from Canada two days before the wedding, and they had his suit altered to him within four hours!

Favourite moments.

Our favourite moment is hard to pick – like all couples, we would say the whole thing! However, there was a standout for the both of us. Claire’s very good friend, Nikolaj, was unable to attend the wedding from Denmark due to the impending arrival of his daughter (who ended up being born the day before the wedding!), however Jess (Claire’s Maid of Honour) had contacted him to see how he could be involved in another way. The Dane’s are known for their wonderful traditions, so Nikolaj had Jess explain in her speech, that a Danish tradition on your wedding day us for all guests to clink their glasses, meaning the Bride and Groom must stand on their chairs and kiss. When they drum roll on the table, the Bride and Groom must go under the table and kiss. This was a hoot, and it kept going all night. When we heard the clinks or the table bangs, we had to perform our kissing duties! Everyone loved it, and it was a fantastic way to have our dear friends involved, and for everyone to experience a new tradition.

Meaning of marriage.

Marriage to us means keeping on doing what we’re doing now and building on it in the future. Having been together for eight years now, and living aboard together, long distance and then in our own home, we know each other’s irks and quirks. Marriage to us was about celebrating our love and our journey with our family and friends. We wanted to put on a party that we would all never forget. So many have been with us throughout the whole story, and it was wonderful having all our friendship circles there. We have had the privilege of watching so many of our friends get married, so it was an honor for us to have them there to watch us do the same.

Wedding soundtrack.

Aisle: Grow Old with Me by Tom Odell.

Signing: In the Mood by Glen Miller

Aisle Exit: Baby, It’s You by London Grammar

Wedding party entrance: Tell me something good by Ewan McVicar

First dance: Throw Your Arms Around Me by Ed Sheeran

Final song: Proud Mary/Simply the Best by Tina Turner

Funny stories (or near disasters).

Aside from forgetting the white wine, we didn’t have any disasters, which we credit to the organisation of the team at Cadella Park, as well as our amazing vendors! We did have one of our Groomsman, who is a reluctant dancer, decide to do a certain drop on the dancefloor, which resulted in him splitting his pants, right down the middle! He certainly stopped tracks on the dancefloor, but it was approaching the end of the night, and it just added to everyone’s laughter and good spirits! By the end of the night, I had espresso martini spilt down the front of my dress – I was devastated! I didn’t even drink them!! I think I’ve tracked down who spilt it through going back through the photos, but luckily it was the very end, and it came out through dry cleaning!

Planning surprises.

What took us by surprise is just how sensational people are at their jobs! If you are fortunate to find someone who is in the know (for us, it was Ali) word of mouth is your best friend. People who have tried and tested and are in the know really helped us with the whole process, making it feel almost easy. However, we know how much work went into behind the scenes by Landi, Vanessa and the team at Cadella Park and are incredibly grateful. We certainly now know how to use Excel Spreadsheets and enjoyed tapping into our creative side by designing a wedding website through The Knot, as well as using Canva to design our Save the Dates and Thank you cards. It pays to be organised, and friendly! So many vendors went above and beyond for us, but we prided ourselves on being kind, always up for a chat and open to suggestions.

Words of wisdom.

Welcome to the ride of your lives! Trust the process and enjoy working together to achieve such a huge goal. We fell in love with each other all over again in those frantic weeks between Christmas, New Year and the wedding. Patience, agreeing to do multiple trips to the shops or to get things done can be made more enjoyable when you curate a wedding playlist together on Spotify, and sing it out together in the car. Find your people and invest in vendors that are in the know and deliver a great product. It is an industry built on word of mouth, so stalk the Instagram pages, ask questions and together, you will create your dream! People will have their opinions, but you both know what you want, and does it really matter where certain people sit for four hours? No!

Did you know you can browse our real weddings by style? For more dreamy outdoor weddings featuring marquees, garden soirees and star lit celebrations, read on here.

CLAIRE & BRADY’S VENDORS

Ceremony and reception: Cadella Park, Woodend

Celebrant: Megan Thompson

Photography: Ali Bant of Smith and Archer

Videography: Kimberley Moore

Styling and florals: Prunella

Hair: Emily Tavlian

Makeup: Renee Galati

The Dress: Toni Maticevski via Bluebell Bridal

Veil: Dreamtime Designs

Shoes: Bared Footwear (Claire) Aquila (Brady)

Rings: Paul Bram and Michael Hill