Real Wedding – Courtney & Rhys, Pomonal VIC
At the base of the Grampians, on their very own property, Courtney and Rhys created a relaxed and romantic wedding celebration that their guests will always remember.
Taking much of the styling on themselves it was a festival of fabulous florals, touches of country charm and more importantly, smiling faces. With festoons lighting up the skyline it’s hard not to fall in love with this stunning celebration and One Day Collective was there to capture all the fun-filled moments.
In Courtney’s words…
The meeting.
Rhys and I met close to 10 years ago, at a house party that he probably shouldn’t have been at because he didn’t actually know the host. My sister introduced us and he was very charming, and we’ve been together ever since.
‘The one’.
We were both pretty young when we met, so I don’t think we were planning on finding ‘the one’. But it didn’t take long for me to realise that I couldn’t imagine not having Rhys by my side.
The proposal.
We woke up on a Sunday and Rhys cooked me breakfast and suggested we go for a hike. We walked to the top of Mt Abrupt in the southern Grampians and rewarded ourselves afterwards with burgers and beers at a local pub. We were in the beer garden on a beautiful afternoon by ourselves and all of a sudden Rhys was on one knee. It was perfect.
The planning process.
We did everything ourselves! I wanted to be somewhere that had great views of the Grampians but somewhere that was also pretty much a blank canvas. So, we decided to have it on our own property for that reason, plus it just felt super special to do it somewhere that was significant to us as a couple.
We had a pretty good idea of what we wanted for the day, and being in regional Victoria we don’t have thousands of suppliers to pick from. But we picked the best of the best. I didn’t take us too long to lock in suppliers, so once that was done we just started planning the bits and pieces when we could.
At the time I remember feeling a little stressed, but when I realised what we pulled off, it was all pretty minor.
Style inspiration.
Most of all we wanted it to be a relaxed atmosphere and to really be able enjoy and appreciate the landscape. I guess it was sort of country but I like to think of it as organic, so decorations were kept to the amazing flowers Birch & Willow created for us.
The dress.
I’ve never really known what I wanted for a wedding dress, although I kind of knew what I didn’t want. I had one weekend in Melbourne with my Mum and tried so many dresses on, but never got the feeling I had found ‘the one’. I ended up deciding that I didn’t want a traditional wedding dress and began trawling Instagram. I found a gorgeous dress by Reformation. It turned out perfectly. It was classic but modern, and super comfortable to wear. Plus, I saved a few dollars too so I treated myself to a leather jacket to wear on the night – April in Victoria can be pretty fresh!
Favourite moment.
Everything! But walking down the aisle to see Rhys at the end was pretty special. I had been a little nervous in the hours leading up, but it just all slipped away once I saw Rhys. Also, being surrounded by all our loved ones and watching them enjoying the food and wine, and letting their hair down was just the best too!
Meaning of marriage.
Being life-long team mates. We’d been together for almost 10 years so we don’t think much has changed, but standing up in front of all our loved ones declaring that we’d always be there for one another was the most amazing feeling.
Wedding soundtrack.
Aisle – Hoppipolla – Sigur Ros
Signing – One Day Like This – Elbow
Recession – Sweet Disposition – Temper Trap
First Dance – Wedding Song – Band of Horses
Funny stories (or near disasters).
We had guests flying in from all over the country and as far as Germany. Leading up to the wedding hearing stories about cancelled flights, lifts from the airport and hire cars felt a little like the movie Rat Race. But everyone made it in time!
Planning surprises.
No matter how much you plan and you think you have everything under control, in the two or three days leading up to the wedding, so many things are bound to pop up that you haven’t thought of. I didn’t have any contingency plans if something happened to our suppliers, so I really just trusted that everything would come together in the end.
Words of wisdom.
Just make the day whatever you want it to be. We stuck to what mattered most to us and the day was perfect.
Feeling the lure of Western Victoria, Kerryn and Judd’s magical wedding day is a must see.
COURTNEY AND RHYS’ TRIBE
Ceremony and reception location: Our own property in Pomonal
Celebrantt: Rhys’ dad Graeme and cousin Jesse shared the duties.
Photography: Danielle at One Day Collective – She was amazing! Her photos were perfect and she knew what we wanted and went with the flow the entire day.
Florist: Louise at Birch & Willow, Louise is Rhys’ aunty and she did the most amazing job. She drove down from Yass in NSW and did a midnight run to Melbourne to pick up the flowers. I only had to show Louise a few photos and the colours I liked and she took care of the rest.
Hair: Steph Meyer
Make Up: Hannah Purcell
The Dress: Anne dress from Reformation and leather jacket from Bisonte
Veil / head wear: Flower head piece by Louise from Birch & Willow
Shoes: Saba
Rings: Bride, Engagement ring and wedding band James Allen
Bridesmaids dresses: Shona Joy, C/MEO, Shieke
Grooms suit: Oscar Hunt, the service and quality was impeccable
Grooms Shoes: Aquila
Bow ties / ties: Squirelad
Catering: Rohan and Marlene from Steel Cutters Cottage did absolutely AMAZING grazing tables for cocktail hour and dessert. The food and service was perfect!
Dave from Event Wood Fire Pizza was another standout! He cooked pizzas until the last people stumbled into bed at 2am!
Favors: No official favours, we decided to have a photo-booth that I put together with an iPad and SimpleBooth App
Cake / Cake topper: Our delicious cake was baked by friends!
Stationery / Signage: I used VistaPrint for all our save the dates, invites and thank you cards. So easy to use, so quick and very reasonably priced. And I made my own signs from some leftover plywood and paint.
Transport: Christian’s Bus Co
Hire: Marquee, sound and lighting – Pure Vibe Ararat – Leigh was so helpful, especially with last minute changes! Poor guys had to set up in the pouring rain too.
Chairs, tables, occasional lounges and all over glassware – Little Black Sheep Hire Co – Kate’s stuff is beautiful!
Honeymoon: A few days in Daylesford then a West Coast road trip in the US a few months later.
