Real Wedding – Eliza & Aaron, Barwon Heads VIC
Trusting the team of vendors you assemble to do what they do best is Eliza and Aaron’s top tip for a wedding day that’s low stress for the couple and memorable for guests.
They share the advice given to them by industry professionals – often built on seasons upon seasons of experience – played an invaluable role in shaping an enjoyable planning journey and perfectly executed event day.
After locking in seaside gem At The Heads as their venue, a recommended supplier list led them to engage the sublime floral and styling talents of Florette.
Once they identified entertainment as a key priority of their day, Ivory Tribe (we’re chuffed to say!) pointed them in the direction of the epic tone-setters that make up Hey Jack.
Of course, gut feeling had a role to play too – especially where Eliza’s dress journey was concerned. Despite trying on approximately 30 dresses in total, it was a classic Luci Di Bella silhouette that stayed on her mind. And then, when she thought it couldn’t get any better, the team tailored the gown to her specific shape and style.
To see the results of Eliza and Aaron’s well-communicated vision, combined with the star power in their supplier list, you only have to glance at their timeless, romantic and effortlessly elegant gallery by Fern & Stone Photography.
It was Jess’s own gentle encouragement that convinced the reluctant duo to take a few minutes away from their reception for sunset photos, which turned out to be their favourite memory of the day.
The lesson? Assemble your dream team, then trust them to deliver. That and other pearls of wisdom below.
The meeting.
We met in mid-2019 on Tinder. After matching, I messaged one of my close friends who also happened to know Aaron. She vouched for him, we went on our first date, and the rest is history. Even from the very first message, everything between us just flowed. To put it simply, it was easy – something that we both had hoped for for a long time.
‘The one’.
From the beginning, I knew Aaron was someone special, and as time has gone on, our love for one another has continued to grow. In 2020, we celebrated our one-year anniversary in Apollo Bay. It was a perfect weekend away and I remember coming home thinking ‘I just want all the anniversaries and milestones with this person’.
The proposal.
On a trip to Europe in 2023, Aaron popped the question in Lahinch, Ireland. To us, it was perfect.
Planning process.
We had two years to plan our wedding, which gave us plenty of time to really enjoy the process. One of our biggest challenges early on was finding a venue close to home that could cater to all our guests. One day, we were driving across Barwon Heads bridge when Aaron pointed out At The Heads. This led us to our perfect venue, and from there, everything else seemed to fall into place.
We made every decision together because we wanted the day to reflect who we are as a couple. Aaron works in signage, meaning he could design our wedding invitations and create all our signage for the big day. The month leading up to the wedding was spent printing signs and putting everything together and, honestly, that ended up being one of our favourite parts. Looking back, the anticipation of what the next few weeks would hold was so exciting, even amongst the organised chaos.
Style inspiration.
Our vision for the day was something timeless, easy, and authentically ‘us’. We wanted a wedding that felt effortless, something we could look back on in 20 years and still love just as much. Since we were getting married by the water, we wanted calm, soft tones that reflected the setting. Blue became our colour, and it complemented the venue beautifully. We also got a lot of inspiration from our venue’s website and social media. It was helpful to visualise our ideas and see what worked well in past weddings. Of course, we can’t take all the credit for the styling – our wonderful vendors brought everything together with such care and creativity. They took our ideas and turned them into something truly special.
Entertainment was such an important part of the day for us – we knew it would help set the tone. We found Hey Jack on Ivory Tribe and from there stumbled across Charlie, who matched our vibe perfectly. Alongside Charlie, we had the band ‘Madhouse’ play a set towards the end of the night.
The ceremony.
Despite the formalities of getting married, we wanted our ceremony to feel welcoming and relaxed, not just for us, but for our guests, too. We had pre-ceremony drinks served, which created such a lovely atmosphere right from the start. Walking down the aisle and seeing everyone already relaxed made the nerves slip away.
We had our fingers crossed for good weather so we could hold the ceremony outside, and on the day, we were incredibly lucky. The sky cleared, and it was a perfect 24 °C at the time of our ceremony. It couldn’t have been more perfect!
The outfits.
I ended up trying on around 30 dresses in total, but the day I found ‘the one’ is still one of my favourite memories. The second store we visited was Luci Di Bella. I tried on a handful of dresses there, with one catching my attention. We went to the next store, but I could not stop thinking about the dress I had just tried on. It was clear I had found my dress! One of the things I loved most about working with Luci and her team was how they tailored the dress specifically to suit me and my style. My main objective was to feel like the best version of me on the day, which is exactly how I felt.
Favourite moment.
To us, the whole day was just perfect. However, one moment that comes to mind was our sunset photos. We didn’t want to leave the reception for too long; however, our photographer, Jess, gently convinced us to take a short trip up to the bluff in Barwon Heads. This was certainly something we needed after how overwhelming the day can be at times. We had our moment together to let it all sink in, and that’s often the moment in the day I look back on – time just floated away, and the photos were beautiful.
Meaning of marriage.
Marriage to us is a partnership that continues to grow with time. It’s about remembering to always be kind to one another and continuing to laugh during not only the good times, but the tough times too.
Wedding soundtrack.
Aisle: Love You For A Long Time – Maggie Rogers (Played live by Charlie from HeyJack)
Signing: Chateau – Angus and Julia Stone
Recession: Praise You – Fatboy Slim
Reception Entry: Music For a Sushi Restaurant – Harry Styles
First Dance: To Love Somebody – The Bee Gees
Funny stories/ near disasters.
About six weeks before the wedding, I was working from home for the day and would often wear my wedding heels to break them in. I took my heels off to have lunch and returned to my desk without them on, only to hear our dog, Molly, chewing on what I thought was her chew toy. However, what she was actually chewing on was one of the wedding heels! It was completely ruined and unwearable for the day. I wasn’t upset about the money, more so the fact that I had spent months wearing them in!
Planning surprises.
Something that really took me by surprise was just how invaluable our vendors were! It is what they do for a job, season to season, and they all have a wealth of knowledge. I think taking their opinions into consideration makes for a really trusting relationship.
Words of wisdom.
The night of our wedding ended back at our home, where we sat on the couch, drinking champagne and reflecting on the day. If able, I recommend it! It was exactly what we needed after such a big day.
Oh, and have a small amount of money set aside for the week of the wedding. We had a few little surprises (despite my spreadsheets), and it was handy to have some money to spare just in case.
ELIZA & AARON’S SUPPLIERS:
Ceremony & reception venue: At the Heads
We stumbled across At The Heads as it is close to home. From the very first moment we met with Maddy and the team, to the big day, it was smooth, easy, tailored to us and just perfect. Maddy was a wealth of knowledge, answered every question we had in a timely manner and provided multiple options to make sure the day was truly reflective of us.
Celebrant/Officiant: Hannah May Weddings
We found Hannah on Instagram, having been a celebrant for other friends. We thoroughly enjoyed catching up with Hannah and planning a perfect ceremony together.
Photography: Fern and Stone Photography
We found Jess on Ivory Tribe! Jess did the most incredible job capturing our day. She made us feel at ease which was reflected in all of our photos.
Content Creator: Pony Girl Collective
We found Chloe on Instagram after being at a friend’s wedding.
Styling: Ceremony – Dress My Wedding
Florals & décor: Florette
At the Heads had a list of preferred suppliers and Erin was one of them. She was able to execute a beautiful style on the day. Erin listened to our thoughts and, in the end, we felt so comfortable with her that we were happy for her to take the lead.
Hair: Hair by Bec Debruin
Make-up: Nikizsha Lyons
Bec has done my hair for years and Niki had previously done my make-up, so it was so lovely having people on the day who we knew and worked with before.
The Dress & Veil: Luci di Bella
Shoes: Frankie4Footwear (Eliza) Charles Tyrwhitt (Aaron)
Rings: Duffs
Bridesmaid’s dresses: Leo Lin
Suits & ties: Eddy Elias
Cake: Colour Me Cake
Stationery / Signage: Merv Jennings Signs and Creo Designs
Entertainment: Hey Jack
We found Hey Jack on Ivory Tribe!
Honeymoon: Bali
