Real Wedding – Gretta & Andrew, Moama VIC
Using lots of timber, wood and neutral accents, Gretta and Andrew created a day that oozed rustic elegance.
Wanting their guest experience to be memorable they focused on good food, drinks aplenty and ensured the day was a personal reflection of them both.
Finding it hard to pinpoint their favourite moment, the dance floor still brings back some of their fondest memories and there to capture all the fun was Tribe talent Tony Evans.
In Gretta’s words…
The meeting.
Andrew and I met at high school in country Victoria. I developed a crush on Andrew (it was the freckles!) and told a close friend who spread the news like wildfire. It wasn’t until we both found ourselves moving to Melbourne at the same time that we started to date. We’ve been together for over 10 years and whilst we endured a long distance relationship for a few years we have never looked back!
The ‘one’.
Andrew and I were so young when we met but we grew together and complement each other in so many ways. I don’t think there was a specific time when either of us knew we’d found the one. We have been best friends for so long and I just knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him.
The planning.
Luckily, I didn’t find the planning process too stressful. Having worked in the events industry for six years, I had quite a collection of inspiration images although being quite an indecisive person I found it difficult to make a decision on anything initially! I knew I wanted to get married on our family property so I started by looking for local suppliers. I am OBSESSED with spreadsheets (which was brought up a few times during the speeches) so everything was documented to within an inch of its life! Andrew was also pretty relaxed when it came to the planning, he’s far from indecisive so any decisions needing to be made quickly were made by him. I enjoyed spending evenings with Andrew piecing together the final touches for our big day
Style inspiration.
Rustic elegance was what we referred to our style as. We wanted things to be simple, yet elegant without looking out of place on the country property. Lots of timber, wood and neutral colours were used. We both like good food and wanted the guest experience to be memorable and a really personal reflection of Andrew and I and our 10 years together. The small details were important to me so I added little personal touches around the venue and was pleased to hear people noticed them.
We wanted the ceremony to be short and light hearted so we could party with our guests for as long as possible!
The dress.
I was so overwhelmed when it came to looking for the perfect dress. I had a dress in mind from a designer not available in Australia so I had no idea where to start! I had a few appointments in Melbourne but just couldn’t find anything remotely close to what I wanted. It wasn’t until a friend recommended Craig Braybrook that I made an appointment and felt so at ease when I first met him. Turns out he’s made a lot of dresses for other people I know! The whole experience with Craig was so seamless and really enjoyable. I was happier with my dress than I could have ever imagined. My mum even had her dress made by Craig! I would love to get married again if it means I get to wear one of Craig’s creations!
Favourite moments.
I really cannot pinpoint one moment from the day. The entire experience of getting to marry your best friend surrounded by all your closest family and friends is so surreal and I couldn’t possibly choose just one part of it as my favourite. Andrew says some of the dance floor action at the end of the night really topped off an incredible day. It was absolutely heaving from the get go with basically every guest showcasing their amazing dance moves
Meaning of marriage.
Andrew is a bit more traditional than I am so we had a few discussions about what we wanted to include in our ceremony. We decided that both our parents relationships reflect so positively on what marriage means and we wanted this to be discussed at the ceremony. Marriage means something different to everyone but having such good role models has given Andrew and I a really honest view on marriage. Andrew would say it means having to put up with each others annoying habits forever! Which isn’t too far from the truth
Wedding soundtrack.
Aisle: Feels Like Home by Martha Marlow
Reception entry: Diamonds by Rihanna
First Dance: You and Me by Lighthouse
Funny stories (or near disasters).
We nearly ran out of beer! We knew our friends were big drinkers so we overcompensated (or so we thought) on the amount of beer we bought! At about 10pm one of the waiters told my bridesmaid that we only had three slabs left. With our wedding being 20 minutes from the closest township, one of the caterers jumped in my Dad’s ute and drove straight to the closest bottle shop. Luckily he was back in time before any of the guests noticed!
Words of wisdom.
Let people help you. People want to share in your happiness and feel a part of your special day. If there are small things you can handover to those closest to you then do so.
Is rustic elegance your style? Then be sure to see Beth and Tom’s incredible day.
GRETTA AND ANDREW’S TRIBE.
Location: Private Property, Moama – My parents and so many family friends spent plenty of weekends in Moama getting the property ‘wedding ready’.
Celebrant/Officiant: Dave Curnow. Dave is the father of a close friend of ours and we knew he would be the perfect fit for our ceremony. He shares such similar family values to Andrew and I and this was a really important thing we wanted weaved through the ceremony
Photography: Tony Evans Photography – My sister suggested Tony to me after I had done quite a bit of research on photographers and wasn’t quite sold on any. I hate getting my photo taken so I wanted someone who wouldn’t feel obtrusive and could capture the beautiful surroundings. Tony absolutely hit the nail on the head.
Videography: The White Tree – The video was a really important aspect to me as I wanted our day to be captured in motion. The White Tree were so easy to deal with and the end result in simply beautiful
Styling: Tipi Tipi and Heartwood Hire – I knew I didn’t want a traditional marquee and I had seen the Tipi’s many, many years ago. Scotty and Sarah just got ‘it’ from day one. They were an absolute breeze to deal with and were flexible every step of the way. The beautiful wooden furniture from Heartwood Hire complemented the Tipis and the setting so well.
Florist: Wallingford Flowers – Lisa was so relaxed and really nailed our brief. I was fairly directive when it came to the kind florals as I wanted lots of native greenery / foliage with soft flowers (think David Austin Roses, Peonies and Proteas) seamlessly integrated. We received so many compliments on the flowers!
Hair and make-up: Honeyeater Salon and Jaimie Lee Makeup
The Dress: Craig Braybrook Couture – Craig was my knight in shining armour. I was so deflated after a couple of appointments in Melbourne, I really thought I was never going to find my dream dress. After my first meeting with Craig, I knew I was in safe hands. I wanted to try on every single dress in his showroom. I always looked forward to visiting him and his two beautiful dogs for my fittings. I felt like an absolute princess in my dress and am so grateful for the many hours of hand beading that him and his team did!
Rings: Blizzards Jewellers. The Blizzards are long time friends of our family and made both my sisters engagement rings. Craig made me two beautiful thin diamond bands that fit perfectly with my engagement ring. I also had some earrings made from a ring that was Andrew’s Grandmothers ring. Andrews ring was also purchased from Blizzards Jewellers.
Bridesmaid’s dresses: My bridesmaids wore different dresses; two from Lover and one from Keepsake The Label. I like that they worked together and didn’t compete with the environment we were in.
Menswear: Hugo Boss
Groom’s shoes: Aquila
Catering: Coriander. I simply cannot recommend Jude and her team more highly. Food, wine and service were a really really important part of the day for me as I wanted it to be a reflection of how we enjoy food with our family and friends on a regular basis. Coriander did not disappoint. Jude has since done a couple more weddings at our property and the food is always exceptional.
Cake / Cake topper: I’m not much of a sweet tooth but Andrew is so we comprised and had lots of roaming dessert and a huge variety of cheese at the end of the night from Richmond Hill Café Larder.
Stationery / Signage: The Paper Empire and Print on Wood. All the girls at The Paper Empire were super easy to deal with and no request was too much.
Entertainment: The White Tree
Honeymoon: Bali for our first relaxed holiday in a long time! It involved plenty of food and not a lot more!
