Real Wedding – Hannah & Ross, Lorne VIC

Set against the stunning natural backdrop of the Great Ocean Road, Hannah and Ross’ celebrations were quintessentially them – relaxed, effortlessly stylish, and packed full of joy-filled fun.

With Ross more of a traditionalist and Hannah swinging more towards fancy-free, their wedding day was a sweet compromise. Key to their planning was choosing vendors in sync with their vision and those who they laughed the most with! It was a formula that quite obviously worked to perfection.

Celebrant Di Schmidtke led the celebrations in the light-hearted, loved-up style that is her signature. As Hannah made her way down the aisle in her stunning mini, elevated to bridal bliss with a floor-length veil and statement Loeffler Randall heels, the look on Ross’s face says it all.

Photographer superstar Sofia Flinn was there to capture every moment, from dramatically rain dusted I Do’s to killer dance floor moves. Scroll on for all the good time feels.

The meeting.

We met on Bumble in early 2018, although Ross recalls us being matched on Tinder well before that! Lucky for Bumble because nothing progressed on Tinder!

The one.

Pretty early on. We both seemed super comfortable in each other’s company, there was no mucking around, pretty straight to the point, it was almost as though we went from strangers to a full-blown serious relationship.

The proposal.

There was no question popped. Marriage and spending our lives together was something we’d discussed from very early on in our relationship. We agreed that all the big decisions we’ve made in life – where we live, when we had our daughter – were made together, so it didn’t really make sense to not make this decision together too.

We searched long and hard to find a jeweller we liked and settled on Parker Diamonds; they were so amazing and are a gorgeous little family-run business which we liked. We designed Hannah’s engagement ring together at Parker Diamonds and they had it shipped to us during a lockdown.

We then had a special quiet moment at home having a champagne to celebrate the night the ring arrived. The following night we started announcing our news to our loved ones.

Planning process.

Hannah was on maternity leave while Victoria was in the peak of its lockdowns, so needless to say, she needed a project to keep occupied during the long days while Ross was at work. We organised the entire wedding before we even announced our engagement, so when we announced our engagement, we also announced our wedding date. It was the best way to do it, we had so much fun with the process and tailored a wedding that was perfectly us.

Style inspiration.

Ross is rather traditional, and Hannah is not (she would have happily eloped!), so we met somewhere in between. Ross wore a more traditional suit, and Hannah wore a mini dress with a cathedral-length veil. The venue we got married at has the most spectacular views and is among nature, so we wanted the eye to be drawn to the views and have us as a focal point rather than having big arbours and flower arrangements that detracted from the location.

We trawled through blogs, and nothing was really our vibe, so we built our wedding around suppliers we gelled with. We would create a shortlist of 2-3 suppliers, and whoever we laughed with the most and saw our vision was the supplier we hired. We were a bit concerned as to how it would fit together on the day, but it actually created the best, light-hearted party atmosphere, which was exactly what we were after.

The ceremony.

We had an amazing celebrant who let us create a ceremony that suited us and told our unique story, she was even in on our secret wedding planning. We knew when she got excited about us doing things our way, she was our ideal fit and would make our ceremony everything we dreamed of. Of course, along with the legal formalities we wanted our guests to learn something they might not have known about our story and have a laugh, all of which Di delivered brilliantly.

It rained during the ceremony, had Hannah been on time, the rain would have been avoided, but the rain just added another element and made for some very beautiful and funny photos.

The outfits.

Hannah: I’m not a traditional person so everything ‘wedding dress’ I searched, I didn’t like. I couldn’t envision myself getting married in a bridal gown. I ordered two bridesmaid dresses online, neither of them were it. Then one day, while randomly shopping on The Iconic, the website suggested a dress I might like. I knew it was it. It was different, fun, a bit cheeky and I knew I’d be comfortable to party all night long in it. I didn’t want to bother with an outfit change because I wanted to spend maximum time with our guests, so I wanted something that would be versatile where I could whip off the veil, and it would turn into my reception dress.

Ross: I had a pretty simple and classic style in mind. One casual arvo a family friend mentioned his friend had a suit shop where all suits were custom-made. As soon as we checked it out, we were sold. Adam at Bellington Estate was super accommodating and made the whole process fun and inclusive. All groomsmen were very impressed with the cold beer during their fit and of course, their very own tailored suits.

Favourite moment.

Hannah: There are so many, but seeing the look on Ross’ face when our daughter was walking down the aisle to him would have to be top of the list.

Ross: It’s hard to choose. Seeing our daughter walking down the aisle with the trail of bridesmaids while Hannah was getting out of the car, laughing so hard because she was incredibly late and promised she wouldn’t be!

Meaning of marriage.

Hannah: Choosing to spend the rest of my life with the man I love, choosing each other every day and working together towards the same goal of lifelong happiness while raising our beautiful family and creating special memories.

Ross: Creating a healthy, safe, and happy environment for not just my wife but also my children and doing everything I can to see Hannah and our family smile at the end of the day.

Wedding soundtrack.

Ceremony: Love Will Never Tear Us Apart, Cover by The Tesky Brothers

Reception entry: random music played by the band

We skipped having a ‘first dance’, instead, we had the band ask everyone to join us all together on the dance floor. Neither of us can remember the song now!

Funny stories (or near disasters).

Lock in a wet weather plan and don’t believe hire companies who say contact them the week of your event for a marquee and they’ll have spares!

Words of wisdom.

Do things your way, it’s your day so the more ‘you’ it is the more relaxed you’ll be leading to an overall better vibe on the day.

Also think about your seating plan. We had lots of random friends from various parts of our lives so instead of just clumping people together we really thought about who had shared interests, and who would get along with who. This made for some awesome dinner chats, new friendships forming, and we heard about some very funny stories after the event. It was really worth putting lots of time and effort into getting this right as it set the tone for the entire evening.

Want to build a team of suppliers that makes your wedding planning feel more like a party than a chore? Check out our directory, for a carefully curated variety of vendors who know how to nail the celebratory feels.

HANNAH AND ROSS’ SUPPLIERS

Ceremony venue and reception location: The Peak, Lorne – it is an all-inclusive venue with bar and restaurant

Celebrant: Di Schmidtke

Photography: Sofia Flinn 

Florist: A Flourish of Flowers, Anglesea

Hair and make-up: One of Hannah’s nearest and dearest friends. She did a hell of a job on the day getting four very relaxed unorganised women ready!

The Dress: Acler

Veil: OG Alterations, Ocean Grove

Shoes: Loeffler Randall

Rings: Parker Diamonds, Collins Street, Melbourne

Bridesmaid’s dresses: The bridesmaids all wore random black jumpsuits sourced from all over the place. OG Alterations custom-made one of them.

Suits & bow ties / ties : Bellington Estate, Geelong

Cake / Cake topper: We didn’t have one! We didn’t want our evening festivities to be jolted with formalities so after a few speeches it was just party time.

Stationery / Signage: One of Hannah’s bridesmaids hooked us up with all the stationary and signage. We were very grateful.

Transport: We just got family and friends to drive us. Neither of us are car enthusiasts so were very happy to forego this expense.

Honeymoon: We are still yet to have one. We got married towards the end of lockdowns so didn’t book anything. Having a child has put it on the back burner a little. We are hoping to get to Europe within the next couple of years as a belated honeymoon.