Real Wedding – Holly & Sam, Wye River VIC  

Holly and Sam’s wedding day is a wild and wonderful combo of beautiful beach vibes and chic contemporary style. Not even a smattering of summer rain could dampen this dream day or the effervescent smiles on the faces of the stunningly smitten newlyweds.

If you want your wedding day to be equal parts light-hearted love and filled with fun, Sue Warner is your celebrant – she led a ceremony to kick start the party in the sweetest of ways. The look of elation and love between Holly and Sam throughout their ceremony is truly infectious.

Holly and Sam shared their I Do’s against the breathtaking ocean backdrop, enhanced with fabulous florals by Florette in neon tangerine, raspberry pink and layers of soft greenery and dried grasses. The warm colour palette was carefully chosen to exude the vibe of the day – to make everyone feel warm with love and happiness.

As we soaked up every moment through the incredible lens of photographer Jess Nicholls we couldn’t help but fall a little in love with this beautifully boho, emotion-packed day. Scroll on to lose yourself in this happy place.

The meeting.

Sam and I met when we were ages three and four when we would play in the same street as kids. Our parents had mutual friends, so we always knew of each other and wove in and out of similar social circles growing up.

The ‘one’.

Our worlds properly collided one night when we bumped into each other at a venue in the city. I remember clearly Sam had two drinks in his hands, and upon saying a warm hello, he gave me his spare. We were instantly attracted and found ourselves in each other’s pockets from then on.

The proposal.

We had been together for eight years and were living together in a cute little spot next to the beach. We had organised a trip to Europe. The thought of becoming engaged had entered my mind. However, it was shut down when Sam told me that getting engaged was the last thing on his mind as he wanted us to buy a house first. I got over the idea pretty quickly (and I mean in minutes) and moved on. I would later find out that this was just a ruse to throw me off the scent.

During the trip, Sam had organized for us to go to Positano on Italy’s Amalfi Coast and booked us into an incredible villa (insisting he caught a great deal). On the night in question, we went out for a romantic dinner together and sat at a table overlooking the Amalfi Coast. It wasn’t until the end of the meal that Sam ordered two prosecco’s, slid off his chair and got down on his knee and popped the big one! It was just magic, and boy, did he trick me! It was the biggest surprise of my life.

Planning process.

We were a great team when it came to discussing and splitting up jobs to do. We worked together to make decisions and contribute what we both wanted, so the day was reflective of both of us.

Style inspiration. 

The aesthetic we were going for was boho/ chic with big pops of colour. We wanted the vibe of the wedding to make everyone feel warm with love and happiness like we did. We had a lot of bright tangerine roses, large clouds of baby’s breath and dried palms; a happy and vibrant colour palette. The colour tangerine was significant because it’s not only my favourite colour, but it was also my Nan’s too. This was a beautiful way to have her present in the day, and she was everywhere.

The ceremony.

There were a few special parts of our ceremony. Our friends who were doing a reading for us actually commissioned Beau Taplin, the author and poet, to write us a personal poem about our love story. Secondly, having the ceremony on the beach at Wye with the rock glades behind us was just incredible. It was 27 degrees and lightly raining, but it was almost more romantic and cosy that it rained. We just threw all caution to the wind and enjoyed every raindrop that fell.

The look. 

I had seen the dress online and fell in love, so I booked an appointment at Jane Hill. I put it on, and it was just perfect; I knew it was the one.

Sam took a little longer than me to get the suit right. He wanted a suit that he felt comfortable and really himself in. Finally, around five weeks before the wedding, he found the SABA suit, and it couldn’t have been more him.

Favourite moments.

Sam and I discussed our favourite parts of our wedding day, and we both came up with the same favourites. We both adored walking down the aisle to one another in the spitting rain; it was almost like all the years we were together flashed before our eyes, and we were just so excited to see each other. We loved that it was so relaxed and just full of happiness and joy; the rain didn’t seem to bother anyone; they were all committed to being in the moment with us.

Meaning of marriage.

Marriage to us means a commitment to a partnership. Every decision we make it’s together for life.

Exchanging rings in front of all our friends meant a lot to us; those rings represent partnership and who we are as a couple.

We also wanted a memorable celebration. We spend so much time developing and growing and changing and building with one another, and it was just so great to give a nod to ourselves and lean into the love; by giving ourselves a spectacular party!

Wedding soundtrack.

Aisle: Dreams by The Cranberries, sung acoustically and slower than the original.

Signing: Harvest Moon by Neil Young.

Recessional: Here Comes the Sun by The Beatles.

Reception entry: Sunny by Boney M.

First dance: Friday, I’m in Love by The Cure.

Father/daughter dance: My Girl by The Temptations.

Funny stories or near disasters.

The night before the wedding day, I couldn’t sleep because there were mosquitos flying around the room. I slept with jumpers wrapped around my face and pillows piled up over me, but sure enough, they got me. I woke up with a swollen eye the morning of the wedding. Thank god for nasal sprays, antihistamines and eye masks; it went down just in time for the I Do’s. Oh, and I forgot my veil! Big whoops!

Words of wisdom.

Time planning was arduous. But, the more planned and organised we were meant that everyone else was happy on the day because messages were clear and everyone knew what was happening. That, in turn, meant that we could worry about nothing but having an absolute ball!

Also, get a videographer. Apart from getting the most beautiful, talented, bright and amazing photos back, being able to actually relive and watch our day back was the most special thing we have both experienced.

Love the blissed out vibes of a beach wedding? So do we. So here is a collection of our faves, all chosen to give you perfect ocean inspo.

HOLLY & SAM’S VENDORS

Ceremony & reception venue: Wye Beach Hotel. See Styling and Catering for how much we loved this venue!

Celebrant: Sue Warner, Bellarine Celebrant. Sue was really helpful and gave our wedding ceremony such a lovely spark and edge. Her ideas for us came off beautifully, and she was great to work with!

Photography: Jess Nicholls. Jess was just incredible behind the camera; her ability to be the biggest legend but also get us to do exactly what she needed us to do was amazing. She was just fantastic and produced such incredible photos for us that we will cherish for the rest of our lives.

Videography: Ruby at Down the Road Weddings was just a vibe. She was starting up her business, and we had a great feeling about her, and my goodness, trust your gut. She produced the most energy lifting, incredibly fun, well-shot video highlight. She worked so well with us and truly listened to our needs, and got to know us as a couple.

Styling: Fiona Russel, venue manager and all-time legend. Fi was so accessible and relaxed throughout the whole process and lead-up. Cool, calm and collected at all times. She’s amazing!

Florist: Erin at Florette. Flowers that made our dreams come true. She took our inspiration and brief and hit the nail on the head. They were such a spectacle for our wedding day in both the venue and ceremony and truly amplified and made the vibe and mood of the day! Thank you, Erin!

Hair & make-up: Maria Gullace. This woman is a powerhouse. She had the most amazing attitude and treated my bridesmaids and me with the utmost care and respect,  just like queens.  I couldn’t have been more thankful for this insanely talented hair and make-up artist.

The dress: Jane Hill Bridal, the Bobbie gown.

Shoes: Loeffler Randall, Camellia Bow Heel in Pearl

Rings: Hand-made by a jeweller friend

Bridesmaid’s dresses: Shona Joy – La Lune Bias Cowl Neck (each bridesmaid wore a different colour)

Suits: SABA

Catering: Wye Beach Hotel – the chef there is a wizard, the food for many was a huge highlight at this venue, amongst almost everything else they did, just wonderful hospitality.

Favours: All guests received a tangerine acrylic drink tag with their names on them to make sure they knew which drink was theirs during the night and to take home; these were a hit! These doubled as a table styling, making it look like there were little oranges on the tables.

Stationery / Signage: Haley (my sister-in-law and bridesmaid). The signage looked beautiful in sage acrylic and oat-coloured writing with light timber stands.

Entertainment: Lily Road Band (Zevan lead singer) Couldn’t have been more blown away with these guys. The process was so simple and easy. They had insane vocal range and could play David Bowie’s Let’s Dance and switch to Otis Redding Sittin’ on the dock of the bay with such ease! Couldn’t recommend them enough.

Honeymoon: One month in Europe. Beginning at Glastonbury festival with our six friends in the UK, then heading to Sicily, Italy, Paris, France and finishing in San Sebastian and Madrid, Spain. We’re beyond excited!