Real Wedding – Jack & Georgia, Edith NSW
Georgia and Jack’s wedding was all festive fun, boho beauty and perfect personal touches. Choosing to hold a multi-day party meant that this epic occasion oozes wedstival vibes of the absolute best kind. From the rustic, warm wood tone of Waldara Farm to the gorgeous autumnal views, this was one celebration that looked as good as it felt.
Georgia and Jack chose to stick true to the rustic tones of the venue but added a touch of boho through hints of macrame and lashings of dried palms and grasses, assembled to perfection by floral artist extraordinaire Bloom Bloss. The warm, terracotta hues extended through the bouquets, the perfect balance of soft vanilla and blush roses, wisps of ash latte and highlights of muted apricot to elevate the effect.
Centre to it all were the newlyweds, effervescent in emotion and looking every bit the part; Jack in a crisp taupe linen jacket and cracking tan boots, and Georgia an ethereal vision in a gorgeous gown by Grace Loves Lace.
We love that every second shot by Eliza Jade Photography features someone pulling an awesome dance move or flashing yet another massive grin – this is one truly epic party, and we are here for it!
The meeting.
Jack and I saw each other in passing at a party back when we were 16; I was about two cruisers down when I saw him walk into the party (where I later found out he had said “shotty the blonde” to one of his friends after seeing me)! After a little while on the dance floor with a friend, I went and grabbed my camera to take a sneaky selfie of the two of us before we had even said hello to each other or knew each other’s names. He left the party early but asked my friend for my number the next day. We then met up at a good old Australia Day party.
The ‘one’.
Jack’s answer to knowing I was the one dates back to when we were 16 and had come home after a party with a pizza and garlic bread. He had fallen asleep before eating any and realised in the morning that I had eaten an entire pizza and garlic bread to myself!
For me, I knew he was the one when he had asked his Dad to do some work for him for a couple of hours early one Saturday morning (he was 16), so that he could then afford to buy us breakfast, that he delivered to my house once they were finished. It was such a nice and unexpected surprise opening the front door to him carrying some of my favourite foods to eat for breakfast. His kind and caring personality was evident then, and I knew he was the one for me.
The proposal.
Jack proposed to me on a private beach in a cave at Nusa Dua, Bali, in December 2018. Jack and I were there on holiday, and he had convinced me that we were heading out to dinner with his Mum and Dad, who were also in Bali at the time. He and his mum had come up with this elaborate plan to make me think that we were being offered the chance to stay at a 5-star resort in Nusa Dua for the night as mystery stayers (which is something they have been offered to do before over there). I didn’t think anything of it and just thought how lucky we were to get the chance to stay there. Poor Jack was vomiting up everything he ate the entire day because he was so nervous, but he made it out to me that he was getting a bad migraine. Once we got to the private beach, I was looking around for his Mum and Dad, and once we got to the first cave with multiple people in there I stopped to look again – but we were told to keep walking. I then saw a big ‘Will you marry me?’ in the sand with red rose petals and a beautiful table set up ready for us to enjoy dinner and drinks together. I was very shocked that he had proposed and was not expecting it as we were also heading to Europe a few months later for a holiday, so I didn’t think we could afford it all in that amount of time. I felt very, very lucky.
Planning process.
Jack and I opted for a longer engagement as we really wanted to enjoy our wedding planning process and didn’t want to feel stressed or overwhelmed and wish it all away. We booked in our big-ticket items quite early on once we had figured out the venue and date and also made sure things that are often left to the last minute were completed early, so they weren’t forgotten about. To keep track of everything, I made a folder for myself using tabs to keep everything in the correct spot with the invoices printed out as well as dates of payments made and dates of payments in the near future. To keep track of payments, I also had a piece of paper at the front of the folder that I could look at, which would save me from getting anxious about accidentally missing something whilst flicking through the folder. I found everything so easy to keep track of using this method.
Style inspiration.
Because the reception barn has a very rustic feel to it, I wanted to continue that vibe throughout, also adding some boho aspects. I looked on Pinterest a lot and also used previous weddings and blogs. I found these to be a huge help as they are genuinely real weddings and were achievable, instead of set up photoshoots which are sometimes quite extravagant, then leave you disheartened when seeing the price.
I absolutely LOVED using Instagram and Facebook pages (especially Wed Shed group and Wedding Rigs group). It was great reading about real wedding blogs on Ivory Tribe.
The ceremony.
Our ceremony was better than we could have imagined and was suited to us so much thanks to our amazing celebrant. She took the time to write and tell a beautiful story about both of us from stories she had heard from us both prior to the day. She made it the perfect combination of lovely and funny, which is exactly what we wanted as we are both pretty relaxed people and never too serious. So many people commented on our ceremony and said it was one of the best they have been involved in as it wasn’t so long that they tuned out.
Our nephew also kept everyone entertained during our ceremony as he was picking out funny sentences he liked and repeating them, which everyone thought was very funny. Also, during my vows, one of the cows on the property let out a huge “moooooo’ just as I was getting myself a little upset from what I was saying, and everybody cracked up laughing, which was perfect as it gave me a second to get myself together and finish off my vows.
The look.
I was following Grace Loves Lace well before we got engaged and absolutely loved their collection. I always knew that I wanted to wear one of their dresses and was so happy when I found the one. I have always loved long sleeve lace dresses as well as dresses with a high neck. I went into Grace Loves Lace and tried on a number of different dresses, but as soon as I put The Vita on, everyone knew that was the one. Being the last dress of the appointment, we ended the day on a high.
When searching for the boy’s suits, we had always loved the linen look, so we decided to go with a beige linen jacket with black pants. We did try on some jackets that were a light blue colour that were also gorgeous but didn’t match the bridesmaid’s dresses very well. We were both so happy with how everything blended so well together; it was perfect.
Favourite moments.
I honestly don’t know if I have one part in particular as the entire day for me, from waking up in the morning to going to sleep at 4:30am the following morning, was absolutely amazing. We were both on cloud nine the whole day and couldn’t wipe the smiles off our faces. We enjoyed every single part of it as each gave off such different but great vibes. The feeling you get though as you start walking down the aisle and lock eyes with your lover is pretty special, though, as is seeing all of your nearest and dearest there to celebrate the both of you.
Meaning of marriage.
For Jack and I, marriage means building a happy, safe, trusting, fun partnership and life together where we will then create and raise our own family together. It means to be there for each other during both the good and bad times and always be there to listen and offer out advice when needed.
Wedding soundtrack.
Aisle (bridesmaid): Crazy Love by Joel Cross Bride
Aisle (bride): I’m With You by Vance Joy
Signing song: Signed, Sealed, Delivered by Stevie Wonder
Recessional: How Bizarre by OMC
Reception entry: You Make My Dreams (Come True) by Daryl Hall & John Oates
First dance: Sunday Morning by Maroon 5
Last song: Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond
Funny stories or near disasters.
We were so incredibly lucky with our day being in the pandemic and having absolutely no restrictions. The week leading up to our wedding, there was heavy rain every day, and a main road was closed due to flooding. Then, the day before the wedding, the other main road was only half open due to a landslide, making it fun for our guests to travel on! There was also a near covid lockdown scare, but, despite all of that, I remained super calm and just hoped for the best – which is exactly what we got. Whilst driving to the venue, I drew smiley faces all on my windscreen whilst in heavy traffic to keep the good vibes flowing!
On our wedding night our dance floor was very popular and with one particular song playing everyone was stomping their feet to the beat which resulted in a hole in the floor. To keep the party going, we moved the dance floor outdoors onto the wraparound deck. Our singer continued to play as I took over the microphone and came up with a song to sing to get everyone outside, which was very funny. At our recovery breakfast, everyone was singing the song and playing the video over and over, laughing at it.
Planning surprises.
There are a lot of little things that you need to factor into your budget that often gets pushed aside, which can add up quite quickly if you haven’t budgeted for it, for example; cake toppers/boards/knives, bridal party gifts, food for everyone over the whole weekend.
Also, people aren’t that great at RSVPing so expect to chase people up, as well as a lot of people saying they can’t attend closer to the date, which is a little frustrating but not the end of the world and not worth stressing over.
Words of wisdom.
Be organised and set out a budget before you start booking to avoid feeling stressed out about the day so you can enjoy it all. I suggest breaking up your planning into sections, so you don’t get too overwhelmed with it all.
Take it all in as it all happens so quickly. Don’t sweat the small stuff because at the end of the day, it really doesn’t matter, and your guests won’t even know. What does matter is that you get to marry the love of your life! It will be the best day of your lives, and you will feel so much love and happiness!
Want to gather a community of vendors that make your day fabulous, fun and festive with minimal stress, and maximum talent? Check out our directory for the best in the business.
JACK & GEORGIA’S VENDORS
I used Instagram a lot in terms of finding our amazing suppliers for the day, as well as word of mouth from friends who have been married. On Instagram, I started following @ivorytribe, @wedshed, @allumeweddings which were all so great to help us picture what we wanted for our day.
Ceremony and reception venue: Waldara Farm. This venue was everything we could have dreamt of and more. We absolutely loved that we were able to stay at the same place that we held our ceremony and reception. We also loved that we were able to stay Friday, Saturday and Sunday night, ensuring that we really soaked up everything there was to offer for our wedding. Waldara was the first and last wedding venue we looked at as we simply just fell in love with everything about it. It is absolutely gorgeous and honestly takes your breath away. We chose to have our wedding in Autumn simply because of the stunning colours the property offers from the change of the autumn leaves.
Celebrant: Jessica Mutch- Civil Marriage Celebrant. Jess was absolutely incredible to have marry us, and we were completely over the moon with what she created for us. From the day we met Jess, we knew she was going to be perfect for us as she is a super chill, relaxed, fun and super nice chick. She was so easy to talk to and was invested in getting to know us as best as she could, allowing her to write such a detailed and personalised story to say at our ceremony. Jess is so great at what she does, and you can tell how much she loves her job. She set the scene for our day, and it was absolutely perfect.
Photography: Eliza Jade Photography. One of our must-haves when planning our wedding was to have the best of the best photographer, as we knew we will treasure these photos for the rest of our days and will be something we can show our children and grandchildren. That is what we got hiring Eliza. Eliza was an absolute pleasure to work with and was such a great vibe for us leading up to and on the day. Jack and I are pretty chilled people who love to have a good time which is exactly how Eliza works. She knows what needs to be done and when and will do anything to get the right shot. We were in absolute awe when we received our photos, as they are so much better than we ever could have expected. We can’t wait to have Eliza do some family sessions with us in the near future.
Videography: Dreamlife Wedding Videography. We were so happy with the way Dreamlife communicated with us during the preparation for the wedding. They were super prompt when returning emails and always friendly and happy to help with anything. We have just received the preview for our video and absolutely love it. We cannot wait to see the finished product, which will be something to keep forever
Styling: We didn’t get any external styling for the day as our venue was so beautiful; we just got our amazing florist to make it look even more gorgeous. I bought a macrame for the ceremony arbour that we added on ourselves, and we added candles all down the reception tables as well.
Florist: The Bloom Boss. Aisling is so talented at what she does and has such a creative eye. She was so easy to get along with and plan my vision with and was always there for any help that I needed as well as suggesting ways for me to keep costs down. Aisling’s mood board was so amazing and is exactly what I was envisioning for the day. About a week before the wedding, I asked Aisling if we could add some toffee-coloured roses into the arrangements, which she was more than happy to do. When our flowers were delivered on the day my mum and I looked at each other and mum said to me “wow, she absolutely hit the nail on the head with what you wanted”, which she absolutely did. I was over the moon with our flowers on the day and honestly couldn’t have imagined anything better. We absolutely loved our flowers, and when I look at the photos, I still can’t believe that it was our wedding because it was just so great.
Hair: KYZO Bride. The team at KYZO were fantastic to have be our glam squad for the day. We had a few artists come on the day as we had 13 people they needed to get ready, which was not a problem for them at all. Everyone was so happy with their hair and make-up, and it lasted all night long.
The dress & veil: The Vita Gown with 80cm train and 280cm Henri veil from Grace Loves Lace
Shoes: Verali Rukas II flats in the Natural Mini Croc colour
Rings: Michael Hill
Bridesmaid’s dresses: Starry nights dress in colour Olive from Billy J Boutique
Suits jackets and bow ties / ties: Gibson
Pants: Industrie skinny black pants
Catering: Short Street Kitchen. Drew from Short Street Kitchen was absolutely amazing, and we are so glad we had him at our wedding. He was so accommodating to what we wanted and was happy to help and offer his advice to us. We had the most amazing food at our wedding, and our guests are still talking about just how good it was. We had Drew in the Friday night before our wedding to cook dinner for our bridal party and immediate family and also had him come in on Sunday for a recovery brunch.
Bar: Kombi Keg. We loved having the Kombi Keg at our wedding, and so did our guests. We had two beers, seltzers, passionfruit caprioskas, espresso martinis and soft drinks on each of the taps that allowed guests to pour their own drink
Favours: Personalised stubby holders with a caricature drawing of myself and Jack for the men and homemade candles for the ladies made by a family friend.
Personalised cake topper made by Creating Monkies on Etsy
Stationery / Signage: Linen guest book from Stylestuffmelbourne on Etsy
Entertainment: Hayden Smith
Transport: We had Oberon Bus Hire pick up all of our guests from town and take them home safely at the end of the night. We stayed at Waldara Farm, so my father in law drove Dad and me down in his TESLA.
Décor & hire: We hired cocktail and beer glasses from Blue Mountains special event hire.
Honeymoon: Hamilton Island for a week
