Real Wedding – Jacqui & David, Yering VIC

 

Jacqui and David chose the Yarra Valley as the destination for their very own festival of love.

Knowing they wanted a big party, they set about creating an amazing atmosphere for their guests placing priority on having great music, plenty of dancing and a relaxed feel.

Jacqui looked stunning in her Karen Willis Holmes gown and seeing each other for the first time at their ceremony was the most special and joyful part of their day.

Having gone through the wedding planning process, Jacqui and David had one wise tip for brides and grooms: Hiring an on-the-day coordinator was an absolutely blessing, allowing them to completely focus on just enjoying their celebration.

Photographer Georgia Verrells captured the fun of the day, with her natural and always captivating creative eye.

 

 

The meeting.

Our first date was at the Lulie St Tavern. We were both amazed that we’d managed to make it to a first date, after weeks of single word messages back and forth.

 

The one.

Both of us had the thought pretty early on, but it took three years to lock it down!

 

The proposal.

David took Jacqui to his favourite stretch of coastline, and tricked Jacqui into semi-proposing to him. She realized before the final word, and then David got down on one knee with the ring.

 

Planning process.

We knew we wanted a big party, so a venue where we could dance into the night, and an amazing band were top priorities. We didn’t know if we wanted to stay in Melbourne or venture into the country, so we spent hours scouring google and websites to find venues, and then spent a few weekends circumnavigating Victoria checking them out. Once we had decided on the venue, we quickly locked all our other suppliers in, and wrote out a timeline for what needed to be organized and when. This worked out really well, and it didn’t feel like too much of a mad rush at the end.

 

Style inspiration.

We loved the idea of the day being a “festival of love” so we had a big focus on great music, lots of time for dancing, and nothing too stuffy or formal.

 

The gown.

I started looking for my dress before we had even chosen a venue, so I went into it a bit blind! My beautiful mum and sister were dragged along to multiple fittings where I tried on dozens of gorgeous dresses, but none felt like “the one”.  Then, I was looking at Karen Willis Holmes online and by chance they had an appointment free that afternoon. I went by myself and tried on their Anya gown. It was modern and elegant and as soon as I put it on, I felt like a bride – I was pretty sure I’d found my dress! However, I knew that I would need my mum and sister’s approval. So, I booked in a second try and Mum, my sister and my bridesmaids all came along. We unanimously agreed – I’d found the one. To complement the Anya gown, I chose a single tiered Karen Willis Holmes veil, white silk shoes from One Fine Day x Alias Mae and white gold and pearl earrings from Amelie George.

 

Favourite moment.

For both of us it was when we first saw each other on the day, as Jacqui was walking down the aisle.

 

Meaning of marriage.

For us, marriage is about us making a formal life commitment to each other, in front of our closest friends and family. It’s two people coming together and choosing each other, not just for today or tomorrow, but for the rest of their lives.

 

Wedding soundtrack.

Aisle: Can’t Help Falling in Love by Elvis Presley

Leaving the ceremony: Crazy Little Thing Called Love by Queen

Reception entry: Let’s Get Married by Jagged Little Edge

First Dance: Never Too Much by Luther Vandross

 

Funny stories (or near disasters).

Twenty minutes before the photographer arrived to snap the boys getting ready a Q-Tip broke off inside David’s ear. It was a funny but serious moment with the boys making him laugh and causing the Q-Tip to go further inside his ear. We were in the cottage at the venue which didn’t have any tweezers. Luckily the best woman found some small kitchen tongs and managed to retrieve the Q-Tip from his ear, just in time!

 

Planning surprises.

How much time and energy it takes to plan a wedding!

 

Words of wisdom.

Don’t forget what the whole day is about – you two! Before you even start planning the wedding think about why you want to get married and why a wedding is important to the both of you. Then, keep coming back to that when you need to make big decisions, or if you start stressing about small details. It can be easy to get swept up in the little things that go along with planning a big event, but at the end of the day as long as you, your partner, and the people you love are there the rest will fall into place.

 

Final words.

Our venue provided us with an on-the-day planner, Vanessa from Valure Events. She was an absolute lifesaver and helped everything run so smoothly in the final lead up and on the big day. We actually cannot thank her enough. We didn’t have to think about anything on the day except enjoying our time together and with our guests and as a result had such a fabulous time. If this is something your venue offers, or if your budget allows it, we would really recommend!

 

 

We adore the Yarra Valley and Nikki and Jayden’s dream day was a gorgeous one, be sure to check it out.

 

JACQUI AND DAVID’S VENDORS

Ceremony and Reception venue / location: Olinda Yarra, Yering. We absolutely loved this venue, and the idea that our guests could feel like they had left Melbourne but it was just a 45 min drive from the CBD. Plus, we were able to share the beautiful heritage farmhouse and gardens with our guests, and the odd duck, chicken and alpaca made a guest appearance during our photos and reception!

Celebrant/Officiant: Jan Rowe celebrant. Jan is an old family friend of David’s parents so having her marry us was so special.

Photography: Georgia Verrells. Georgia has such a kind and professional way about her, she managed to not only keep us on track and on time, but help us have a really great time while doing so! We loved the natural, unstaged way our photos came out that really captured the fun of the day.

Florist: North St Botanical. Emily and her team absolutely nailed our brief, and the florals were one of our favourite features of the wedding. Everyone commented on them all night and they perfectly fit with the relaxed romantic feeling.

Hair: Em V Hair. Emma has been Jacqui’s hairdresser for close to 10 years so as soon as we got engaged she immediately asked her to be there on the big day. Emma has an infectious energy and was so much fun on the morning. She also knows exactly how to get the perfect glam beachy wave!

Make Up: Claire Vyverberg Makeup Artist.  Jacqui had her makeup done by Claire when she was a bridesmaid, and Claire’s been the MUA for almost our entire group of girlfriends for their weddings! Claire is able to perfectly capture that natural, flawless look so you look like the best version of yourself on the day.

The Dress(es): Karen Willis Holmes.

Veil / headwear: Karen Willis Holmes.

Shoes: One Day Bridal X Alias Mae.

Rings: Arbor Brunswick.

Bridesmaid’s dresses: Shona Joy through Bridesmaids Dressing Room. Choosing our dresses through Bridesmaid’s dressing room was such a great experience. Aneta is so professional and really knows her stuff, and you can try on multiple brands, fabrics, styles and sizes all together, making the whole process so much simpler. We were able to choose gorgeous dresses each girl was happy with in one afternoon – a feat we thought would be impossible!

Groomsmen’s suits: Calibre.

Bow ties / ties: Joe Black Menswear.

Catering: Going Gourmet. I cannot speak highly enough of the food and professionalism provided by Going Gourmet. They were fantastic in the lead up to the day, liaising with our venue and setting everything up. Their food was absolutely delicious, and we have had so many comments from our guests about how tasty everything was, and how beautifully it was presented.

Cake / Cake topper: Friend of the bride

Stationery / Signage: David’s own design

Entertainment: Lark Music. These guys were the absolute best. We had them play acoustic music at the ceremony, then a band and DJ for the reception. They perfectly read the room and got everyone up dancing all night. The dance floor was packed right up until the very last song and we had multiple people say they were the best wedding band they’d seen, and we couldn’t agree more!

Other: On-the-day organizer and planner, Vanessa from Valure Events. Vanessa was an absolute lifesaver and helped everything run so smoothly in the final lead up and on the big day. We didn’t have to think about anything on the day except enjoying our time together and with our guests and as a result had such a fabulous time.