Real Wedding – Jane & Adam, Milawa VIC
Real Wedding – Jane & Adam, Milawa VIC
Real Wedding – Jane & Adam, Milawa VIC
Real Wedding – Jane & Adam, Milawa VIC

Real Wedding – Jane & Adam, Milawa VIC

 

High school sweethearts, Jane and Adam, enjoyed a long engagement before celebrating their marriage with a hint of rustic romance.

As soon as they saw beautiful Brown Brothers Winery in North-Eastern Victoria, they knew it was the perfect location for their stunning celebration.

Their day began with a sensational ceremony under an oak tree with celebrant superstar Chloe Jetson at the helm. Jane was a show-stopper in her stunning gown and she will never forget the moment she laid eyes on Adam as she made her way down the aisle. Their ceremony was full of plenty of laughter, some tears and of course a whole lot of love.

As the sun set, they partied on into the night and Tribe talents, Be Here Be Now Photos and Film, captured this love story in their stunning photos below.

 

In Jane’s words…

 

The meeting.

Adam and I met in High School. We started dating when we were 15 and have never parted. We have now been in a relationship for 14 years. We couldn’t imagine our lives without each other.

 

The ‘one’.

There wasn’t one moment. I’m sure when we were 15 years old we didn’t expect that one day we’d be getting married to each other. But Adam and I have stayed with one another because there is a connection that is unbreakable. We have celebrated all the highs together, graduating high school and university, starting and developing in our careers, travelling, simply taking our dog Sally on weekend adventures and watching our families grow.

 

The proposal.

Adam proposed to me on the 27th January 2017 at the Melbourne Zoo. He took me to the zoo as part of my birthday weekend, as it is my all-time favourite outing. We go every year for my birthday. So, I didn’t expect any different for this particular birthday.

Adam had packed a picnic and throughout the day he had asked me if I was ready for lunch. It was a very hot day and there was much to see, I had no interest in stopping. Eventually after asking me multiple times if I was hungry, I finally asked Adam if he wanted to eat lunch, which he responded with a gleeful sigh ‘yes’. He took me to the grass area near the red pandas where we always have our picnics and told me he had one last present for me, pulled out a ring box from his bag and asked me to marry him. Now the rest of the story is somewhat of a blur to me. I can’t really recall what happened next as I was in a blissful daze. But according to Adam; I snatched the ring out of the box, placed it on my own finger and then giggled for what seemed like an eternity. Adam had to ask me again and I lunged at him with kisses and the eventually a reply of ‘yes’.

 

The process.

We had a long engagement, so we had lots of time to plan the wedding. Choosing a venue was lots of fun. We always knew we wanted to get married in North-Eastern Victoria. Adam had taken me to Bright for our very first weekend away together and the area has always held a special place for us. We looked at a few venues which was great because the venue co-ordinators provided so much insight for the venue, they offered their thoughts and recommendations, including what other couples have done.

In the end we choose Brown Brothers, which in all honesty was my preferred venue even before we started looking. The first time Adam took me to Bright, we stopped in Milawa, Brown Brothers winery and right then I could imagine marrying Adam there.

Choosing the other suppliers, a theme and a bridal party all seemed to come easily to us. We decided from the start that we were going to have a wedding that suited our style and didn’t get bogged down in what other people thought. For example, Adam and I had uneven bridal party numbers. I had five bridesmaids and Adam had three groomsmen. My bridesmaids didn’t wear matching dresses. I told them they could wear anything they wanted. I chose my bridesmaids because of the beautiful people they are inside and out. I didn’t want to change them for my wedding, and I wanted them to feel confident and beautiful in their outfit of choice. The bridesmaids also didn’t have bouquets, instead they had wrist corsages. In addition, when walking down the aisle four of my bridesmaids each held a photo of our grandparents who are no longer with us. One of the bridesmaids walked our golden retriever Sally down the aisle.

We had donuts instead of cake because we wanted our guests to eat as many as they pleased. In the end, the donuts were so popular we had to ask a guest if she could sneak us a donut each because they were being eaten so quickly.

I found talking with suppliers really helped us to get a sense of their work style and to determine if we matched. Luckily, we found suppliers who we connected with well. I couldn’t recommend more highly meeting with photographers and celebrants in person if able. Having met Chloe our celebrant, Shani and Christian our photographers in person we knew that we wanted them to be part of our wedding. They weren’t just suppliers, they were a special part of our wedding. Having met with all of them on multiple occasions throughout the wedding filled us with confidence that they were the perfect choice for us.

 

Style inspiration.

We used the venue Brown Brothers as our inspiration for the style of our wedding. Our ceremony was under a big oak tree on the vineyard and the reception was held inside Brown Brother’s restored barn.

Our rustic wedding style incorporated elements such as timber chairs and signage as well as natural unstructured native bouquet, wrist corsages and table arrangements.

 

The dress.

I found it a little hard to find a wedding gown that wowed me in a lot of the boutiques I visited. Nothing seemed to suit my body type and I started to become anxious. A friend recommended looking for a dressmaker to create me a bespoke gown. I narrowed down my search to two different women and in the end I chose Sonia the owner of Cappellazzo Couture. She sketched me a proposal that was beyond my imagination and I knew I wasn’t going to be disappointed with my dress. My dress was sheath fitted with striking sculpted detail on the back of the dress. It was made of form fitting neoprene fabric which made me feel tucked in and supported but it had the stretch for me to dance all night. My gown embodied the elegance and the wow element I was seeking.

 

Favourite moments.

My favourite moment from the day was walking down the aisle towards Adam. I didn’t even notice our guests, I kept my attention solely on Adam. My heart felt like it grew the moment I saw him standing at the end waiting for me.

 

Meaning of marriage.

A commitment to spend an eternity together with love, support, trust and happiness.

 

Wedding soundtrack.

Aisle: I’m gonna be (500 miles) by Sleeping at last

Signing: Ain’t no Mountain High Enough by Marvin Gaye and Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m yours) by Stevie Wonder

Recessional: Everybody needs somebody to love by The Blues Brothers

Bridal party entry: I wanna dance with somebody by Whitney Houston and The Boys are Back In Town by Thin Lizzy.

Bride and groom reception entry: Circle of life from the Lion King soundtrack

Father-daughter dance: You’ll Be in My Heart by Phil Collins

First dance: You send me by Sam Cooke

 

Funny stories (or near disasters).

My older sister Rachel who was also my maid of honour was 30 weeks pregnant with twin girls on the day of our wedding. In the lead up to the day, Rachel was in-and-out of hospital. Doctors were concerned about her travelling for three hours in a car to Milawa. Rachel and our nieces’ (Amelia and Sophie) wellbeing were our main priority and we had accepted that Rachel and her husband Leon (our ring bearer) wouldn’t attend our wedding. However, just days before the wedding Rachel was given the all clear and were present for the day.  We are so happy that they were able to attend, it’s also so special that our nieces were also in a small way present at our wedding.

I love Disney cartoons. I tend to put one on when I’m cooking or relaxing at home. Over the years Adam has graciously watched all the movies with me. His favourite has always been The Lion King. So, when we had to choose a song for our entrance at the reception we both thought The Circle Of Life was perfect. As we walked in with the song playing our guests were all in a fit of laughter which was just as we had hoped; happiness and a bit of clowning about. The Lion King will always be a little more special to us now.

 

Words of wisdom.

Relax and don’t stress the little stuff. Your wedding won’t be ruined if you can’t get the florist you wanted. The day is about you two, and your friends and family coming together to celebrate the love you share.

Take the time to think it through before you rush into booking a supplier. I panicked because I was struggling to find a makeup artist who was local to the region. I booked one without having a makeup trial first. When I did have my makeup trial I was unhappy with the application. I had left the trial so late in the planning process, but I had to start looking again. Luckily, I found Ebonii Harty. She is local to where I grew up, in fact we went to the same high school.

 

 

Want to wed in Victoria but still on the venue hunt? Here are our favourites all across our stunning state.

 

JANE & ADAM’s TRIBE

Ceremony and reception: Brown Brothers Winery, Milawa – Monique Smith was our wedding coordinator from Brown Brothers and we can’t thank her enough for her support throughout the planning phase and the wedding day. She was incredible on the day, helping to arrange our donut wall, providing constant updates on the weather (we were worried it would start to rain), organising our suppliers, and directing myself and the bridesmaids for our walk down the aisle.

The venue was spectacular! They provided the seating stationery, which was a huge weight off our shoulders. They supplied the drinks of course, even ordering our preferred beer that wasn’t on their beverage list. We had a sit-down reception with a two-course menu. We had so many people come up and compliment us on the dinner. People had told us it was the nicest meal they’d ever had.

Celebrant/Officiant: Chloe Jetson – Chloe is caring, fun and comforting. There were times throughout the planning phase where we were at a loss. My dad was panicked about his speech for the reception, I turned to Chloe for advice. She sent me ideas and options for my dad. This wasn’t her responsibility, but she helped none-the-less. She helped Adam to write his vows and she wrote a beautiful story to describe our love journey. Chloe is based in Geelong but she came out to meet us near our home in Melbourne for meetings and discussions, she also drove out to Milawa the day before our wedding to have a rehearsal with us. She even dropped our dog Sally off at our folk’s accommodation after the ceremony. She goes above and beyond her job. We just adore her.

Photography: Be Here Be Now Photos and Film – Christian and Shani are beautiful humans. I met them at the One Fine Day Wedding Fair and instantly knew they were perfect for our wedding. They are very relaxed and generous with their time. We met with them several times before the wedding day and we always left with a warm fuzzy feeling. They are so calm and gave us a real sense of ease. The photos are out of this world. They tell the story of our day so well that I feel like I’m reliving the day when I look at the photos.

Florist: Wren Floralista

Hair: Louka Hair Design – To sum up Lou in one word, I’d say flawless. She perfected the bride tribe’s hair styles. I told my bridesmaids they could pick any hair style, and they did. Lou took on the task without batting an eyelid. All the girls including myself had fabulous hair on the day.

Make-up: Ebonii Harty – Ebonii was recommended to me through a friend of a friend. I met with her for a trial on an incredibly hot day. After our trial I felt so beautiful. My sister Rachel went to hospital that day and I cried so heavily that I felt like I couldn’t breathe. My makeup stayed perfectly intact though.

Ebonii did an amazing job. Each of the bridesmaids, my mother-in-law and myself looked gorgeous on the day. She is such a delight. We had some break time in between styling so we asked her to join us in playing cards against humanity. It felt like she was one of the girls laughing along because of the silly cards.

The Dress: Cappellazzo Couture – Sonia was amazing to work with, she has a gorgeous nature and has a way of making you feel stunningly beautiful even when you show up to a fitting in tracksuit pants and Converse chucks.  Sonia even gave Adam the sketch of my dress which he had framed and gave to me the morning of our wedding. I loved this gift.

Veil / headwear: Lovisa

Shoes: Forever New

Rings: The Diamond Guys – Jarrod and Ivor were our consultants at The Diamond Guys. They were very flexible with meeting times, even staying open for us on weeknights so we could look at rings together. Ivor helped Adam to pick a beautiful engagement ring for me. It was exactly the ring I had always dreamt of wearing.

Bridesmaid’s dresses: Forever New, St Frock, Gorman, and ASOS

Menswear: Peter Johnson Tailor -Lyo Ishizuka was the groom’s and groomsmen’s consultant. He made the guys feel at ease and welcomed them like old friends. He helped them to find a suit that suited all of them and fitted within their budgets. Adam’s brother Gus who was his Best Man lives in the UK, so Lyo helped to set up his suit fitting in their London showroom. The groomsmen each had a little personalisation with their initials embroidered onto the shirt collars. The suits were well fitted and all of the groomsmen looked very handsome on the wedding day.

Bow ties / ties: Pocket squares from Jay Kirby Ties

Favours: Brown Brothers Piccolo Prosecco Wine. Tags from Mila And May Paper Co. 

Cake / Cake topper: Krispy Kreme Donuts. Donut wall from Coco Boards, owned by Carla Mete

Stationery / Signage: Wedding Invitation from The Fabled Papery. Signage from Willow and Ink design.

Entertainment: Patrick Russell  – Patrick was very helpful and friendly. He was so easy to work with. He has a beautiful voice and was so engaging with the guests. Highly recommend!

Honeymoon: Sri Lanka and Maldives




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