Real Wedding – Jane & Mark, Ballarat VIC
When Jane and Mark came across their dream venue, Willow & Stone Estate, they immediately cancelled all their other venue appointments and locked a date in!
This private estate was the perfect oasis for them to celebrate their love story with all their loved ones and it sure was one big celebration and party.
A gorgeous gown by Tribe talent Georgia Young Couture, ensured Jane was a vision as she made her way down the aisle towards Mark and their happily-ever-after.
Wanting a celebration that was classic with a modern edge, they achieved this with the perfect colour palette of crisp whites, grey, metallic silver and greens.
Tribe photography favourites Pretty Flamingo were there and their imagery portrays this epic celebration in all its glory.
In Jane’s words…
The meeting.
While having known Mark for a number of years (through Mark’s brother and one of my best friends), it wasn’t until a night out in January 2016 that the first signs of romance blossomed.
The ‘one’.
I knew early on in our relationship that Mark was the one. There was something special about him! He fitted in so easy with my family (my mum and dad adore him!) and friends and nothing is ever a problem for him – it’s like Mark’s been around forever.
The proposal.
We became engaged the day before AFL Grand Final and in the lead up I was getting annoyed at Mark. We had no plans for the weekend and every time we were asked to do something with friends, Mark wouldn’t commit (little did I know what he had planned). The day we got engaged I thought Mark’s behaviour was a bit off. Early afternoon he suggested we have a few drinks and we ventured up to the roof top of my apartment with our drinks and picnic blanket. Once on the roof enjoying the views over Melbourne’s afternoon skyline, Mark suddenly looked very nervous and it was then he popped the question. I’ll never forget the way Mark asked me to marry him in his nervous state – ‘Wanna get married?” It’s a memory I’ll cherish forever. We celebrated that evening with dinner in the city and then headed back to Ballarat to celebrate with family and friends.
Planning process.
I admit I’m not the most organized person, so planning a wedding was a big shock for me – particularly picking a venue where we had to organize everything from the marquee to a cooking tent for our caterers. We began the planning process as soon as we were engaged (I’m so glad we did!) and had the majority of the bigger things booked with 12 months to go.
Then within the 12-month count down we began organizing the smaller things and everything just fell into place. I used a checklist that I received in a magazine to tick off things as we organized them. Our venue owners also assisted with identifying things we would need to organize.
The biggest problem I had was once something had been organized was that I had to tick it off and leave it as done, as I tend to change my mind.
Style inspiration.
We wanted a classic style, but with a modern edge. A crisp fresh white, grey, metallic silver and green colour theme allowed us to achieve this brief. We had white lining draping from the marquee roof with chandelier lighting and our table arrangements were three long tables with white and green flower arrangements running down the middle of each table.
We wanted our wedding to be fun and relaxed for our guests, one big celebration and party. It was all about amazing food, drinks, music, dancing with our favorite people.
The dress.
I went dress shopping with an open mind as there was no particular style I had my heart set on. I knew I didn’t want to look at too many dresses as I didn’t want to confuse the situation.
I made an appointment at Georgia Young Couture and with one other designer, but I knew as soon as I tried on the first dress at Georgia Young Couture I had found the one. I had seen previous dresses Georgia had designed and her designs were the contemporary modern design I was wanting.
Favourite moment.
I couldn’t pick just one favorite moment from the whole day, the whole day was my favorite moment! Standing opposite Mark (after dad gave me away) knowing I was about to marry my best friend and spend the rest of my life with this man was pretty special.
Meaning of marriage.
Everything. The ultimate symbol of a dedication to spend the rest of your life with your best friend. The anticipation and safety in knowing someone will always have your back, be on your side and share the rewards and challenges of life.
Wedding soundtrack.
Aisle – “Can’t help Falling In Love” by Jess & Gabriel – Under the Covers
First Dance – ‘Better Together’ by Jack Johnson
Funny stories or near disasters.
One week out from the big day Mark decided to try on his wedding suit only to discover he had put on a few kgs over the Christmas/Summer holiday break and his suit no longer fitted. Having had the suit already altered to fit, we found ourselves running around ordering new shirts last minute and having to get Mark’s pants released at the waist. I can laugh about it now, but at the time there was nearly tears!
Planning surprises.
No real big surprises that affected our day, however I was surprised how far in advance you need to book suppliers/vendors. We began the planning process about 16 months prior to our wedding and was surprised that some of the vendors/suppliers already had bookings for the dates we were enquiring about. If you have your heart set on a particular supplier/vendor book them as soon as you get engaged, that way you have the option to be flexible with your chosen date if need be before you lock in other suppliers/vendors.
Words of wisdom.
As stressful as the planning and lead up can be, just make sure you enjoy it because as soon as it’s over you’ll be wanting to do it all over again.
Final words.
It truly will be one of the best days of your life. Take a moment to reflect, soak it up and have fun with your family and friends!
Want the A-Team when it comes to choosing your wedding day suppliers? Check out our directory of talent who will be sure to bring your dream day to life!
MARK AND JANE’S TRIBE
Ceremony and reception venue / location: Willow & Stone Estate, Ballarat.
This was the first and only venue Mark and I inspected. As soon as we viewed the property we fell in love and knew that this was where we wanted to get married – we cancelled our other venue inspections. The venue was AMAZING and the owners were such a pleasure to deal with. This venue really is a little hidden piece of paradise within Ballarat. Our whole day took place at this wonderful location – ceremony, photos, pre-reception drinks, reception and to top it off we stayed in the magnificent bridal suite for our first night as husband and wife.
Celebrant/Officiant: Maxine Linane – Maxine was so lovely to work with from our first initial meeting till our wedding day. So much thought and effort went into our ceremony and I felt Maxine really captured our love story)
Photography: Pretty Flamingo Photography – These ladies are so talented and made Mark & I feel completely at ease in front of the camera. They captured moments that we will forever cherish. Post wedding it’s been so nice to look at our photos and re-live our special day.
Styling: While we didn’t have a stylist for our wedding, I had a style I wanted and had the amazing “Events by Bonnie” (Bonnie White) bring this style to life for me. As we had an outdoor wedding and our reception in a marque, our table settings had to be set up the morning of our wedding day. I left Bonnie with photos of how I wanted things set up, and it was amazing to see Bonnie make it all come together.
Florist: The Refined Bloom Co – Annie Goldie, I knew nothing about flowers, however had told Annie I wanted classical green and white in the arrangements. Myself and my bridesmaids had long white stem roses for our bouquets and the table arrangements were made up of different flower options. Our flower arrangements were simply stunning.
Hair: Pink Hair Impressions – Belinda Smith
Make Up: The Make Up Hub – Kellie Shillito (I had two trials with Kel in the lead up to the wedding and each look she created we worked out what I liked and what suited me. On the day my make-up was absolutely perfect)
The Dress(es): Georgia Young Couture
Veil / headwear: Georgia Young Couture
Shoes: ‘Elenora’ by Nina
Rings: Paul Bram
Bridesmaid’s dresses: Shona Joy
Groomsmen’s suits: New England Rooney Jet Black
Catering: Charlton Catering (Tracey & Roger Jolly) & Platter Me Please (Tess D’Arcy) – The food was incredible. We catered for everyone’s taste and made sure there was plenty of food for the whole night.
Bar: Willow & Stone Estate, Ballarat – We made use of the onsite shipping container bar that kept our guests hydrated for the whole day/evening. We wanted our guests to enjoy one of our favourite drinks so had espresso martinis served for everyone’s first drink.
Favors: Stubby holders from Ballarat Hip Pocket and cookies from Sweet Ivy
Cake / Cake topper: Hayleymade – I wanted a modern cake that was different to the standard wedding cakes I had seen. We had a white chocolate mud cake with gray, white and silver icing and a metallic silver love heart toper)
Stationery / Signage: Abbey Lane Design – Abbey had so many creative designs and options for us to pick from. We went with a white invite and metallic silver and charcoal font. We had so many compliments about our invites. We tied our stationary to match our invites.
Entertainment: The Bombastics – Mark and I had heard them play at a function 15 months prior to our wedding and thought they were great so booked them in straight away. We had acoustic music playing while canapes and meals were served and then after speeches they had everyone up dancing the whole night.
Hire: Ballarat Party Hire, RD Special Moments & Neon Collective
Honeymoon: Hamilton Island – A week of complete relaxation and bliss!
