Real Wedding – Jess & Matt, Kyneton VIC
When beginning their wedding planning, Jess and Matt landed on the one non-negotiable that would define their stunning celebration. This was to keep the guest list small – a task defined by their proviso of not wanting to ask anyone, “How have you been?” on their wedding day. Whilst tricky for them both in the moment, once they settled on their intimate celebration, their vision came fluidly to life.
Self-confessed food and wine snobs, Jess and Matt chose their favourite venue in their favourite region, Piper Street Wine Co in the Macedon Ranges, to provide a historic blue stone backdrop to their chic, understated romance.
Soft, dynamic florals in layers of greenery, white on white and soft blush emphasised the classic natural warmth of the venue, whilst a dynamic, relaxed ceremony by celebrant extraordinaire Megan Thompson began the celebrations on the right note.
Scroll on for a carefully curated interplay of artful style, effortless romance and a divine guest experience, all through the talented lens of White Shutter Photography.
The meeting.
Matt and I were both working in the horse racing industry at the time and had travelled to the Gold Coast for work. We met at a horse sale and were basically set up at a dinner by a mutual friend. Years later, we’ve come full circle and now live on the Gold Coast.
The ‘one’.
Although we were instantly drawn to each other, the feeling of finding “the one” didn’t happen right away. After a few months, we were inseparable, and that’s when the realisation sunk in that we were choosing to do life together forever.
The proposal.
It happened at our favourite restaurant in Carlton, Epocha. Matt spoilt me with oysters and champagne before proposing with the diamond he had chosen. There were a few giveaways (Matt shaved off his beard that he’d had for four years, insisted on making the dinner reservation, and my Mum was oddly chirpy), however, he wanted it to be as close to a surprise as possible, so he selected the diamond and the day after our dinner we went to the jeweller so I could choose the ring setting and be involved in the process.
The planning.
There was a lot of time spent in Excel sheets for RSVPs, run sheets, budgets, to-do lists, etc, and platforms like Canva for creating our own signage. Given the size of our wedding was quite intimate (21 guests plus kids), it was fairly manageable to oversee most things ourselves. We were aware of our strengths and weaknesses, so we leaned on each other to lead certain parts of the planning process and outsourced where we needed to. For example, venue styling wasn’t something either of us felt comfortable with, so we leaned on the expertise of our florist (Wild Vali) to execute this element, and likewise, our photographer (White Shutter Photography) gave great feedback and helped to finesse our run sheet.
Style inspiration.
We knew we didn’t want to have a large wedding – basically, we didn’t want to ask someone, “How have you been?” on our wedding day, so both Matt and I had to make some sacrifices on the guest list, which was equally hard on us both. With such a small group, we wanted to make sure our venue of choice was intimate but not too cramped so that the kids could run around and have fun.
The venue needed to share our passion for quality food and drinks (we are self-confessed food and wine snobs). We also wanted to get married in our favourite part of the world, the Macedon Ranges in Victoria, and our favourite venue in the Macedon Ranges, Piper Street Wine Co, was so kind as to accept our request, having never previously hosted a wedding.
We didn’t want to overwhelm the natural beauty of our venue – historic, blue stone, rustic, charming and cosy with a European flair, so our styling was quite understated, romantic and respectful of the heritage of the building. Greenery is a strong theme throughout the venue (the dining room is called “The Greenmarket”), and this was something we picked up and used throughout our styling. Pinterest, Canva, and our incredible florist (who was conveniently in the adjoining shop and already did florals for the venue) helped with the rest from there!
Inspiration from real weddings was most helpful in keeping our expectations and spending in check. We also placed strong importance on finding local suppliers who shared our passion for the region and were a good fit for us – we were able to leverage their mountain of knowledge and expertise, which was a huge bonus.
The ceremony.
Our ceremony was intimate and quite short. Matt and I don’t like being the centre of attention, nor huge public displays of affection, so we were really out of our comfort zone at the altar! Fortunately, our celebrant (Megan Thompson) made us feel comfortable right away. She is one of the best storytellers and really had everyone engaged from the outset. The outdoor courtyard was meticulously prepared for our ceremony, and it truly took our breath away. Even better, the weather was on our side, and we couldn’t have had a more perfect day.
The outfit.
As soon as I started researching wedding dresses, I fell in love with Anna Campbell’s gowns. Although I was torn between two options, they made the process easy and essentially helped me to tailor a dress based on my preferences. It was a really special experience. Matt is a size “extra extra medium” so simply walked into M.J. Bale and picked his suit off the rack. He went for something more bold than usual and opted for a white linen suit and navy tie – completely out of character and unexpected, but he wanted to go big for the big day, too!
Favourite moment.
The moment we walked into our reception with our loved ones seated around the table in what was the most beautiful setting. By that point, we had both relaxed into the festivities, and we were excited to enjoy the rest of the night with our crew. Our photographer, Anne, captured the moment we were all seated around the table with our glasses charged so beautifully. It is one of our favourite photos.
Meaning of marriage.
Marriage hasn’t changed our relationship significantly, but it is a symbol of our enduring commitment to support and love each other. It also signals our wish to grow a family, whether that be more fur babies (we have one dog already that we are obsessed with) or children. We are excited for our future together, no matter what.
Wedding soundtrack.
Aisle: Can’t Help Falling In Love by Haley Reinhart
First Dance: You Sexy Thing by Hot Chocolate, played acoustically by Kane Vincent
Funny stories or near disasters.
Ironically, I warned all the wedding guests to be on time because, being so punctual myself, I would, of course, be walking down the aisle right on time. I ended up being about 45 minutes late after we had a champagne glass spontaneously explode in the wedding car, and then forgetting my bouquet at home on the second attempt to get to the wedding. Matt still doesn’t believe any of this actually happened and that I just wanted to make him sweat!
Words of wisdom.
Lean on your suppliers for advice/wisdom/support – they have done it all many times over and have heaps of valuable information they can share to help guide you along the way. Also, make sure to work with people who are a good fit for your personalities. We loved that our suppliers could have fit in as our wedding guests. This made us feel so comfortable and at ease around them, and in turn, we relaxed and enjoyed our day more than we probably would have.
Also, everyone says it, but the day goes so FAST! Make sure to share a private moment with your partner and take it all in.
In the thick of wedding season? Here’s our guide to being a stellar wedding guest (hint – there’s more to it than being on time!).
STEPH & MATT’S SUPPLIERS
Ceremony venue: Piper Street Wine Co – Our absolute favourite venue in the Macedon Ranges. Exceptional food, impeccable wine list and the most beautiful setting in a charming, rustic bluestone building.
Reception venue: The Albion Hotel – Great private function room that accommodated our dancefloor and offered up awesome cocktails. The owner, Tim, was an absolute delight to deal with.
Celebrant: Megan Thompson – Megan felt like a long-time friend from our very first Zoom call, which really came through in our ceremony. We’ve had the most resoundingly positive feedback that our ceremony, led by Megan, was one of the very best.
Photography: White Shutter Photography Phenomenal photographer and an even better human. Anne made our wedding day photos a bundle of fun. She was there to support us through thick and thin – she even gave us a ride to our dancefloor venue in her own car to make sure she captured every important detail! We absolutely adored working with Anne and couldn’t recommend her more highly.
Videography: Rachel Tan Videography – Videography was a surprise gift from our siblings! Although unexpected, Rachel fit right in on the wedding day and worked seamlessly with our photographer, Anne.
Styling & flowers: Wild Vali – Erin and Rach from Wild Vali went above and beyond to deliver the most beautiful florals and venue styling for our wedding day. I was upfront with Erin that styling is far out of my comfort zone, so I happily handed the creative reins over and couldn’t be happier that I did – she crafted the most stunning installation for our altar and soft, romantic venue styling that created the perfect setting for our small group of ~20 guests. On top of it all, Erin and Rach spent our wedding day delivering bouquets, lapels and transporting arrangements from one venue to another. Ridiculously talented and some of the nicest people you will meet to boot!
Hair: Stephanie Nguyen Recommended by a friend, Steph is an absolute angel and the most gentle hair stylist ever. I could have fallen asleep whilst she was doing my hair! Not only that, but my hair styling also lasted really well for the whole wedding day, and it took far less than a whole bottle of hairspray to hold everything in place. Steph also set me up for success, doing my hair in a way that I could easily adjust it for a second look to match my party dress.
Make-up: Dalal Mansour – My favourite makeup artist of all time. I wouldn’t turn to anyone else but Dalal for my makeup on such an important day. Despite my best efforts to avoid it, I sadly had a pimple come up on the day of the wedding but you wouldn’t even know it looking at the photos. Always a delight working with Dalal!
The dress(es): Anna Campbell (gown): I had the most magical experience with Anna Campbell finding my dream wedding dress! The team were very attentive in listening to and accommodating of my feedback, and helped me create the perfect dress for me – a combination of a few different dresses I couldn’t quite choose between. Working with their in-house alterations team was a huge benefit because I knew they could be trusted to deliver on my vision. Frankie, Hatice, Anna and the rest of the team are an absolute delight to deal with and made the whole experience incredibly special.
Rebecca Vallance (party): My favourite Australian designer and I found the perfect little party dress from Rebecca’s bridal collection to dance the night away.
Shoes: The White Collection Such great options to choose from! And great customer experience when buying from interstate.
Rings: Searay Jewellery wholesaler who provided amazing service and access to the custom rings of our dreams.
Suit: M.J. Bale Matt’s go to for all special occasions.
Cake: butttermilkk @buttter.milkk – Local baker to the Macedon Ranges and seriously talented individual! Cake was really reasonably priced and potentially one of my highlights of the entire wedding.
Entertainment: Kane Vincent –Absolutely brilliant and extremely talented musician. Kane was a huge hit at our wedding. Most memorable for our first dance to You Sexy Thing (Hot Chocolate), supporting my husband on the stage to perform a cringeworthy but adorable serenade, and even going out of his way to learn a few new songs that we knew would be crowd pleasers for our guests.
Transport: Organ’s Coaches – Local transport company. Great customer service!
