Real Wedding - Katherine & Ben, Emerald VIC

November 22, 2023 In Black and White, Real Weddings, Victoria By Ivory Tribe

Real Wedding – Katherine & Ben, Emerald VIC

A local wedding with a European aesthetic, fresh and modern yet tastefully timeless, intimate yet epic, stunning styled with minimal stress – an impossibility, surely? Ben and Kat’s dream day proves absolutely otherwise – this is a micro wedding big on vibes and elegance, with all the effortless feels of an elopement.

Gathering their nearest and dearest to the sun-drenched surrounds of Mont du Soleil, Kat and Ben made their forever promises against an expansive vista. There, to ensure the styling enhanced the venue to perfection and that the day was coordinated seamlessly, were Elope Australia. The results of their work shine through in every shot by legendary photographer White Shutter – a radiantly relaxed couple, sophisticated styling, and all the personal touches.

We love Kat’s gown by Khya Studios, elevated to suit the elegant aesthetic with the addition of gossamer sleeves. Their above-and-beyond approach to finding the perfect fit for Kat is emblematic of their brand and one of the many reasons we think Khya Studios is so great.

It’s undeniable that a micro wedding can encapsulate all the best bits of a wedding day, so scroll on to see how it happens.

The meeting.

Ben and I matched on a dating app in November of 2020. We had a wonderful first date, and both left a lasting impression on one another. Life took us down different paths (temporally); however, we reconnected months later, and we picked up right where we left off. We became inseparable, and we both just knew we had something special.

We were newly dating and decided to move to Byron Bay together, and within the first 30 minutes of arriving, we went into a 16-week lockdown, where we lived in a tiny, renovated garage (a very quick way to get to know one another) and the love we had only blossomed further.

The ‘one’.

We both realised we were falling in love with one another almost from the get-go (scary for us both). Everything just felt right. When we first started dating, we would go on all types of getaways and adventures together and realised how much we loved spending our time with one another. We had really built a strong friendship and bond, and the idea of creating a life together only became more and more exciting.

It didn’t take long to realise that our friendship had blossomed into love and that we’d found the one.

The proposal.

Ben took me away for the weekend down to the Mornington Peninsula, back to one of our first date spots, Polperro Winery. He walked me down through the vines to the base of the property, where there was a small pond, and we shared a glass of wine together (I noticed Ben had already sculled his down on the journey). Ben and I were talking, and little did I know Ben was waiting for the right opportunity to pop the question. Then a small frog jumped out of nowhere, and Ben took this as the universe, giving him a good luck sign and went for it. I turned to see Ben down on one knee and asked to marry me; through all the tears, I said yes.

Planning process.

Ben and I sat down and wrote a list of things that were most important to us for our big day. We stayed true to our vision of a micro wedding and reached out to Elope Australia, who were able to plan our whole wedding day. This took away the added pressure of having to arrange every little detail ourselves. We highly recommend this process!

Style inspiration.

We would have loved to jet off and fly overseas to Italy or France; however, we decided to choose a venue that gave us a similar feeling. We chose Mont du Soleil for its timeless beauty and charm and picturesque landscape scenes that surround the gorgeous property hidden away in regional Victoria. The venue looked like nothing we had seen before; it was as though a piece of Tuscany had been brought to us. Mont du Soleil was so unique; we just knew this was where we wanted to get married.

We wanted a very intimate, relaxed, fun and authentic ceremony surrounded by our closest friends and family, one where everyone could enjoy a bite to eat and a glass of bubbles.

We held our wedding during the day while the sun was shining and bottles of bubbles were flowing; it was perfect and exactly what we envisioned for our day.

The ceremony.

Where do I start? There were so many special moments for us.

Ben and I chose not to read out loud our vows, as we are both not big fans of public speaking. The night before, we mustered up the courage and decided to go ahead and read out our vows at our ceremony. We realised how important it was for us to share our thoughts and feelings towards one another with our friends and family. It ended up being one of the highlights of our wedding day, not just for us but for our guests.

Ben: My father passed away around five years ago from cancer, so our wedding day was one of the first happier family gatherings we’ve had, and it was just so special to look around and see all the smiling faces.

Kat: Being surrounded by our immediate friends and family was so special to us, and we were so grateful to have them there sharing in our special day. Ben and I still say to this day that we believe autumn saved its best day for us. The sun was shining, and the clouds cleared, delivering us perfect weather for our outdoor wedding day.

The look.

I started looking for my wedding dress around two-three months prior (I always leave things to the last minute). I visited a few wedding dress stores and tried on a range of dresses and was tossing up between two. I chose one in a mad panic (I would highly recommend not rushing the dress buying). The day I went to pick up my dress, I cried as I no longer liked the way it looked on me. The supplier was so amazing about it all and managed to arrange for another dress to be available for me to pick up that following week. My dress featured a modern scooped neckline, structured bodice and a thigh-high split to create movement through the body, and I added the sheer sleeves as I felt this elevated the elegance of the dress.

Ben’s suit was simple; he knew he wanted a sleek black suit and bow tie. He purchased the first suit he tried on at Politix.

Favourite moments.

Every morning since the beginning of Ben and I’s relationship, we have enjoyed our morning coffee together. We stayed true to this tradition and woke up early in the morning to watch the sunrise and sip our coffees together. We had a good giggle about our nerves and took some Polaroids to mark the moment.

Meaning of marriage.

Marriage to us is a symbol of the vow we’ve made to choose each other each day. That we put our love first and continue to grow not only in this life individually but as one.

Wedding soundtrack.

Processional: Bloom by The Paper Kites

Signing: Nothing Else by Angus & Julia Stone

Recessional: Until I Found You by Stephen Sanchez

First dance: Can’t Help Falling In Love by Haley Reinhart

Funny stories or near disasters.

Not long after the ceremony concluded, a bird pooped on my wedding dress (nothing a makeup wipe or five couldn’t remove); after all, they say it’s good luck, right?

Ben grabbed the wrong champagne bottle (the very expensive one) to use for the spraying during our “champagne showers” moment.

Planning surprises.

The wedding planning can become quite overwhelming with so much decision-making going on. It requires quite a lot of energy and time to email and follow up with endless numbers of venues/vendors, etc. Ben and I decided in the early stages to reduce this stress and pressure and chose to invite Elope Australia to plan our day for us. Elope Australia arranged everything from the venue to the champagne tower and all the little details in between.

Words of wisdom.

Kat: Stay true to you.

Ben: Soak it all in. Be present as often as possible because the moment goes quickly.

For another stunningly styled take on the intimate wedding day, check out Sam and Adel’s elopement. Sophisticated contemporary elegance, dreamy surrounds and the perfect approach to a smaller celebration, all in one wedding.

KAT & BEN’S VENDORS

We booked our micro wedding through Elope Australia, which we found via Instagram. The packages they offered suited our budget, and the whole process was super easy. They provided us with a range of options to choose from, and all we had to do was pick one. The team was super friendly and made themselves available to answer any calls and emails we had. Elope Australia was able to arrange and coordinate all the vendors on the day and ensure the day ran smoothly.

Ceremony and reception venue: Mont du Soleil, Emerald

Planner: Elope Australia

Celebrant: Kate, our celebrant, made us both feel so comfortable and played a big part in building our confidence, especially when reading out our vows.

Photographer: Our photographer, Anne from White Shutter Photography, was AMAZING. I was very familiar with her style of work from past events, as well as featured weddings on Instagram, and she also captured our engagement party. Anne has a creative eye like no other, and she did a superb job at capturing all of our special moments.

Videographer: Directors Edge

Florist: Edward & I.

Make-up: Emma, Embellish Makeovers.

Hair: Styled by Nicole Whitty

The dress: Kyha Studios

Veil: own

Shoes: Nina Shoes

Earrings: Temple of the Sun Jewellery

Rings: Unique Diamonds (bride), James Allen (groom)

Suit: Politix

Bow tie: John Henric

Cake: Flour & Sugar