Real Wedding – Kelly & Grant, Dixons Creek VIC
Real Wedding – Kelly & Grant, Dixons Creek VIC
Real Wedding – Kelly & Grant, Dixons Creek VIC
Real Wedding – Kelly & Grant, Dixons Creek VIC

Real Wedding – Kelly & Grant, Dixons Creek VIC

 

Post their perfect engagement, Kelly and Grant set to work and planned a wonderful Yarra Valley wedding that they knew would bring some wow!

This laid back pair wanted their day to have a relaxed, yet romantic feel to it and they achieved this by ensuring that every choice they made in the planning process was a true reflection of them both.

Weaving native flowers and simple greenery into their styling, they fell in love all over again as they saw each other for the first time.

The party didn’t stop for Kelly and Grant as they danced all night under the stars and Jackson Grant was the talent behind the lens.

 

In Kelly’s words…

 

The meeting.

Grant and I met in 2009 at a local pub that we both worked at. I was 18 and Grant was 20, and he was one of the managers of the pub at the time, and I was a waitress and bartender. We were friends at first, but after about two or three weeks of hanging out, one of our friends (who ended up being our MC at our wedding) asked us “so are you guys going out yet or what?” and it was at that point that we were inseparable!

 

The ‘one’.

I think we’ve both always just known from the beginning, but we went travelling on our first overseas trip together in 2011 to South America where we camped and lived in each other’s pockets for four months. I remember thinking if we could survive that, surely we’d survive anything, and I knew Grant was the one I wanted to marry one day!

 

The proposal.

I had just finished my nursing degree, and Grant organised for us to have a lunch date in the city at the Rockpool restaurant in Southbank. We both had the day off work and took an Uber into the city as we’d be celebrating the end of my degree with lots of wine. At the restaurant, after we finished our mains, Grant said he was going to the toilet. I thought he was taking a while and when he returned I asked why he took so long. He just said that he was checking out the huge wine collection, which was on display inside. I totally fell for it, but little did I know that he was actually wording up our waiter to come and take a photo of us, and that he was going to ask me to marry him! So the waiter came to our table to top up our drinks, and Grant asked him to take a photo of us. We were sitting opposite each other at the table, and I was just waiting for the photo to be taken whilst sitting there, but Grant came round to my side and knelt next to me for the photo. Next minute, he’s turned to face me on one knee and presented the most beautiful ring to me and asked if I’d marry him! We have the whole proposal on camera thanks to our waiter! Grant then surprised me with a helicopter ride over the city, and we spent the rest of the afternoon bar hopping on Southbank and even scored a couple of free drinks!

 

The process.

As soon as Grant proposed, it was on! We started off by researching venues, and within a couple of months we had booked Immerse Winery after spending a day in the Yarra Valley checking out all the venues. Once that was booked, everything else just started to fall into place. My sister (and Maid of Honour) helped me quite a lot with the planning and inspiration, and we’d be researching or booking things just about every day! Grant helped with making the big decisions along the way, but other than organising the groomsmen’s suits, he was happy to just let me do my thing and plan the majority of it! I really enjoyed the wedding planning process and I’m quite an organised person so it was pretty cruisy, however it was a little overwhelming at times because I was also in my first year of my nursing career.

 

Style inspiration.

We knew that we wanted to have our wedding at a winery as we are both big lovers of wine, and so are our families! We loved that Immerse had accommodation rooms for our guests, because we just wanted everyone to have a big party! We are both quite relaxed, and wanted our wedding to be a true reflection of who we are on the day. We really loved the wedding venue and let it speak for itself. We used native Australian flowers to decorate and style, and incorporated simple greenery on the long tables to match our wedding stationary. Overall we were aiming for a more modern and classic style of wedding, and we think it all came together perfectly on the day!

 

The dress.

My dress was designed by Kara Jade, who is just amazing! I had looked everywhere for the perfect dress and even flew up to Queensland with my Mum and sister to check out a store up there but had no luck. When I booked an appointment with Kara to attend her studio and try on some of her designs, I was absolutely blown away by every single dress, but I knew as soon as I tried on the dress I ended up wearing on the day, it was definitely ‘The One’! I couldn’t stop thinking about how beautiful it was and how perfectly it suited my low maintenance style. It was exactly what I had in mind right from the beginning!

 

Favourite moments.

Oh my gosh, too many to choose from! I absolutely loved getting ready with my bridesmaids and Mum on the morning of the wedding and spending the night away with them the night before. We both loved the actual ceremony, and were so happy to share our love for each other with the most important people in our lives. Another favourite moment was at the end of the night when all our guests lifted us up for the song ‘Tiny Dancer’ by Elton John, which is a really special song for Grant’s family especially. Finally, the after-party outside just topped off the night! We had our friend (who was our DJ) set up his decks outside under the rotunda and everyone partied til the early hours of the morning.

 

Meaning of marriage.

Marriage to us means a million things, from being there for each other through the hard times and fun times, supporting each other and sharing life’s moments together. Marriage to us means growing old together and laughing through life whilst enjoying each other’s company.

 

Wedding soundtrack.

Aisle: Tenerife Sea by Ed Sheeran

Signing: Sweet Disposition by Temper Trap

Exit song: Wake Me Up by Avicii

Entrance song (reception): Levels by Avicii

First Dance: Never Tear Us Apart (Paul Dempsey version)

 

Funny stories (or near disasters).

We were very fortunate to not have any major disasters on the day or during the lead up! We had a few minor hiccups along the way, such as Grant’s suit, which needed extra alterations at the last minute, and he accidentally left his pocket square at home on the day. Overall it was just the most perfect day!

 

Planning surprises.

We were shocked at how tedious organising the seating plan was! Initially we weren’t going to do one because we wanted our guests to mingle with each other, but we realised we really liked the idea of having a traditional sit down meal with an organised seating plan. Other than that, we were both surprised at how cruisy the whole wedding planning process was, as we’d heard horror stories from other people about how stressful planning a wedding is!

 

Words of wisdom.

Don’t stress! Everything will fall into place. Just enjoy the process and give yourselves time to research what you’re looking for. Don’t be afraid to tell suppliers exactly what you want (politely of course!) because at the end of the day it’s your day and you want it to be the most memorable day ever!

 

Last words.

We wanted to thank the amazing suppliers who made our day just amazing, we couldn’t have done it without them! Our wedding day was honestly the best day of our lives and we will never forget how special it was!

 

 

Zara and Daniel also used the Yarra Valley as their beautiful backdrop, head here to see the whole shebang.

 

KELLY & GRANT’S TRIBE

Ceremony venue / location: Immerse Winery chapel – absolutely stunning venue in the Yarra Valley. The staff were incredible and very supportive, and helped the day flow beautifully.

Reception venue / location: Immerse Winery restaurant

Celebrant/Officiant:  Family friend, Felicity Fritsch. Felicity grew up with Grant’s older sister, and she was extremely laid back, friendly and professional, which is exactly what we were looking for in our celebrant.

Photography: Jackson Grant. What can we say! We are absolutely thrilled with the photos he captured. The photos he took at Immerse were so different compared to other wedding photos taken at this venue. We love his style and how well he fit in on our wedding day.

Videography: Andrew Hardy. The video he captured was amazing, and he worked so easily alongside Jackson. Both of them were such a pleasure to have on our day!

Styling: The venue speaks for itself with its beautiful interior, and we let our florist go wild with her amazing styling ideas. Our gold wine glasses were from Neue Blvd.

Florist: Mutual friend, Aimee Cox – When Frankie Met George. Aimee was such a darling to work with! Her amazing style and attention to detail was just amazing. When she brought in our stunning Australian native bouquets, my sister and I cried because of how beautiful they were!

Hair: Brooke Weiss – Blunt & Co. This girl is so talented! Effortless and classic is what we wanted to achieve, and our hair all looked amazing on the day!

Make-up: Makeup by Amelia Webb. Such an amazing makeup artist and extremely friendly and professional. Our makeup was just beautiful!

The Dress: Kara Jade from Kara Jade Designs. Kara has made dresses for a couple of my friend’s, and I was so blessed to have her make my dream wedding dress.

Veil / headwear: Kara Jade Designs. My headpiece I wore at the reception was the headpiece I wore at my Valedictory in year 11.

Shoes: Spurr, from the Iconic.

Rings: Ringwood Jewellers

Bridesmaid’s dresses: Shona Joy

Menswear: Bell & Barnett, Eastland.

Catering: Immerse Winery

Favours: Say it With Cookies

Cake / Cake topper: Assorted cheeses from small family business Coldstream Dairy in the Yarra Valley. Personalised cake topper from Sign & Co.

Stationery / Signage: Template downloaded from Etsy, by ‘Paper Dainty’.

Entertainment: Friends, Mitchell Macaulay ‘Macca’ was our DJ, and Matt Darvidis was our acoustic guitarist.

Transport: We had our friend’s Mum drive her mini bus to transport guests staying in accommodation around the corner to the venue.

Honeymoon: Sri Lanka and the Maldives




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