Real Wedding – Kelly & Nathan, Bellarine, VIC
The weather gods were looking after Nathan and Kelly on their perfectly picturesque wedding day held on the beautiful Bellarine Peninsula.
Bathed in sunshine, Nathan and Kelly only had eyes for each other as Kelly took everyone’s breath away in her Craig Braybrook gown.
It was a relaxed and elegant affair with Kelly and Nathan ensuring they built a Tribe of talent around them that brought their dream day to life. Captured by Stephlee Photography, enjoy the beautiful moments as they unfold.
IN KELLY’S WORDS…
The meeting.
Nathan and I first laid eyes on each other in my driveway six years ago. Long story short, he moved a car that was parked in the driveway that was stopping me from getting out. I told my girlfriend I thought he was cute. A few Facebook messages later we went out on our first date and now we’re married. I often wonder how different my life would be if he never moved that car.
The one.
I don’t think there was ever an actual moment where I realised Nathan was the one. It was more a feeling that evolved over the first few months of us being together. He was unlike anyone that I had ever met, so open, honest and sure of who he was and what he wanted out of life. I know it sounds cliche but when you know you know, and I felt that very early on in our relationship.
The proposal.
Nathan proposed on the beach in Wye River at sunrise. We had gone away for the weekend and were up early to see the 12 Apostles. We stopped off for a walk along the beach and to have breakfast in Wye River on the way. I was taking photos on the beach and Nathan told me to stop where I was so he could take a photo of me with my back to him facing the sun. When he told me to turn around he was down on one knee, asking me to marry him. I was so shocked and surprised all I could do was laugh. It took me so long to say anything, he had to ask me what my answer was because his knee was getting wet.
The planning.
We had originally decided to get married in 2017 but ended up bringing the wedding forward to April 2016, giving us only really eight months to plan, so everything happened really quickly. As we got married out of Melbourne and everyone had to travel, it was important to us that we made getting to and from the venue easy for everyone and they were well looked after on the day. I loved the whole planning and lead up to the wedding, I even surprised myself at how relaxed and calm I was leading it up to it. I was just so happy that nothing could of phased me. I think the biggest thing for us (which made it so easy and stress free) was when we found something we loved we didn’t question it, we booked it and moved on. We didn’t confuse ourselves with other options.
Style inspiration.
Nathan’s family have a caravan in Ocean Grove so we spend quite a bit of time down that way and we knew we wanted to get married somewhere that had meaning to us and felt like it represented who we are. Nathan loves the beach and I love the country and we both love wine so when we found Terindah Estate we knew it was the perfect place for us to get married as it has all of these elements in one. I styled the wedding myself and I don’t think we ended up with one particular look. We had an idea of how we wanted it to feel and I went from there. We were so happy with how it ended up looking, with help from all our amazing suppliers it exceeded our expectations.
The dress.
I had an idea of the type of dress I would wear and had always wanted to get one made. I came across Craig Braybrook on Instagram and fell in love with his dresses. When I went to see him it was such an easy decision to choose him to make my dream dress. He is the nicest person and just understood exactly what I was after. It was so nice to work with him and come up with my dress together. It’s a nice feeling wearing a dress that is made completely for you that represents who you are and your style and that no one else has.
Favourite moments.
Having my Dad walk me down the aisle and seeing Nathan standing there waiting for me. We stopped at the top of the aisle for a few seconds and I remember looking up and seeing Nathan smiling back at me, with the beautiful backdrop and the flowers and I remember thinking to myself I will never forget this moment. It felt and looked like a fairytale. Being able to share that moment with all our loved ones made it all the more special.
Traditions.
My Nan and Pop and also my Mum and Dad got married on the 15th, so when we saw Friday the 15th we knew it was the right date to choose.
The meaning of marriage.
Marriage to us is the ultimate commitment to each other. Accepting and loving one another for exactly who we are, good and bad. It’s the idea of knowing that no matter what life throws at you that you always have someone to help you tackle it. It’s enjoying the good days and knowing that most days will be like that but when things aren’t so good, well that’s ok too. You work together to get through it, as the bad times and over coming them are what truly makes you stronger as a couple.
Wedding soundtrack.
Aisle: XO cover by John Mayer
Signing of the papers: Truth by Bloc Party
Recession: Sky full of Stars by Coldplay.
(All played acoustically by Lark Music)
Reception entry: Uptown Funk by Bruno Mars
Father/Daughter dance: Little Ray of Sunshine by Brian Cadd
Bridal waltz: Fire and the Flood by Vance Joy (acoustic version)
Words of wisdom.
Enjoy every moment possible. The lead up is such an exciting time that doesn’t need to be made stressful. You want to look back and know that you made the most of it, not be upset that you let stress ruin it for you. On the day, really make a conscious effort to take it all in. It’s so easy to let the day fly past so quickly. Take a moment with your new husband to look around and go ‘this is pretty bloody amazing’. A very good friend of mine that got married six months before us told me to try and have everything organised two weeks before the wedding so you can really enjoy the lead up and not be running around doing little things, this made such a difference.
KELLY & NATHAN’S TRIBE
Ceremony/ Reception Venue: Terindah Estate, we fell in love with it as soon as we saw it. Tiffany and the staff there are amazing.
Celebrant: The amazing Jo Betz, this girl is a dream to work with. She made us feel so relaxed and comfortable and everyone that met her on the day said how lovely she is. I feel like I made a friend in her and miss our chats via email.
Photography: Stephlee Photography. Finding the right photographer for your wedding is a big decision as you want the photos to be perfect and Steph was the perfect one for us. So relaxed and professional. We are so happy with how the photos turned out.
Styling: I did the styling myself and hired our chairs and arbour from Dress My Wedding, whose owners Tash and her husband are really great people. And our festoon lighting from Memphis Hire.
Florist: Moss Industry. Danielle is one of the best in the biz and an awesome chick to match. We wanted the flowers to be the main feature of the wedding and what she did blew our expectations. I couldn’t stop staring at the hanging installation all night.
Hair: I’m lucky to know some very talented people who helped us on the day, one of which is Sharna Caspersz. She is an awesome hairdresser that did all our hair on the day, such a big job and she nailed it.
Make up: One of my close friends Casey Malady who is also an amazing make up artist. It was so nice to have her there all day with us getting ready. She is so calm and professional, and nailed the looks we were going for.
Bride’s dress and veil: Craig Braybrook Couture. An amazing dressmaker and an amazing person. I couldn’t recommend him enough to anyone wanting their wedding dress made.
Bride’s shoes: Tony Bianco
Rings: Our good friend Bob who was one of our groomsman works at Superior Diamonds and helped us with our rings.
Bridesmaid’s dresses: Zimmerman
Groom’s suit: Suit Shop
Groom’s shoes: Windsor Smith
Groomsmans suits: Bossini
Favours: A donation made to SIDS and Kids
Cake: Another one of my very talented friends Camilla Clark from Bakewell & Co. I’ve seriously never tasted anything better than what this girl bakes.
Invitations: White Ink Design Co. We really struggled to find invitations we liked until I stumbled across Teneale’s Instagram page. As soon as I saw this one particular design I knew it was perfect. I just had to win Nathan over as they had pink flowers on them but he loved them as much as I did, well almost!
Sinage: I love Etsy and found loads of things on there for the wedding, including Shae from White Willow Paper who does amazing digital prints for you to customise and print off yourself.
Entertainment: Lark Music. They played through out the whole day and had everyone up dancing.
Transport: We used Matt from Coastal Kombi. Not only is his Kombi great he is a really lovely guy to match. He went above and beyond for us on the day.
