Real Wedding – Krista and Jon, Warrandyte VIC
Planning a wedding in just seven months meant that Krista and Jon had to be organised and decisive. Quickly curating a collection of A+ vendors meant their day was a flawless celebration of precisely who they are; a couple who, among many things, love fabulous food, cheese for days and delicious wines a-plenty.
For Krista and Jon, it was essential to include only those traditions that were important to them; a process we truly recommend to all couples getting married. This led to their choice to spend the morning getting ready together, maximising the emotion and excitement of the day.
A garden party theme set the scene for their guests to relax completely, and tunes by our friends Paper Hearts reinforced the upbeat vibes.
Even when Krista’s mind went completely blank as the first few notes of their carefully choreographed first dance began to play, these newlyweds were having too much fun to let it phase them and owned the dance floor until the beat kicked in for their friends and fam to join them.
There to capture all the radiant realness was one of our fave photographers, Jackson Grant.
The meeting.
Our story started like all good love stories…Friday night work drinks turned into flaming cocktails. Krista was out with one of her colleagues who happened to be a good mate of Jon’s. Jon was out with another friend of his for a quiet beer. We decided to combine groups and leave the local to go to a nearby cocktail bar. The rest is history.
The ‘one’.
It wasn’t one moment or one action; it was months and years of being beside each other loving and supporting each other the whole time.
The proposal.
To tell this story properly, we probably have to rewind some time. Krista had organised a picnic at Polperro Winery in Mornington for a Christmas present. We sat by a lake drinking wine and eating a great picnic in the afternoon sun. After several hours, Jon decided we needed some music, so he reached into his pocket, grabbed his phone and hit shuffle on Spotify. Our song came on, and I sat there thinking this was the moment he would propose. It was very awkward when Jon realised what was happening.
Fast forward about a year, and Jon knew he had to propose at Polperro. We had both recently been promoted, so it seemed the perfect location for a “celebration” lunch. After lunch, we went for a walk to the same lake and Jon got down on one knee and proposed. My response? “Why are you kneeling in mud!?” I said yes eventually once the shock wore off.
Planning process.
We had seven months from our engagement to when we got married and found most of the planning happened in the first two months. Jon kept a spreadsheet with our budget and costs (and ratings), so we could keep on top of everything. Once we decided what kind of style and atmosphere we wanted, we kept to a pretty short “shortlist” of suppliers. We were open-minded throughout but only ended up meeting a few providers from each service in person. We chose suppliers we were really comfortable with and trusted that they would make our day special. This meant that on the big day we could relax knowing we had an awesome crew of suppliers ready to make our day perfect.
Style inspiration.
We wanted it to feel like a relaxed garden party where people could enjoy themselves. We didn’t want anything to feel too formal or traditional. We emphasised great food, cheese and wine because these are our favourite things.
The look.
I had my heart set on a particular dress that I had seen on Instagram, but when I tried it on it wasn’t flattering for me. Luckily, Anna Campbell had another dress which as soon as I put it on, I loved. I only had to go to one store to find the one I wanted.
Surprisingly, Jon took a lot longer to find his outfit. We went to store after store and eventually ended up getting the jacket custom made from his suit maker. He was really happy with the result.
Favourite moments.
When I arrived at the ceremony and all of our friends and family were there. I’ll never forget Jon’s look of love and excitement. We were excited to discover the moment was perfectly captured by our photographer, Jackson.
Meaning of marriage.
Being with my person and committing to choosing them each and every day. It means choosing to be with someone that you want to share every moment, be it tough or joyous. It is about bringing two families together and being excited to grow alongside each other.
Wedding soundtrack.
Jon’s entrance: Bloom by The Paper Kites
Krista’s entrance: Feels Like This by Maisie Peters
Reception entry: September by Earth, Wind and Fire
First dance: I Am Yours by Andy Grammar
Funny stories or near disasters.
Story 1: We were quite nervous about our first dance as neither of us are big dancers. After teaching ourselves a bridal dance from YouTube and practising a ton at home, the instant the music came on, all the choreography went out the window! Luckily we were able to freestyle something and the DJ flipped to Whitney Houston after a minute which was the cue for our guests to come and rescue us! We had some good laughs, and the dancefloor was packed for the rest of the night.
Story 2: Jon and I did a combined speech. To make things easier, Jon colour coded the speech pages to make it easier to know who was going to say what. Unfortunately, light green wasn’t the best choice of colour for my bits and was basically impossible to read!
Planning surprises.
The seating arrangement was so difficult and took a lot longer than we thought. We wanted to make sure everyone would have a great night, so we spent a while making sure the tables were right.
Words of wisdom.
If there’s a tradition or something that doesn’t work for you, don’t do it or change it to make it work. Do what makes you and hubby-to-be happy. Jon and I got ready together with all of our bridesmaids and groomsmen and it took the pressure out of the day and allowed us to spend more time together. The wedding dress was still a surprise; I wasn’t going to pass on the opportunity to see him react.
Last words.
Jon put a photo of the moment just after he proposed on our wedding planner saying “Don’t forget this when things get stressful…” I think it really helps to step back and realise what you’re trying to achieve. It can get overwhelming at times, but it’s important to remember that you’re trying to plan a fun, loving event so as much as you can, try to make the planning fun as well.
Want to make your wedding morning as fun as the rest of the day? The best way to ensure a relaxing soiree for you and your besties is to make sure it is well planned, leaving you with nothing on your mind but bubbles and beautifying. We’ve taken the guess work out of this one with our wedding morning survival guide.
KRISTA AND JON’S VENDORS:
Ceremony and reception venue: The Farm Yarra Valley. The team were so accommodating and made planning our day so easy. It was a beautiful backdrop for the day! Our guests are still raving about the food and wine.
Celebrant: Erin McMahon, Sweet Wonderful You. So warm and an absolute professional. She spent time getting to know us and really tailored the ceremony to make it personal and just right for us. We liked that she gave us the option to have the ceremony be a surprise or revealed ahead of time, provided us with sample vows to get the creative juices flowing and was just genuinely a great person to have around on the day.
Photography: Jackson Grant. What a total legend! We really couldn’t have got a better photographer for our big day. From the first moment we met Jackson, through to delivery, he was a star.
He did such a ridiculously good job capturing every little moment and people’s reaction from the day. I don’t really understand how he teleported around the place, but he was able to capture everything from multiple angles, so we’re glad he had that in his toolkit. He was able to make our guests and us comfortable in-front of the lens too, leading to some great portraits.
We couldn’t be happier with the photo album (both electronic and printed) and will treasure the moments that he captured.
Videography: Jarryd Sinclair. He captured the magic of our day perfectly and we’re so glad we decided to get a video made. Jackson and Jarryd were really creative with their videography and we were over the moon with both the full videos they produced and the creative highlight reel. We’ve already watched it more times than we can count!
Florist: Flos Botanicals. Flowers were really important to me and Flos delivered beyond expectations. I nearly cried with excitement when they delivered the bouquets, and the arbour was incredible.
Hair: Wendy Bunnet via Tonic Agency.
Make-up: Holly Harnwell via Tonic Agency. Wendy and Holly from Tonic Agency worked absolute magic on the day transforming me. Tahli and her team at Tonic were fantastic to deal with, pairing me with artists they thought I would click with. They made the whole booking process so easy.
The dress and veil: Anna Campbell. I loved my dress from the first time I saw it. I honestly thought choosing a dress would be really difficult, but their dresses were so stunning I didn’t need to go to another shop! They expertly guided me through the options, fitted and altered the dress so that it was perfect.
Shoes: Jo Mercer
Rings: Diamond Exchange and Uniform Black. Both stores were incredibly easy to work with. Rhett at Uniform Black, in particular, was fantastic. Jon wanted something a little different for his ring and Rhett was so skilled in making his custom ring.
Bridesmaid’s dresses: Shona Joy
Groomsmen’s suits: Houndstooth Tailors. Andy from Houndstooth has been making Jon’s business suits for five-plus years. When it came time to custom make the wedding suits, Jon knew Andy was the one. Andy put lots of little special surprise flourishes (like “The Groom” under the collar etc.) and worked tirelessly to ensure the perfect fit.
Bow ties/ties: Peggy and Finn
Catering and Bar: The Farm Yarra Valley
Favours: Jon’s mum, Lesley! She lovingly baked and decorated over 200 cookies for us by hand. It was an incredibly special and generous contribution.
Cake: The Farm Yarra Valley and flowers by Flos Botanicals
Entertainment: Emma & Simon, and DJ Scott from Paper Hearts. Ryan from Paper Hearts was so good to work when planning. We felt incredibly special that they learned four songs for us, including our aisle songs. Every single guest commentated on how great they sounded…they set the tone so well for the day!
The DJ (Scott) had the dancefloor packed from first dance to close…I don’t think there’s a better compliment to give.
Transport: Schnelle Services Pty Ltd
Honeymoon: We spent a week in Lorne relaxing, 100% recommend after such a massive event!
Other: Olga Dziemidowicz who live painted our reception! Olga has created one of our favourite keepsakes from the day – we couldn’t be happier with her painting!
