Real Wedding - Lachlan & Bridgette, St Arnaud VIC

July 4, 2022 In Green, Latest Posts, Outdoor, Pick Your Colour Palette, Real Weddings, Rustic, Wedding Styles By Kathryn Brandt

Real Wedding – Lachlan & Bridgette, St Arnaud VIC

We adore a country wedding and when Lachlan popped the question to Bridgette, with the classic phrase, “so will ya?” they set about planning their wonderful wedding day in St Arnaud at a 100-year old farming property which had much meaning to them both.

With their ceremony being held at the front of Bridgette’s parents home they were all about including their much-loved families, including marriage advice from grandparents and having their mum’s as their witnesses, creating an emotional but very happy ceremony where guests could barely wipe the smiles from their faces.

They kept their day rustic chic and used an abundance of gum leaves, hay bales, and black and gold details to highlight the incredible property, while they danced the night away.

The day, especially the magic shots from golden hour, were captured beautifully by Sarah-Jane van Ruiswyk.

The meeting.

Typical growing up in a country town, we knew of each other but there are a few years in between us so we never really crossed paths until I (Bridgette) was home from Melbourne for the weekend and we matched on Tinder. Our conversation started with Lachlan giving me a pull through and the rest is history. The next week we met up at the St Arnaud Rodeo (lol) and we have been together ever since.

The ‘one’.

We have both talked about this and don’t know if there was an exact moment, more of an unspoken understanding of what was important to both of us and that we get along so well. Like many girls, I kissed a couple of toads before meeting Lach so I was very aware of what I didn’t want ‘the one’ to be and his kind nature and big heart won me over straight away.

The proposal.

The illusive question was popped very unexpectedly. Me being the ultimate planner who was sure I would know when and where it would happen (i.e had a manicure prior to climbing Ayers Rock just in case) but Lach completely surprised me by proposing while putting the sold sign on our house. Lach had been working in a shearing shed that day and I couldn’t figure out why he was being such a pain about not having good clothes on for the photo… makes sense now. He then asked very eloquently, ‘So will ya?’

Planning process.

What was the inspiration behind the style of your wedding?

I am a self-professed Ivory Tribe addict and read the Real Weddings section like a morning paper so had a great start when it came to the type of style we would like for our day and I proceeded to stalk every wedding held on a farm to find vendors, quirky styling pieces and fun inclusions for the day which resulted in a ‘Rustic Chic’ sort of style with an abundance of gum leaves, hay, black and gold details and subtle hints of dirt.

Style inspiration.

The things that were most useful in Real Wedding blogs I found was the list of vendors at the bottom. We had to postpone our wedding from October 2021 no thanks to everyone’s least favourite C word and as a result a majority of our original vendors were booked for our new date. The vendors list was an absolute lifesaver in finding new people to be part of our day. As well as the music list… choosing songs for your wedding is quite the task so getting some inspo is very handy!

The ceremony.

Our ceremony was held out the front of my parents house on the farm which is around 100 years old and where my Poppy grew up. It was so lovely getting ready in the house and driving in through the gates for the ceremony. It was also so important for us to include our family in the ceremony so I had both my parents walk me down the aisle and had my grandparents give their advice for marriage as well as our Mum’s as our witnesses. It was such an emotional but incredibly happy ceremony and we loved looking around and taking in all the smiling faces there for us.

The look.

This was another tricky one thanks to the big C. I knew what I wanted my dress to look like after working in bridal but had to get the ball rolling when there was the ring of steel around Melbourne meaning that I had to choose someone regional. Luckily the amazing Bron at Bendigo Bridal Collections is one of the best dress makers I have come across and was able to bring my vision to life from a sample gown and an Instagram photo. My amazing Aunty made my earrings to match my dress and I got my shoes from The White Collection. I loved being able to take my overskirt off after the ceremony and have a more party style dress.

The boys’ suits were sorted out by Grant Rule, also in Bendigo. Trying to get 5 boys fitted and organised was like trying to herd cats but we got there and they looked very handsome on the day. We wanted to keep with the rural theme of the day and the boys’ suits and RM boots really tied it all together.

Favourite moments.

This is a hard one! I think my favourite moments were my Dad seeing me for the first time, seeing Lach waiting at the end of the aisle so full of emotion/Lach seeing me coming down the aisle and the dancefloor after all the formalities.

Meaning of marriage.

Marriage means choosing each other every single day. The good, the bad, the hard work and the happiness and all of it being worth it because you did it together.

Wedding soundtrack.

Ceremony Songs:

Aisle: How will I know by Sam Smith (Bridesmaids) and Can’t help falling in love by Kina Grannis

Signing The Registry: Stand by me by Kina Grannis

Exit: Forever You & Me by the Teskey Brothers

Reception Songs:

Entrance: You Got the Love New Voyager Radio Mix by The Source, Candi Staton, New Voyager

First Dance: Beautiful Crazy by Luke Combes (Feat Leon Bridges – live version – us playing – a little less countryfied

Father/Daughter Dance: Sweet Child O Mine by Guns N Roses

Funny stories or near disasters.

There were a few! My creative vision for the gum leaves in the roof of the shed didn’t account for the weight of said gum leaves so the boys (our main ‘get sh** done person’ Jason) had to use tractors to lift them up and add extra wires so they didn’t decapitate people. We also had a little fire incident in the toilets made from hay bales (que VicEmergency app) but luckily this was a ‘near disaster’. We (me) also read that spraying your face with Mortein will keep the flies away. So we gassed ourselves before the ceremony. Did not work. Swatted flies all day.

Planning surprises.

The importance of having a good team on the day. We absolutely adored our photographer SJ. I have now claimed her as a fellow Kath & Kim fanatic/BFF. We had so many comments on how her and our Videographer Bas just blended into the day and they made it all so easy.

Words of wisdom.

Having read many of these before I know that lots of brides say “just enjoy your day, it goes so fast” but it truly does and it is the best day of your life. I made sure I felt really organised and that there was nothing left for me to do on the day (I was cooked from running around like a nut) but that allowed me to be so present on the day and take it all in. Don’t try to talk to every single guest (sounds a bit rude but) otherwise you spend your whole night watching rather than being in the moment. And remember why you are there in the first place, take a minute with your new husband/partner and look around at the pure joy all for you two.

Bridgette adored the real weddings we shared to inspire her for her own dream day, if you’d like to see the latest and greatest real weddings, head here.

LACHLAN & BRIDGETTE’S VENDORS

Ceremony and Reception location: Knights Family Farm, Gre Gre VIC

Celebrant/Officiant: Jan Dunlop

Photography: The MVP of the day- Sarah-Jane van Ruiswyk

Videography: Love Soldier Weddings

Styling: Planning To Party, St Arnaud

Florist: The Petal Press

Hair: Styled By Kim Watson

Make Up: Nat Phelan- The Makeup Hub

The Dress and Veil: Bendigo Bridal Collections

Shoes: The White Collection

Rings: Russ Studios Halls Gap