Real Wedding – Lou & Griff, Lake Connewarre VIC
For Lou and Griff, their engagement provided the best excuse to throw one hell of a party on a beautiful private property, surrounded by all their favourite family and friends.
With a sumptuous feast provided by catering faves Truffleduck, it ensured all the guests had the energy to dance all night long as they hit the dance floor to incredible tunes.
There to capture all the magic was Tribe shutterbug Tony Evans.
The meeting.
We met through a friend at a dinner party and then had a sneaky kiss at the pub after the races five years ago.
The ‘one’.
I’m not sure, but on our first date we were out on the town until 3am having a really fun time, so that was a good sign!
The proposal.
We were on holiday in Bryon Bay which was a surprise trip for Griff’s 30th. He then surprised me by proposing on my birthday while we were having a picnic of sushi and champagne on Tallows Beach.
The planning process.
Luckily, we had a huge amount of support from our family including my sister who is an event manager and was a huge support along the way, particularly with the bigger items such as furniture hire and catering. Griff’s parents prepared their property beautifully and his sister Anna Loughnan supplied and arranged all of the flowers. We then just had to decide on the smaller things like, music and what to wear!
Styling inspiration.
If we were going to pick one, I guess it was a garden party. We had a lot of help from our families and Memphis Hire who were fantastic at sourcing items to fit in with the rattan themed furniture.
The dress.
It took me a while to decide. I went to One Day Bridal and fell in love with the skirt, but I wasn’t sure about the top, so I decided to just get the skirt. I only made this decision two months before the wedding so didn’t have a lot of time to find a top. I went to Claire Home Designs, a friend of my mothers who had also made my sister’s wedding dress. I showed Claire some photos from Pinterest, then she whipped something up that I fell in love with straight away. Claire did such an incredible job at pulling the top together in such a short time frame!
Favourite moment.
Getting to marry our best friend! And seeing each other for the first time at the start of the ceremony.
Traditions.
I wore a blue brooch that was leant to me by Griff’s mother.
Meaning of marriage.
The coming together of two best friends and their families. But more importantly it’s the ultimate excuse to have the biggest party we’ll ever host and have all our family and friends there to celebrate the new year!
Wedding soundtrack.
Aisle: Heartbeat by Jose Gonzales
Reception Entry: A Sky Full of Stars by Coldplay
First Dance: Sherry by Frankie Valli and the Four Season then Jubel by Klingande.
Funny stories (or near disasters).
Griff’s father mowing the marquee lawn an hour before guests arrived still wearing his pyjamas.
Planning surprises.
The emotion we both felt on the day was quite overwhelming, particularly at the ceremony. Also, just how excited all our guests were to celebrate with us, it was very humbling!
Words of wisdom.
Enjoy the lead-up to the big day and make sure you take some time during the day to share some one-on-one time with your new wife/husband. Our photographer Tony Evans made sure we did this while the sun was setting, which was one of our favourite moments of the day!
Final words.
The whole experiencing is just incredibly fun! Organising a wedding is the perfect way to bring both families and friends together and enjoy the celebration. It is overwhelming how much help everyone provided in the lead up and on the day, we can’t thank our families and wedding party enough!
Lake Connerwarre is a sensation backdrop for any day, and Greg and Ash’s day had all this and more.
LOU AND GRIFF’S TRIBE
Ceremony and reception venue : Private Property on Lake Connewarre
Celebrant/Officiant: Marion Church
Photography: Tony Evans Photography
Videography: Little Cinema
Florist: Anna Loughnan Flowers
Hair and Make Up: Blondie Hair and Cosmetica
The Dress: One Day Bridal (Skirt) / Claire Home Design (top)
Veil / head wear: Hatmaker (Head band) / Veil borrowed from by sister originally made by Claire Home Design
Rings: Michael Albrecht
Bridesmaids dresses: Alice McCall
Groom and groomsmen attire: Oscar Hunt
Catering: Truffleduck
Cake: Family friend Susan Weddell
Entertainment: Rutherford Entertainment
Hire (marquee, furniture and lighting): Memphis Hire
Transport: McHarry’s
Honeymoon: Jervis Bay, New South Wales