Real Wedding – Lucy & Harry, Ceres VIC

 

Lucy and Harry first met when they were partnered together at a golf competition – at age 14! Years later, when they crossed paths again, the sparks truly flew and are still so evident in their breathtaking wedding celebration.

Harry’s input into their dream day brief was simply for an epic party – box absolutely ticked – but these two also managed to do so with stunning aesthetic appeal. Their celebration is a vision of crisp contemporary lines, fresh modern elegance, and timeless style.

Choosing a monochromatic palette in classic black and white, Harry and Lucy worked with their stylist and planner Weddings of Desire to create a look that is sweetly simple, with mega impact. Thick garlands of blooms elevate natural timber textures to create a dynamic floral wall, in classic tones of ivory and cream, among endless layered greenery. Stylish silver candelabras add a touch of timeless glam, all lit by endless festoons of fairy lights and a sea of glistening candles.

Lucy stepped into this gorgeous setting in a silk organza dream by the talented Luci Di Bella. As she walked towards her husband to be, the emotions were epic – all captured to perfection by photographic artist Katie Harmsworth.

Scroll on to see the stylish magic unfold!

The meeting.

We were partnered up in a golf competition when we were 14. We came dead last! We re-met at a friend’s going away party four years ago. The rest is history.

 

The ‘one’.

For me, there wasn’t one defining moment. I think you just know!

 

The proposal.

It was just after a lockdown at the end of 2020. Harry had planned on proposing down at his farm, but we couldn’t get there due to the ring of steel. So, he called my parents to say he would hold off a little longer until we could get to the farm, but my mum told him she couldn’t possibly hold the secret in any longer, and he had to do it that coming weekend. So, it was a very low-key proposal; Harry got down on one knee over an egg and bacon roll in the botanical gardens! It was perfect.

 

Planning process.

The planning process was so much fun! I actually really miss it. We had planned our entire wedding during lockdowns, and it wasn’t until maybe eight weeks out from the wedding that the roadmap was announced. Up until that point, although I had locked in the big-ticket items, I had put off doing a lot of the nitty-gritty stuff, just in case, we had to cancel or move it. I hadn’t even ordered my invitations! From that point, it was all systems go! Of course, having Laura as our planner made it easier as she was all over everything!

The lead up to the wedding was such a fun time. There’s such a buzz of excitement. Harry and I were able to stay pretty relaxed throughout the whole planning process and the lead-up. We really just took it all in and really enjoyed the process.

 

Style inspiration. 

We knew we wanted something in the country, ideally down Geelong way, as that is where Harry grew up. During my first conversation with Laura, she said she thought she knew the perfect place – Rosemont. Rosemont was the only place Harry and I looked at, and we instantly fell in love.

In terms of the styling, Rosemont speaks for itself. I really wanted a garden feel, lots of greens and white. Having the trees and all the flowers behind the bridal table in the marquee was such a beautiful feature, and it really did bring the garden feel inside.

We really wanted to keep everything pretty classic, timeless and relatively simple. We carried this through to the table linen, candles and glassware. We kept the furniture really simple, too, opting for white bar tables and stools in the canape area and plain natural chairs in the marquee.

Harry only had one request when it came to the wedding, and that was that it was one big party! That was fine by me! We made sure all the formalities were done by 9pm so we could hit the dancefloor until 12.30am.

For inspiration, real weddings helped me! I loved when everything was tagged, especially vendor-related elements. Hearing people’s experiences helps with what to expect or what to look out for. I loved then going onto the vendor’s pages to see the different work they had done.

 

The ceremony.

We opted for a church ceremony. Originally, we were having the ceremony at the local church, but due to restrictions, our wonderful minister was able to perform the ceremony off church grounds at Rosemont Stud. It was a beautiful ceremony in the garden at Rosemont.

 

The look. 

When it came to the dress, I did not shop around at all. I knew before I walked in that I would be getting my dress made by Luci Di Bella. I had heard amazing things, so I knew she was the dressmaker for me. I originally thought I would do a strapless dress, but I am a whole of 5ft nothing, so Luci explained that to give me extra length having something over the shoulder would elongate me. The brief was something simple and classic, and the dress came together pretty organically. Luci was pretty much just throwing material over my head, and we would hold it in different spots until we liked how it looked. We settled on a stunning silk organza which is incredibly light and beautiful to wear.

I had one dress fitting in January and went home and bought my shoes that night. I opted for a ridiculously high Aquazzura pair and somehow managed to keep them on all night.

I wore my grandmother’s pearls down the aisle, and once I took my veil off after the ceremony changed earrings to something a bit more dramatic.

Harry went straight to Angela for his suits. He opted for a traditional black tie for him and his groomsmen. His shoes were a simple black oxford from Morjas.

 

Favourite moments.

It was all incredible but, if I had to pick one moment, it would have to be walking down the aisle and seeing Harry for the first time.

 

Meaning of marriage.

Marriage to us is about being a team. It’s a lifelong commitment of love, support, friendship and growth.

 

Wedding soundtrack.

Aisle (bridesmaids): You and Me

Aisle (bride): Can’t Help Falling in Love

Recessional: Shut Up and Dance

Reception entry: Sky Full of Stars

Our first dance song was Dancing in the Moonlight. We wanted to keep it lighthearted, given Harry and I have four left feet between us!

 

Funny stories or near disasters.

My sister (maid of honour) got covid just before the wedding. Back then, it was two weeks quarantine, and she got out the day before the wedding! That’s one way of getting out of bridesmaid duties!

I was still in my pyjamas when all the busses with our guests had arrived. Katie, my photographer, was like, right, I think we need to get the dress on! In my mind, I had planned on doing the big reveal to my bridesmaids and dad, but there was no time for that! I literally had my four bridesmaids strip me off and throw the dress on! I quickly walked out to the kitchen area, so the guests didn’t see me, and dad was like, oh, you look nice. The positive to this was that there was no time to panic! We literally got dressed and were walking down the aisle ten minutes later.

 

Planning surprises.

The seating chart is by far the hardest thing! Everyone laughs when I say this but honestly! Harry and I went back and forth for weeks! Then, five days before the wedding, we had to change our marquee to get a floor in due to predicted poor weather, and we went from five long tables to four – it turns out it didn’t rain! Nightmare!

 

Words of wisdom.

Stay relaxed, enjoy the moment and don’t sweat the small stuff! The weekend goes so quickly! Soak it all up.

 

 

Love the idea of celebrating your dream day under the stars? We talk through some of the important issues to consider, to ensure your day is a beautifully epic party, without the stress. Check out all our tips on the blog, here.

 

LUCY AND HARRY’S VENDORS

I started at all the obvious places: Instagram, Ivory Tribe, etc. I spent hours stalking weddings I had seen on Instagram and reading the blogs. I knew I wanted an outdoor, country wedding. I reached out to Laura from Weddings of Desire pretty early in my planning and instantly knew I would be in safe hands working with her. What I love about Laura’s weddings is that every single one looks different! She has this amazing ability to take the couple’s vision and bring it to life. There’s no cookie-cutter approach with Laura.

Ceremony & reception venue: Rosemont Stud, we were introduced to this location by Laura.

Photography: Katie Harmsworth. Katie was found on Instagram! From memory, her Instagram bio said she had very limited spots left for 2020; I reached out and couldn’t believe my luck when she said she was available. We had a couple of facetime meetings, so we never actually met until the day of the wedding. I felt like I had known her forever; she was so warm and made everyone feel so comfortable; she also brought a lot of humour to the day. I think that is captured in her photos.

Videography: Bas – Love Soldier

Styling: Laura Browning – Weddings of Desire

Florist: Prunella. I let Laura do her thing with selecting the florist, she knew what I wanted in terms of the whites and greens and lots and lots of roses, and she couldn’t have picked better. Prunella provided the most stunning flowers! They were so clever in the way they complemented what was already at Rosemont.

Hair: Rebekah Jansz. Bek has been cutting my hair forever; she also happens to do the best blow wave in Melbourne, so I had to have her there!

Make-up: Viv Roche make-up. I was referred to Viv by my friend who was a make-up artist in a past life, and Viv did not disappoint! I literally did one trial a few weeks before the wedding, and she nailed it.

The dress & veil: custom Luci Di Bella – Luci and her team were amazing!

Shoes: Aquazzura. I needed something tall, and these were the perfect shoe for me.

Rings: Michael Albrecht. Harry designed my ring with Michael. He was amazing, and I highly recommend him.

Bridesmaid’s dresses: Custom White Story. We designed the dresses with White Story, and the insanely talented Lil brought them to life.

Suits: Angela Nicolades

Catering &  bar: Smith & Co. When it came to selecting a caterer, we went straight to Mill from Smith & Co. We had eaten her food before and knew we needed her on our team. Mill is an absolute wonder woman. Not only is her food hands down some of the best food you’ll ever eat, but she was so amazing to deal with. She was so helpful when it came to selecting our menus; her suggestions and recommendations were always perfect. Her staff were all so friendly and impeccably trained. I don’t think there was an empty glass all night. They were all over everything!

All our guests still talk about how delicious the food was and how great the service was! I think that’s so important at a wedding.

Cake: A good friend, the very talented Phillipa Margetts.

Stationery / Signage: Ivory Stone – Bec was so easy to work with. We had our green theme from the start, knowing that that was going to be our colour scheme for the styling, so we set the scene with our stationary. Beginning with our save the date and moving to our invitation, we used the dark green writing and dark green envelopes on white card. Our menus were the same greens. Bec’s stationery is so beautiful and classic, and we adored it! So much so Harry wanted to take the seating chart home.

Entertainment: DJ – Nick Rutherford, Sax – John Henry, live singers – Jack and Jordan. Rutherford Entertainment was another no brainer for us. We knew Nick would make our wedding, which he did. We were recommended John Henry by Rutherford, and my gosh! He was the real MVP!

Unfortunately, the original singers we booked pulled out a couple of weeks before due to some vaccination requirements. Laura jumped straight onto this and managed to secure Jack and Jordan! I truly believe everything happens for a reason because those boys were truly insane and completed our wedding. Their manager Leighton was a legend and so easy to deal with.

Décor: Memphis Hire

Hire: White Top Venues and Table Art Event Hire

Other: Bridesmaid’s pyjamas – Jasmine & Will