Real Wedding – Madison & William, Healesville VIC

Embracing the sweet surrounds of the striking Zonzo Estate capella, Madison and William brought to life a chic celebration that was elegant as it was heartfelt. Modern minimalism, underpinned by classic sensibility, informed their every styling choice and the result is a harmonious vision of a dream day.

Madison, embodying the modern bride, donned a refined ballgown adorned with statement bow shoulder piece, perfectly suited to her chic bridesmaids in black. Florals by Stems Flower Market in creamy ivory add a crisp textural touch, with lush greenery to add flushes of freshness to the overall effect.

For a couple who have been friends since childhood, their ceremony was bound to be one filled with emotions—and happy tears flowed from the newlyweds and guests alike. It was an ode to the momentally lovely memories they created, all captured in stunning visual poetry by Tess Follett.

The meeting.

We met through church. Both our families attended the same church and so, we were always familiar with one another. As I got older, I started paying closer attention to Billy (and his charm – he was always a popular, charismatic kid) and very quickly developed feelings for him (although I can’t be certain he knew my full name at this point). As fate would have it, I became really close friends with his sister, and it wasn’t until a family holiday to Lorne did I feel that he began to notice me too. I spent a good three years obsessed with him, until we finally started hanging out – and the rest is history.

The one.

This sounds so cliché, but I never really considered him not being ‘the one’. I quite literally have been obsessed with Billy since I was about 14 and so I had fantasised about him being my husband for quite some time.

The proposal.

It happened in the most perfect way. With the help of my brother and his girlfriend, I was roped into a sunrise hike at Springbrook National Park. My brother asked me to join them for a hike so he could take some sunrise photos (one of his many talents includes photography). Given it was such an early start and we needed to drive from Brisbane, I reluctantly agreed.

So, on the 10th of September 2022, we all arose at 4am to make it in time for the sunrise. Not long after we had arrived and trekked to a beautiful scenic area of the mountains, Billy asked my brother to take some photos of the two of us. Billy got down on one knee and asked if I would love him forever (an ode to a long term inside joke). I don’t recall ever saying yes, just squealing uncontrollably. It was seriously the most magical, low-key proposal, and I have the most special photos that I will treasure forever.

Planning processs.

For the most part, it was fun and cruisy. I was, however, very stressed about choosing a venue. For us, the venue was one of the most important aspects of the day. We really felt that the venue would make or break our wedding and so a lot of time and effort went into choosing the perfect one. Once we had decided on Zonzo, I felt a lot of the other aspects fall into place.

The next thing we booked was our photographer. Photography was another priority for us. After a lot of research (I love research and don’t make decisions lightly), we booked the incredible Tess Follett. I knew all along that we were in wonderful hands and did not have to stress at all about our photography – I knew it would be incredible.

The second stressful aspect of the planning process was choosing a dress. I had bought one on a whim only a few weeks after getting engaged only to quickly realise she was not the one and I would need to go back to the drawing board. After countless shopping trips, I finally found Oh Hello Bride, and my dream dress.

Everything else was relatively cruisy, there were just a lot of late nights adding photos to my Pinterest board and choosing décor. We didn’t use a stylist, so I spent a lot of time shopping around for candles, candle holders, and vases etc. to ensure my minimalist dreams came to life.

Style inspiration.

Minimalism. While I’m not exactly a minimalist in my day-to-day life I knew I wanted my wedding to be clean, crisp, and timeless. This was one of the main reasons we chose Zonzo – it was classic without the fuss. I’m not one for big bold colors so I knew I wanted black bridesmaids’ dresses for the girls and black tuxes for the boys. At first, I was going to go with only white florals but was persuaded to add touches of green, and I am so glad I did because it freshened up the classic minimalist look.

The ceremony.

Utter perfection. In many ways, the ceremony was more important than the reception (it’s what differentiates a wedding from a party), so a lot of thought went into it. I had dreamt of walking down the aisle since I was a little girl, so I wanted that moment to be perfect, and it was.

I walked down the aisle to To My Future Wife by Jon Bellion. I had known since the early days of our relationship that that would be the song I would walk down the aisle to. Billy is not one to cry, I have seen him cry only a handful of times in our almost eight years together, so I was not expecting much. But as the chapel door opened, all I could see was him, and he was a blubbering mess – it was just so special, I will never get a moment like that again in my life. I was also incredibly nervous about my vows; I am a bit of a perfectionist and so I agonised over them until only a few hours before the wedding. I knew I had them perfect when my mum cried reading them before the ceremony – she is also not one to cry too much. Billy’s vows were incredible – he was nervous because he’s not much of a writer, but his were short and sweet and oh so heartfelt – so heartfelt, he even cried again.

The rest of the ceremony was just as beautiful, Billy’s second cousin Luke married us and he did the most fabulous job, he created the perfect mix between sentimental and entertaining. Billy’s brother Isaac and our good friend Nathan did a bible reading each and it was so lovely having them be a part of it.

The outfits.

I had trouble finding the ‘one’. After a failed attempt, I finally settled on a beautiful ivory satin one shoulder A-line dress with a massive train. The one thing I knew I wanted was a massive train, so anything that didn’t have one, I didn’t try on. As much as I loved my dress, I wish I could get married ten times, to wear all the dresses I loved, choosing one was so difficult.

Billy wore a classic tuxedo from Politix. Billy has always been a huge fan of their designs and so it wasn’t even a question which brand he would wear on our big day.

Favourite moment.

It is impossible to choose one moment. It’s a tie between the pre-ceremony drive in with my dad and my brother (my brother drove me in in his white Hilux – his beloved car), walking down the aisle and saying my vows.

Meaning of marriage.

We believe marriage is a sacrament, not to be entered into lightly. And while we had committed ourselves to each other long ago, it truly was the most remarkable feeling entering a lifelong partnership formally in front of our closest friends and family and brought us even closer together.  It means we have a best friend beside us, forever and ever, for the rest of our lives. It means that we can share the worst parts of each other without judgement.

Wedding soundtrack.

Aisle: To My Future Wife by Jon Bellion

Reception entry: Crazy in Love by Beyonce

First dance: Crazy Love by Van Morrison

Funny stories (or near disasters).

Fortunately, it was relatively smooth sailing in the grand scheme of things. The one thing that does spring to mind though is that I forgot to order my veil. I had the exact veil chosen out for months before and just had to decide on the shade. About a month before the wedding, I finally placed my order – or so I thought. Turns out I had just put the veil in the basket, filled out all my information and forgot to confirm it. About two weeks before the wedding I realised and had to fast track my order – which was stressful because it was custom made. But Kim from Kim Alpha Bridal was amazing and got the veil made and shipped in no time.

Words of wisdom.

Soak up as many moments as you can. Everyone says it, but the day goes so quickly, and you’ll want to re-live it over and over again. I wish I spent more time being present the morning of my wedding. Don’t get me wrong, it was magical but it went so quickly, and the nerves really started to kick in about lunch time so I struggled to be truly present.

Do what YOU want to do – it’s your day and more likely than not, your money, spend it how you want to. I spent a lot of time planning stressing about other people, and while I believe the guest experience is important, it shouldn’t supersede the couples wishes.

Don’t spend too much money on shoes, they will get trashed, save that money and use it elsewhere.

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MADISON AND WILLIAM’S SUPPLIERS

Ceremony and reception venue: Zonzo Estate – We would choose Zonzo a million times over, there was literally nothing we could fault about it. The venue, the scenery, the food and the service, 10 out of 10. We might be biased, but no one will ever convince me there is a better place to get married.

Celebrant/Officiant: Luke Tonkin – Luke is Billy’s second cousin and a licensed wedding celebrant. We could not fault him either, he had people laughing, and people crying. It was so special.

Photography: Tess Follett – Tess was a dream to work with. She was so calming to be around, and seamlessly floated around during the day, capturing all the best bits of our day perfectly. I have already told her I will be booking her to photograph all our babies one day.

Florist: Stems Flower Market – Stems were wonderful. We went in on a whim one day and within a matter of minutes had chosen all our flowers, thanks to the help of the wonderful staff there. The flowers were even better than I imagined, particularly our alter arrangements, they were so whimsical.

Hair and make-up: Georgie Kelly Makeup – Again, 10/10. Georgie was absolutely incredible. On her own, she did hair and makeup for six of us, she was an absolute trooper. I was absolutely obsessed with my look on the day and felt so beautiful. Even my mum was raving about Georgie, who did her hair twice because she was so indecisive.

The dress: Oh Hello Bride – Jodie was absolutely fabulous and a breath of fresh air. She has the most beautiful store and wonderful selection of dresses; it was enchanting to be in her space. She even made me my very own Barbie, complete with a mini version of my wedding dress.

Veil: Kim Alpha Bridal – Kim was phenomenal. I forgot to order my veil and within a matter of days she had created my dream custom veil and shipped it to me. It was a 4-meter-long ivory veil with a blusher and so beautifully crafted.

Shoes: Novo – As much as I had dreamed about a pair of Manolo Blahniks, I couldn’t justify the price. I ended finding a beautiful pair of ivory-colored tweed pointed pumps from Novo and even bought matching pairs (in black of course) for the bridesmaids. In the end, I am so glad I didn’t splurge on expensive shoes because they got absolutely trashed.

Rings: Cullen Jewellery – Billy’s best man Michael works for Cullen Jewellery and so we never even considered shopping anywhere else. My engagement ring is everything I have ever dreamt of and they effortlessly helped me create a custom wedding band. Billy settled for a classic yellow gold band with a beveled edge for a modern twist.

Bridesmaid’s dresses: Bianca and Bridgett – I will forever be obsessed with the bridesmaids’ dresses. I knew I wanted full length, but something a bit different. We ended up deciding on a black strapless maxi dress with a giant bow attached to the back, to match mine.

Suits: Politix – The boy’s suits were perfect. After much consideration, we decided on a classic tux and they boys looked so handsome. We will continue to buy from Politix, the quality for the price point is unmatched.

Bow ties / ties: Myer

Catering and bar: Zonzo Estate

Favours: homemade – My wonderful mother-in-law suggested we wrap mini blocks of chocolate and they went down a treat. My brother hand drew a caricature of Billy and I and designed a custom logo to be printed on beautiful ivory colored cardstock – they looked incredible.

Cake / Cake topper: Miss Ladybird Cakes – Gina was so wonderful and easy to work with. She created the most fabulous two-tiered wedding cake that not only looked beautiful but tasted incredible. So many of our friends raved about the cake.

Stationery / Signage: Mila and May – Our signage was the minimalists dream – understated elegance without the price tag. The quality of the products was incredible, and the designs were fully customizable so we could create our perfect set.

Entertainment: Little Wolf Entertainment – These guys truly are the best in the business. Tim, who was recommended to us by our good friends, played the guitar and sang during our ceremony and dinner, and hit the DJ deck come nightfall. I have Tim to thank for many of tears that fell down my face as I walked down the aisle. His voice made me feel all the feels.