Real Wedding – Marni & Nigel, Beaufort VIC
Marni and Nige’s wedding was the best of black-tie elegance meets Australian homestead vibes. Having always imagined a wedding under a marquee but with lashings of class, these two stunners reached out to superstar planners Tierra Events to help design their dream.
Bloom babe Holly of Flower Queen fame enhanced the natural majesty of the landscape with blossoms in whites and dusky pinks, bringing a fresh elegance to the beautiful bush surrounds.
Marni wore a Spanish-inspired gown and knockout headband by Claire Home Designs, with subtly stunning make-up by Tribe star Cassandra DeBruin. Standing alongside her and her two bridesmaids was her brother and bridesman, a choice which we wholeheartedly love!
The perfect touch to their timeless theming was the dazzling smiles on Marni and Nige’s face, captured in all their effervescent radiance by Nic Stephens Photography.
The meeting.
I actually was a plus one to Nigel’s 21st many years ago. But it wasn’t until many years later that one of my best friends started dating one of Nigel’s best friends. Whilst at a good friend’s 30th party at the Marquis of Lorne in Fitzroy, with my friend and her boyfriend, (Nigel’s friend) and meeting up with another couple that also shared a mutual friend in ‘Nige from Lake Bolac’. So, we got together and sent him a group selfie. He later messaged me on Facebook, wanting to come and have a drink with us all. We had our first kiss that night, and haven’t really been apart since.
The ‘one’.
Probably when Nigel agreed to come to a family Christmas lunch, especially when we had only been dating for a month or so.
The proposal.
We enjoyed a lovely lunch at Oneday Estate over the long weekend in March. It was such a nice day we took a walk along Thirteenth Beach, which was very sentimental; as a family we had always holidayed in Barwon Heads. I had no idea what was going to happen, and then Nige dropped to one knee and asked me to marry him.
We celebrated over a beer at the Barwon Heads pub together and then went on to celebrate with my parents in Barwon Heads.
Planning process.
I didn’t love it to be honest. I had always dreamt of a marquee wedding, but doing it all on our own was a little tricky. We wanted a venue that would allow us to bring in a lot of our own suppliers. We really wanted to use local and people that we knew personally.
We knew we wanted Paula Symons, a local lady from Lake Bolac and a family friends of Nigel’s, as our caterer. Her food is amazing, and she definitely delivered on the night.
We decided on Eurambeen Homestead in Beaufort as it was half-way between Lake Bolac (where Nige is from) and Ballarat (where I am from). Ian and Sarah at Eurambeen were absolutely incredible, no ask was too big, and they were so helpful. They hadn’t had a large marquee wedding onsite before but were open to allowing us to have a Hampton marquee on the lawn overlooking the Pyrenes mountains.
We looked for local suppliers and came across Tipi Tribe, who are local to the area and were by far the greatest asset to our wedding. I still say that without Kara from Tipi Tribe (who is now a friend), our wedding wouldn’t have happened! They provided the most stunning Hampton style marquee, which I loved. Kara also provided me with bar staff who were amazing. She also saved the day when a slight issue occurred with our flowers.
We engaged Caroline at Trove Hire and Style, as we wanted a professional touch for the finer details of the day. Caroline helped with styling tips, assisted with the set up the day before, and did all the tables and styling the morning of the wedding.
My Mother also did a lot of the styling. She arranged large trees from a local nursery, large cane baskets, hydrangea plants, lanterns and cushions. She has an amazing eye, and it all came together so well.
Style inspiration.
Classic provincial. We knew we wanted black tie, so that really helped set the style for the wedding.
The look.
I always knew I wanted Claire from Claire Home Designs to make my wedding dress. I knew exactly what I wanted. Claire said I should try on some wedding dresses before our consult, which I did, but I definitely didn’t love the experience. I loved the champagne and lunch with friends, though!
I got a lot of my inspiration from Spanish wedding pages on Instagram; Susana Tornero (@ynosfuimosdeBoda), Novias Con Encanto (@posdatalola), El Vals de la Novia (@elvalsdelanovia), as their wedding dress style is more sleeves and classic dresses, and buttons. I didn’t want anything to slinky or revealing, or something that in years to come I would regret that was too on-trend.
Claire was amazing and completely understood my style. She made my dress, my veil and headband and also my Mother’s incredible coral dress.
Favourite moments.
I have three.
Definitely walking down the aisle and seeing Nigel. It completely overwhelmed me, more than I thought it would.
Walking into the reception. I honestly hadn’t given it too much thought, and we picked the song that week. But seeing all our guests up clapping us in was incredible, and I have never felt so much love.
A common song played at weddings is ‘I will wait’ By Mumford & Sons. Nige and I go to many weddings, and whenever it would come on I would say, “I will wait”… well, until a point when I thought maybe he would never propose. But as that song came on at our wedding, we were lifted up by friends on shoulders, and it honestly felt like the whole wedding was on the dance floor! We have such great footage of the entire dance floor jumping during this track.
Meaning of marriage.
It’s a commitment to each other that we will always be there for one another, will support each other during the difficult times, and share the best moments together.
Wedding soundtrack.
Aisle (close friends): Heartbeats by Jose Gonzalez
Aisle: Only Love by Ben Howard.
Reception entry: Jubel by Klingande.
First dance: Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison.
Funny stories or near disasters.
Bless my father-in-law, he had arranged all the cool rooms for the wedding and as we were busy setting up the marquee and table, he decided to park one of the cool rooms that had a large cartoon penguin on it saying ‘For Hire’ just outside the marquee in line with the bridal table. So, any photos taken of Nige and I at the table from a certain angle would have had a large picture of a penguin in the background.
It was only until after he had unhooked it from the car and set up the power that we realised. So I had to ever so kindly ask that he please move the large penguin cool room! He took it well, and it was moved it out of sight of the marquee.
Planning surprises.
Probably organising all crockery, glassware and kitchen equipment to have a sit-down meal for 166 people. As we didn’t have a wedding planner, we organised it all ourselves. It was just a lot of planning that we haven’t really thought about too much, yet was very crucial.
Words of wisdom.
Go with your heart. We organised our wedding in ten months, and it was a lot of work but it was 100% worth it. And I would do it again tomorrow.
Invest time and effort into your vendors and trust them; they make your wedding come together. And don’t be afraid to do things differently, to be true to what you want as a couple and not what other people want you to do or have.
Last words.
I had a difficult time picking bridesmaids. I had been a bridesmaid seven times and just knew I couldn’t have them all, as much as I wanted to.
I decided on my sister and my brother, as we are a very close family, and I definitely wanted my brother involved. I also went with my oldest best friend.
So, one of the best decisions I made was to I invite the five best friends I had been a bridesmaid for, to get ready with me. We had champagne and lunch and laughs, and they helped me into my dress. They also preceded my bridal party down the aisle. I wanted them to feel important as they are so important to me and made my day so special.
It was something different, which I loved, and I loved having my brother in my bridal party too. He flew in from London and was a great addition to our wedding party.
Newly engaged? Congrats! Wedding planning can seem daunting at first, but we have some super-helpful tips from the wisest of wise – our real wedding couples! Check them out on the blog, here.
MARNI & NIGEL’S VENDORS
Ceremony and reception venue: Eurambeen Homestead, Beaufort.
Hampton marquee : Tierra Events. Unbelievable to work with, the best in the business. They made our wedding come together.
Celebrant/Officiant: Isabella Henricus. A dear friend and guest of Nigel and I’s. It was so amazing to have a personal touch to our ceremony.
Photography: Nic Stephens Photography. Absolutely incredible, he was easy going, friendly and we love our photos.
Videography: Lynsey Swan. A friend from Nigels work, it was her first wedding and we absolutely love our wedding video.
Styling: Trove Hire and Styling for set up the day of the wedding. Caroline was gorgeous to work with.
Florist: Flower Queen. Holly is a true professional. She totally understood my style and kept my dream of a hydrangea bouquet alive.
Hair and make-up: Cassandra de Bruin. Amazing. I absolutely loved my make-up, and I’m not big on wearing a lot of make-up. Cass was especially understanding of my eye-liner phobia.
The dress, veil and headband: Claire Home Designs. The most amazing dressmaker. I loved everything about my dress; the sleeves, the details of the buttons, Claire’s idea of the large bow at my back. She is the very best.
Claire made both my veil and the headband which I put on for the reception.
Shoes: Bianca Buccheri
Rings: Terry and Helen Counting
Bridesmaid’s dresses: Manning Cartell
Groomsmen’s suits and bow ties: Formal Red
Catering: Paula Symons Catering. A local from Lake Bolac. The food was outstanding, and we loved having Paula a part of our wedding.
Bar: Tipi Tribe. Attentive and professional.
Cake: No cake, we had Magnum and Drumstick ice creams for dessert.
Stationery / Signage: I did that myself. A lot of time at Officeworks the week of the wedding.
Entertainment: Good Faces 4 Radio. The lead singer is from Lake Bolac and a friend of Nigel’s, they were incredible, they really had the best music and the dancefloor pumping.
Transport: Mahoneys Bus Company.
Décor: Linen, Little Black Sheep.
Hire: Pure Vibe Event Hire, Ararat.
Honeymoon: Byron Bay. Actually, a group of our best friends got together and organised our honeymoon for us as a wedding gift. It was a complete surprise, we knew they had booked something but I actually thought we were going to Lorne. They told us at our recovery day they had booked flights and accommodation at Atlantic Byron Bay. It was the best.
Other: Our getting ready outfits were from Pomme. My best friend Emily is the co-founder and designer of Pomme. The bridal wear is so stunning, and it was an honour to wear it getting ready. I now luckily have two sets (the other from my sister’s wedding).
