Real Wedding – Mikaela & James, Springhill VIC

The fabulous Camp David Farm was the idyllic chosen location for Mikaela and James to exchange vows and host an incredible reception to kick off married life.

They wanted their day to have a completely relaxed feel to it so that their guests could simply delight in the atmosphere and roam while feasting on fabulous food, drinks and enjoying incredible tunes from our favourites at Hey Jack.

Mikaela made an entrance as she took to the aisle and when they stood up front and declared their love for each other, guided by Tribe celebrant talent Pete,  they couldn’t believe that they had pulled off the ultimate celebration – it was everything they wanted and so much more.

It was important to this darling duo that they were supported by an incredible team of suppliers and they leaned on them for their advice and expertise and what resulted was a fabulous affair captured perfectly by Tahnee Jade Photography.

The meeting.

We met at a BBQ through mutual back in 2012.

The one.

Mikaela: I don’t actually know when it hit me that he was the one. From day one we hit it off, I felt like we’d known each other all our lives. I was unapologetically myself and he just embraced it and took it all in, from my foul mouth to my weird sense of humour and the chaos that is my day to day life, and just ran with it. He walked beside me as though I was his equal and accepted me for exactly who I was.

James: I knew Mikaela was the one pretty early on into it. The way she was from the start was just so incredible. The way she cared for her family and friends was amazing! She is always putting everyone else before herself. The person she is, is unlike anyone I have met before. She always knows how to lift my spirts, supports my ambitions and goals but mostly makes sure I don’t run crazy with my ideas. Without her I really don’t know where I would be today.

The proposal.

James recreated a holiday in Port Douglas that we had previously been on where I fell ill and was unable to do anything for the short amount of time we were there. He booked the same accommodation and everything. We were down on the beach when he got down on one knee and proposed. I of course said ‘yes’.

Planning process.

The whole process was pretty relaxed as we had already spoken about it all prior.  We already had a pretty clear vision of what we wanted it was just about finding our dream team to bring it together.

Style inspiration.

I’m not really sure what our style was. We knew we wanted a relaxed vibe where everyone could roam around, eat, drink, dance and have a laugh. I had seen the tipi tents set up in a photo on Instagram and thought they looked incredible so I knew that was a must have for our day.  The rest we just sort of picked to suit us and what we wanted on the day.

The outfits.

Mikaela – My dress was not actually at all what I went in looking for. I was looking for something with spaghetti straps and a loose laced up back. However, I didn’t feel secure in anything when I tried it on. The dress I ended up choosing, I knew it was the one right away! All I changed was the lining colour underneath and it was perfect.

James – I was looking for a mid-grey suit look, without the jacket, so it was still kind of casual. I tried one on but wasn’t sure. When Mik showed me a photo of a wedding posted on someone’s page, I decided to try it on and instantly changed my mind.

Favourite moment.

Mikaela – I would have to say my favourite part of the day was the ceremony itself, there was a lot of laughs and the ceremony was so perfectly suited to us that it was so relaxing, even with everyone’s eyes on us. That being said, seeing the reception space come to life was also very high up there on my list.  I had spent so long putting it all together that seeing it come together in the end was amazing. I remember standing back with James at one stage and just looking around at everyone.  Both of us said this is EXACTLY what we pictured.
James – Hard Question! The whole day was incredible and exactly as I had imagined it to be. But I think my favourite moment was seeing Mikaela for the first time that day.

Meaning of marriage.

Mikaela – To be honest marriage to me is a further commitment to a life already shared together with shared goals that you are both working towards and supporting each other to achieve.
James – Marriage to me means a very strong commitment to one another that should never be broken as you support each other through everything in life.

Wedding soundtrack.

Aisle: Mmm – Laura Izibor

Certificate Signing: Then – Brad Paisley

End of Ceremony: The Bones – Maren Morris

Reception Entrance: Let’s Get Married – Jagged Edge

Parent Dance: The Horses – Rickie Lee Jones

Bridal Waltz: You Make It Real – James Morrison

Exit Song: Signed, Sealed, Delivered – Stevie Wonder.

Funny stories (or near disasters).
Mikaela – I forgot my veil and didn’t notice until the venue coordinators commented on it as I was about to walk down the aisle. I also lost an earring as I got out of the car (which we found the next morning), my dress also got caught on my foot as I was walking down the aisle so by the time I got to James at the end I had to un hook my dress from my foot and then replace the other earring that had fallen out, it was all really glamorous… NOT!
James – At the exchanging of rings I had been joking with Mikaela for months about which finger I had to wear my wedding band on as when I proposed I almost put it on her wrong finger. But on the day when we exchanged rings, Mikaela was holding my right hand to put the ring on whilst repeating after Pete when someone kindly pointed out that she should maybe put it on the right hand. We lost it with laughter, and I said I thought it was going to be me who stuffed that up!

Planning surprises.
To be honest nothing really surprised me, I went into with a really open mind and just tried to be as organised as possible. I think the only surprising thing is how quickly it all comes around. 1 second I was telling James we had 18 months the next minute it was a week away.

Words of wisdom.

Lock in your big ticket items first, the rest of it just falls into place when you have the right team.

Final words.
Just want to give massive shout out to our dream team of suppliers who made our day what it was. Our day would not have been nearly as special without their time and effort leading into and on the day. Words will never be enough to express how thankful we are to each and every person who was a part of our day, so much appreciation to those who were there along our journey.

Camp David Farm is the ultimate venue for those looking for a relaxed and romantic celebration, just as this one was. Head here to send a request to check this place out. 

MIKAELA AND JAMES’ VENDORS

Ceremony + reception venue / location: Camp David Farm
Lori & Caroline made our whole process with them an absolute breeze, nothing was too much trouble any questions we had were quickly answered and they were an absolute pleasure to deal with. Lori was never too far away and was an absolute gem in helping ease my stresses the day before with set up and full of laughs and stories the morning after.

Celebrant/Officiant: Pete the Celebrant
Pete was incredible, I was worried that we were not going to find a celebrant to accurately represent our relationship exactly as it is and Pete NAILED it. We shared many laughs telling our story with him and when we receive the first draft of our ceremony we literally laughed out loud at the accuracy even down to the exact words that Pete had used. We were also lucky enough to have him MC for us and bail our best man out of what was an unprepared but hilarious speech.

Photography: Tahnee Jade Photography 
I have no words that do this woman justice! She is so incredibly talented and down to earth that you just want to keep her around forever. Tahnee makes you feel as though you’ve known her for your whole life, she is a photo ninja that captures moments so perfectly and without you knowing but also down for an adventure and heap of laughs to get every aspect of your day. We cannot thank her enough.

Styling: Style By Ashleigh K
Ash was a dream to work with, she took every idea I had and made it a reality. I showed her photos and insp of what we had been looking at but weren’t quite sure where to start with it and she came back to me with everything sorted she had as much of a vision for our day as we did and we knew that we had left our styling in the right hands. Plus she even showed up the day of her sisters hens party with her mum to style our wedding nothing says dedication more than that!!!

Florist: Raven and the Rose
Ame is so incredibly talented when it comes to flowers it blows my mind!! I gave her the most vague description of what I wanted for florals on the day because I know nothing about flowers and the vision board she sent me back was exactly what I was looking for. I was absolutely blown away by the flowers on the day from such a brief description she brought my ideas to life.

Hair: Ro Joe Hair and Hair by Amy Felton
Naomi & Amy are such talented hairdressers. I was lucky enough to have them both on my dream team for my special day.
I remember the morning of the wedding both of them asking me what I wanted done with the hair for the wedding and I literally shrugged my shoulder because I didn’t know where to start and between the two of them they came up with a perfect hair style for my bridesmaids and something just as beautiful for myself. They were both so cruisey to work with. I knew we were definitely in the right hands.

Make Up: Ricci Jean Makeup
Ricci came highly recommended to me by so many people that I couldn’t stop myself from enquiring with her as soon as she told me she had my date available I booked her. I didn’t even think twice and I am so thankful. She is so into everything she does the excitement for weddings and make up radiates from her and she brings such an amazing energy that you can’t help but be excited with her around.

The Dress(es): – bridal dress – Madison James

Catering: Happy Camper Pizza
The team at happy camper were so easy and stress free to deal with. Any questions we had were answered quickly and with no fuss. The team we had on the night absolutely knocked it out of the park with service and feeding our hungry guests and the food was AMAZING! The team at happy camper were nothing short of professional and so easy to deal with cannot wait to get my hands on some more of their pizzas once Carona Virus is over!

Bar: Liquid Fusion
The team at Liquid infusion were a dream to deal with. From my initial enquiry the response was instant and they were more than willing to work with us in making our drink list personalised to our day instead of just the basic beer and wine package we were able to include a cider and a few others which we appreciated. The team checked in along the way and even the night before to ensure they had everything sorted and we had NO RUN OUTS!!

Favours: Emily’s Custom Biscuits
Emily has an incredible talent for all things biscuit and cupcake related. We have had custom cupcakes from Emily in the past and when we asked if she would be interested in doing our wedding favours she instantly agreed. She worked closely with us with different designs and ways to display the cookies that we used for our favours and even worked tirelessly the days before to get them done. She is an absolute joy to work with.

Entertainment: Hey Jack
Hey Jack was recommended to us from Camp David Farm and from the minute I heard Jordyns voice I knew I had to have her! For me the music was one of the most important parts to my day, I knew what I wanted but wasn’t sure if I was going to find it. Jordyn’s voice was everything I had pictured for my day and when she said they could couple it with a DJ I knew the search was over. The whole process was easy and fun no questions were too hard and everything worked effortlessly. Our guest are still talking about how our wedding had the best of both worlds musically and we cannot thank them enough.

Tipi – Tipikata
The team at Tipi Kata made the whole process of getting our tipis so simple. The pricing was straight forward and the packaging was well thought out and worked for exactly what we needed. Prior to the wedding we touched base to see if they had any tipis being set up that we could go and view so I could show James the full affect and Juliette was very quick to provide the opportunity I was looking for. Their team was full of help and support and so relaxed even when I changed the whole lay out the day before the wedding. Thank you all so much.

Dessert Table – Sweet mummas
Words cannot describe the thought and incredible eye for detail that Sonia and Annie have.
We went to them knowing we wanted a grazing table and some deserts and from there they took what little amount of information we gave them and turned it into the most AMAZING grazing table followed by deserts that were to die for!!! When we were undecided on what we needed or how much or which types of deserts to go to they were both there with ideas and advise even deciding to try a new type of desert for us. Our guests had full bellies and continue to tell us how amazing the grazing table was and the deserts spoke for themselves because neither James or myself managed to get our hands on any of them.