Real Wedding – Olivia & William, Adelaide Hills SA

Olivia and William chose the beautiful Adelaide Hills to celebrate their once in a lifetime moment and it’s easy to see that this winery wedding was an absolute winner.

Living in Sydney, this perfect pair knew they needed an extra set of hands to help them with planning their wedding. Enter planning superstar, Luci of Poni Studio, and all their wedding prayers were answered. Working together to create a simple but oh-so-elegant atmosphere, there was very much a relaxed and romantic feel to every aspect of their day.

The natural landscape of the winery provided a beautiful backdrop, so they styled with soft neutral tones and a focus on fabulous florals with contrasting foliage. The result was effortless and didn’t detract from the lovely location.

Ripple Weddings were by Olivia and William’s side to capture all the magic.

The meeting.

We met in 2015 through friends on a night out at a local Adelaide pub

The one.

When I secretly purchased a puppy and when I bought him home, Will was just as excited as I was.

The proposal.

I managed to accidently ruin the proposal plan Will had four times, but he finally popped the question after dinner on Manly beach. It was a complete surprise, and just how I wanted it, minimal fuss and just us.

Planning process.

I had 18 months to plan our wedding, so I made sure to be super organised to ensure it would be everything we wanted. I had the help of incredible wedding planner Luci (Poni Studio) who perfected everything. I made sure I booked everything super early so that I could spend the rest of the time paying attention to styling and all the finer details. Living in Sydney, I managed to find most of my vendors in Sydney and Melbourne, and luckily, they were all able to fly in on the day!

Style inspiration.

I wanted to incorporate the natural landscape of the winery into the styling, keeping it simplistic with soft neutral tones and a focus on florals. Simplistic but elegant was the inspiration, with neutral colours and contrasting foliage for texture.

The gown.

I tried on quite a few dresses from various designers in Sydney, but there was always something I didn’t love about the fit. I had a vision in mind of what I wanted so I decided to get my dress made. I knew that I wanted a detailed dress with a bohemian element to it. I found my dream fabric at a store in Sydney sourced from Valentino. I worked with a dress maker for over a year to create a strapless gown that was fitted at the top, but then flowed at the skirt with a slight train. I didn’t want anything too puffy and my dressmaker Yulia really worked with me to get the right shape and feel.

Favourite moment.

The bridal party entrance – we all danced into the room in couples to ‘The dog days are over’. It was lots of fun and very surreal having all our friends and families greeting us with such love and excitement. It made us feel very lucky to have such amazing friends and family in our lives.

Meaning of marriage.

Marriage to me means getting to grow old with my best friend, and having someone I can confide in. We get to go through all the good and bad times together and support each other through it all.

Wedding soundtrack.

Aisle: Ed Sheeran – Give me love

Recessional: The Lumineers – Hey Ho

Reception entry: Florence and the Machine – Dog days are over

Funny stories (or near disasters).

15 minutes into our car ride to the wedding, I had a feeling I had forgotten something. After listing off a million items, I realised I had forgotten my veil, luckily the bride can be fashionably late and we could go back and get it.

Planning surprises.

The amount of detail that is required. I work in strategy and planning so I loved every minute of it, but the amount of work that goes into a wedding was a lot more than I expected – I ended up hiring Luci, wedding coordinator extraordinaire, and I honestly couldn’t have done it without her. It meant I had absolutely nothing to worry about on the day.

Words of wisdom.

Plan ahead, and book early – it meant that on the day I could just focus on enjoying myself and the moment. Also get a Luci of Poni Studio on you bride tribe of suppliers – couldn’t have done it without her, and made the day as stress free as possible.

South Australia has the cream of the crop when it comes to wedding venues. We share with you some of our favourites as well as some top tips for getting married in this stunning state. Head here to read more. 

OLIVIA AND WILLIAM’S VENDORS

Ceremony and reception venue: Golding Winery – Golding’s were unfortunately affected by the SA bushfires, and we were so incredibly lucky that we were still able to have our wedding there in the beautiful grounds. They went above and beyond making sure our day was perfect.

Celebrant/Officiant: Cecilia White – Cecilia tailored our ceremony to make it exactly what we wanted. I was most nervous about walking down the aisle, and she made the process as smooth and calm as possible.

Photography and videography: Ripple Weddings – Eddie and Lucy from Ripple Weddings in Sydney were our power couple photographer and videographer. Will and I are the worst posers in the world and I really wanted candid, natural photos. I fell in love with their work, and they were able to fly down from Sydney to capture our day.  Eddie and Luci made it the most incredible and fun experience for us, capturing candid moments, and I love all our photos and wedding video.

Planning/Coordination: Luci of Poni Studio – Luci was my savior throughout the lead up to the wedding and on the day. Two weeks out from the wedding Luci took over everything, and liaised with every vendor booked, making it a seamless process and lead up. Luci thought about every single tiny detail, and was on hand to help with any advice or words of wisdom that I needed. On the day, Luci had everything organised, which meant I did not have to worry about a thing, and nor did our families. Anything that needed altering Luci was on top of, and I honestly couldn’t have done it without her. Luci’s attention to detail and eye for style, allowed me to create the perfect wedding. I would highly recommend Luci and Alison, as they work together on most weddings and are a great duo!

Styling: Myself with the help of Luci, Ali and Alison

Florist: Alison of The Petal Project – I met Alison through my bridesmaid Ali on New Years Eve, and one week later she was our wedding florist. Alison went above and beyond for our wedding, to the extent of driving all the flowers over from Melbourne the day before the wedding. I flew to Melbourne to discuss inspiration and ideas, and from there Alison had full control to create our wedding florals and bring my ideas to life. Alison created exactly what I wanted and more, using a colour scheme and floral types that really suited the venue. I really wanted the focus to be on the flowers at the reception, and the hanging foliage really captured that.  Her arrangements were beautiful, and she worked hard to make sure everything she did matched the styling of the day.

Hair: Lucy – Belissimo Hair –

Make Up: Ashley Sequeira Make-up Sydney

The Dress(es): Custom made by Yulia McCauley

Shoes: Tony Bianco & Aquilia

Rings: James Thredgold Jewellery

Bridesmaid’s dresses: Scanlan Theodore

Groom and groomsmen’s suits: Tailors of Distinction (Groom) Ferarri Formal wear (Groomsman)

Cake / Cake topper: Heidelberg Cakes

Stationery / Signage: Alexandra Creative –  My very talented bridesmaid Ali has her own business Alexandra Creative. Ali designed all our wedding stationery, making sure it went with the style of the wedding, and florals. Her work is absolutely beautiful.

Entertainment: The Happy Leonards – I really wanted everyone up and dancing at the wedding, and the band made it happen, everyone loved the music and they created a great atmosphere.

Hire: Hygge Hire and White Marquee – Hygge supplied all our beautiful pieces & White Marquee are chairs and gin bar!

Linen: Honoured Hire

Honeymoon: Seychelles