Real Wedding – Phoebe & Ruwan, Bellarine VIC

Casual but classy, elegant but understated – Phoebe and Ru’s Bellarine celebration encapsulates the vision they set out to create, underpinned with an effusive sense of joy and romance.

With a reception entry dance-off between the bridesmaids and groomsmen, the inclusion of their gorgeous dog in their I Do’s, and a ceremony including perfectly personal elements and a lighthearted vibe, Phoebe and Ru did it their way so beautifully.

Aesthetically, an infusion of electric blue against a harmonious vanilla palette uplifts the overall effect, while soft sand jackets and chic black pants on the groomsmen give an elevated yet laid-back look.

Scroll on to see every effervescent detail of this stunning celebration through the lens of Kyra Boyer.

The meeting.

It all started with a Microsoft Teams message. Phoebe’s sister, Penny, is a self-proclaimed “cupid” who took it upon herself to set up a nice guy from work with her little sister/best friend. Penny asked if Ruwan (Ru) was open to a set-up and asked what his number one quality in a partner was. His answer was no to a set-up and that his partner must have good hand-eye coordination.

After months of back and forth, Penny wore him down. It was a Friday night in the height of covid lockdowns, watching the footy and few bottles deep, Penny sent Ru Phoebe’s Instagram page. Ru messaged Phoebe, “Is your sister always this demanding?” and the rest is history. We moved in together after four months, bought a house and relocated down the coast after 12 months and were engaged after two years.

The ‘one’.

Phoebe: Before the second date, he offered to pick me up because he knew how anxious I got when I had to find a park in a place I had never been before. I had only briefly mentioned this before our first date as I sent him a pin drop on where to meet.

Ru: When I introduced Phoebe to all my high school friends and she joined in to play basketball with all the boys and proved she had good hand-eye coordination.

The proposal.

We were on a family holiday in Fiji with Phoebe’s family, which happened to coincide with our two-year anniversary. We planned a cute little beach picnic, away from the family and resort, which is where Ru proposed.

Planning process.

I knew I didn’t want a long engagement, so within a week, I had booked the venue in for five months’ time. Some thought I was crazy but I knew I would be able to do it.  The short timeframe simply meant I had to make decisions quickly! It also helped having my sister’s wedding spreadsheet… that I may have copied a lot from!

Style inspiration. 

We wanted casual/cruisey but also classy, we knew we didn’t want a formal or black-tie wedding as this just wasn’t us.

I loved finding vendors through features on real weddings, particularly those that had a similar casual vibe to what we were after. I would then check out their social pages for more information and examples of their styles of work. I also saved a bunch of vendors my family and friends had used as I had seen their work in real life.

The ceremony.

Our ceremony was quite relaxed, we had our two nieces and nephew (aged two and under) come down the aisle and cause some chaos at the front, including one niece yelling on repeat “Hello Auntie, hello auntie.” It was never about having the perfect ceremony or wedding, we wanted one that felt like us, surrounded by those closest to us. We also had our fur baby, Bentley, walk down the aisle and be part of the day thanks to Wedding Paws.

We decided not to include the signing during the ceremony which we were very happy with. This meant a quicker ceremony and more time for the party.

We were also so happy to be able to incorporate some traditional Sri Lankan aspects including the lighting of the oil lamp, the exchange of betel leaves and the tying of the nuptial knot.

The look. 

I was very lucky and found my dress incredibly quickly at the second shop I went to, I knew immediately it was the one. I had searched on Instagram so had a pretty good idea of what I was after.

For Ru and the groomsman, I knew we had to go to Eddy Elias in Geelong. Both my brother and brother-in-law used Eddy Elias for their weddings and had the best experience. Again, we knew we didn’t want formal so tried on a few options and were happy after the second one!

Favourite moments.

We honestly loved every minute of our day however one moment was when we took some time away from the party and the dancefloor, to soak it all in and just have a moment for the two of us. It is very easy to get swept up in it all as the day goes so quickly so we highly recommend all couples do this on their wedding day.

Meaning of marriage.

Marriage is about building a life together, one where we support and lift each other up. It means you always have someone in your corner, on both the good and bad days. It means being completely comfortable with being 100% yourself and never feeling judged.

Wedding soundtrack.

Aisle: Simply the Best by Tina Turner (Acoustic rendition)

Reception Entry: We Found Love by Rihanna.

First Dance: Kiss me by Dermot Kennedy (Acoustic version)

Funny stories or near disasters.

Instead of having the normal wedding party entrances where each bridesmaid enters with a groomsman, we decided to have a competition Boys V Girls. They each were able to choose their songs (Boys went with Fireball, Pitbull and Girls went with Grease Lightning). During cocktail hour, the girls had taken it upon themselves to organise a somewhat flash mob, handing out black sunglasses to all who wanted to be involved and had them all join in on their dance. Safe to say, the girls won the competition.

Planning surprises.

Other than the prices, it wasn’t as stressful as I thought it would be, I think the quick timeframe actually made it easier as there was no time to waste.

Words of wisdom.

Don’t stress too much about what you think your guests might like – this day is about you and your partner and you should love every aspect of it.

For another sweetly laid-back wedding with elegantly effortless style, we love Meg and Joel’s joy-filled soiree. 

PHOEBE & RUWAN’S VENDORS

My main source of information for suppliers was The Geelong Wedding Guide. Given I grew up in Point Lonsdale and Geelong I was eager to use as many local suppliers as possible. I was also lucky to be the third child in my family getting married, so was able to reuse a few fantastic suppliers that had helped my family before.

Ceremony & Reception venue: Basils Farm –  Katherine at Basils Farm was an absolute joy to work with, very knowledgable and open to all our thoughts and ideas. We felt totally relaxed through the planning process and on the day.

Celebrant: Joanna Murnane – Joanna’s fun loving and calming nature struck us immediately and made us feel incredibly comfortable. It was an easy decision to choose her as our celebrant. Our ceremony also included traditional Sri Lankan aspects and Jo went above and beyond to research and ensure she knew the meaning (and pronunciation) behind the elements we wanted to add. A true testament to her professionalism and care.

Photography: Kyra Boyer – Kyra photographed both my sister and brothers wedding so it was an absolute no brainer. Kyra is amazing and was able to capture our day so perfectly.

Videography: Townsend Wedding Films – Soph is phenomenal, Soph also shot both my sister and my brothers wedding so I had already seen how unbelievable she is! Captured our day so well and made the most beautiful videos!

Hair: Nicky Ristevski –  Nicky is an absolute legend and was so easy to work with!

Make-up: Studio2Makeup –  Renee from Studio2Makeup was fantastic, she smashed out seven makeups with a variety of skin tones and everyone looked incredible!

The dress & Veil: And the Veil 

Alterations by Alterations by Tessa – Tessa was incredible!!! Had a very short timeframe and my dress unfortunately arrived a number of sizes too big so thank god for Tessa!

Rings: Custom made through a diamond wholesaler

Bridesmaid’s dresses: Pilgrim 

Suits: Eddy Elias – Highly recommend Eddy Elias, they are a joy to work with – nice and casual vibe in store with beers for the boys! We had one groomsman coming over from the US and they weren’t phased at all with the timelines – never stressed us out and were able to get everything ready on time!

Bow ties / ties:  Bow tie – Peggy and Finn,  Groomsman Ties – Eddy Elias 

Catering & Bar: Basils Farm

Favours: Little Elephants, hand made in Sri Lanka

Cake / Cake topper: BakesbyA – Angel is amazing, she not only created a delicious cake for us but also created four different flavours of cupcakes. Nutella, Black Forest, Carrot and raspberry/white chocolate. She also does amazing cookies, they are to die for!! Check her out!

Entertainment: Justin John Music – Justin performed both acoustically and finished the night with the DJ set. Justin was fantastic throughout the whole process, supporting us through the night, even offering up suggestions for our final songs. The DJ set was incredible, he had the whole wedding up and dancing immediately and we received multiple compliments from guests about this! Highly highly recommend Justin, he is an absolute legend!

Décor: Personalised Neon Wedding Sign – Custom Neon

Honeymoon: Orpheus Island Lodge 

Flowers: Wildfolk Flowers – Ebony was a joy to work with, I really didn’t give her much of a brief, just that my bridesmaid dresses were patterned so I didn’t want too much going on – I think she smashed it!

Dog Sitter – Wedding Paws – Wedding Paws was amazing as our groodle, Bentley, had to be part of our special day! They picked him up, dressed him and had him ready for the wedding! Looked after him during the ceremony and took him home after all the photos were complete. Will forever be grateful that Bentley was part of our day.