Real Wedding - Rebecca & Will, Portsea VIC

April 17, 2019 In Black and White, Classic, Most Popular, Outdoor, Real Weddings By Natalie Drum

Real Wedding – Rebecca & Will, Portsea VIC

Under the branches of a Morten Bay Fig tree, Rebecca and Will exchanged vows on what would become the best day of their lives.

As Rebecca made her way down the aisle in a stunning Luci Di Bella design, she was overwhelmed by the moment of being escorted by her father to her husband-to-be, Will.

They let their natural surrounds do the talking and wanted their guests to be able to enjoy the sweeping ocean views so they simply styled with wooden accents, greenery and white touches, that gave their celebration a fresh look.

Georgia Verrells captured the day in all its glory and we think you will love scrolling this sensational soiree.

In Rebecca’s words…

The meeting.

We’d known about each other for a while and had met briefly at the races a couple of years earlier. We had our first kiss though at a party hosted by a mutual friend. We didn’t start dating straight away though.. it took Will a while to get himself sorted!

The ‘one’.

I’m not sure there was one single point of realisation but for me it was seeing how quickly and comfortably Will fit into my family.

The proposal.

Will proposed the day before New Year’s Eve in the beautiful old town of Queenscliff. He had picked me up from the Sorrento Ferry and was acting very suss. He took me to the Grand Vue Hotel and got down on one knee in the ‘Turret Room’ which has stunning 360 degree views of the town. He had secretly organised my family to come over from Sorrento on the next ferry and we got to celebrate the next day too with all our best friends at a New Year’s Eve Party in Torquay!

The process.

We began with booking our venue at Point Nepean which turned out to be the first venue we looked at (we only looked at two!). Will and I both love the sea so it just felt right. We also wanted to bring in our own catering and alcohol and this venue allowed us to do that. Food was really important to us so we booked Pot and Pan. I’d been to a wedding catered by Pot and Pan and I was blown away by their beautiful shared plates. They actually ended up doing the styling, hiring and management of the event too, which was a bonus! Having our venue and caterer booked in, everything else just seemed to just fall into place.

Style inspiration.

We really wanted to just let the ocean views and the big Morten Bay Fig Tree speak for themselves so we didn’t ‘style’ it too much. Will and I both love simplicity and I think this was translated into the overall look and feel of our wedding. We wanted to celebrate the surroundings, so really natural with woods, greens and whites. My bridesmaids wore navy blue dresses, which tied in nicely with the surrounding ocean.

The dress.

I don’t think I had a real plan in mind when I first set out to find a dress. I didn’t even really know what I wanted. So I guess for me it was just a matter of going to some stores, trying on some dresses, working out what I liked and didn’t like and narrowing down from there. Funnily enough, the dress I ended up wearing was only the second dress I tried. I found it at the beautiful Luci Di Bella. The dress itself was actually made by an Italian designer, Valentini Spose. After trying the dress on, Luci measured me up and sent the measurements over to Puglia where it was made. The dress had about eight different layers of material under the skirt which gave it its shape. It was so light and comfortable to wear though!

Favourite moments.

There are so many favourite moments from the day! But there are a few that I still think about a lot.

Firstly, I will never forget my dad walking me down the aisle. I don’t think I even remember hearing the music or seeing anyone’s face when we were walking (except for Will’s of course, which was another favourite moment), I just got so swept up in the moment and the emotions that all I could focus on was my dad and Will. It was very special to have my dad give me away.

Secondly, hearing Will’s vows and getting to say my own was pretty crazy. Opening up like that with raw emotions in front of all your favourite people, I could never have predicted how it would feel but it was pretty amazing.

Thirdly, after all the formalities of the night had concluded, Will and I went up to the porch of the cottage and just sat there together with our legs dangling off the porch. We looked out over all our guests and took it all in. That was a pretty special moment too.

Meaning of marriage.

For Will and I, marriage is the ultimate partnership. Being the best possible team to do life together – to travel, have babies, do the things you love and to be there for each other. We wanted our wedding to be a big celebration; not only of our love for one another, but also between our families and friends. And you could certainly feel the love on the day between everyone!

Wedding soundtrack.

Aisle: Weathered (Triple J Like a Version) by Ruel and M-Phazes

Signing: Chateau by Angus and Julia Stone

Reception entry: Everywhere by Fleetwood Mac

First dance: Higher Love by James Vincent McMorrow

Funny stories (or near disasters).

I have huge demons about this but I actually left a bridesmaid dress in Melbourne. I didn’t realise until the girls were about to put on their dresses that one was missing! Thankfully, there is a Viktoria and Woods in Sorrento so her legendary boyfriend was able to snag her a dress of the same size and style. It was the wrong colour but that didn’t matter! The day was still perfect.

Planning surprises.

I thought that after we got engaged that the whole year would just be totally consumed by wedding planning. But after the excitement of the engagement and having locked in our main suppliers we had a few really quiet months in the middle there. It wasn’t until about a month beforehand that things really started to get going!

Words of wisdom.

Take the time to spend a good ten minutes as just the two of you together. Try and find somewhere where you can look back out onto your guests having a ball. That way you get to try and slow it down and take it all in. It’s such a special time.