Real Wedding – Rob & Bianca, Daylesford VIC
Bianca and Rob’s seasonally inspired celebration was every bit a cosy feast for the senses. Think rich autumnal tones, russet-coloured leaves, a winter-style gown of gorgeous lace, and the warm modern interiors of magical Daylesford venue, Sault.
Celebrant wonder Megan Thompson created a ceremony filled with light-hearted laughter, weaving moments from the couple’s life with elements of their personalities, and a huge dose of sweet romance. A truly talented celebrant will offer options and guidance, and with Megan’s encouragement, Rob and Bianca wrote their own heartfelt vows. Hearing Bianca share her vows with him in front of their friends and family was an absolute highlight for Rob.
Hailey from One Spoon Two Spoon captured every enchanting moment with absolute artistry. Rob and Bianca’s portrait session, among the rich autumn leaves and dramatically stark skyline, is a testament to why weddings are incredible all year round. Florals by Wildly Flora in tones of rich, velvety reds, soft burnt amber and deep forest green bring the fall flavour inside, providing the perfect backdrop to this sweet celebration. We recommend diving into this one with a mug of your favourite warm beverage!
The meeting.
We met in High School when we were 15/16 through mutual friends. We would bump into each other at parties and became friends. We started dating about six months later, in May of 2010.
The ‘one’.
We were very in love very early on; we had a sense before we finished high school that one day we would get married and have kids – we talked about it a lot even back then. Even though we were so young at the time, we really knew that we would end up together.
The proposal.
We got engaged in Lorne at the end of 2017. We had already planned to go away there for a getaway between Christmas and New Year. Rob had told me that as a late Christmas present, he had booked us in for couples massages at Endota Spa in Lorne.
The ladies at Endota were in on everything and so made it look like Rob and I were going off at the same time into separate rooms for our massages. Little did I know that Rob had raced back to our hotel whilst I was in my massage to decorate the room with rose petals, tea light candles, and these big posters that he would later read out one by one as a proposal (think cards on the doorstep scene from Love Actually). He then raced back just in time to make it look like we had both come out of our massages at the same time.
We went out for dinner, and Rob text the hotel to notify them we were heading back, and a lovely staff member at the hotel dashed up to our room to light the tea-light candles. We returned to the hotel, and Rob raced up the stairs in front of me (which I remember thinking was bizarre – I thought maybe he was unwell from dinner) and so when I reached our room, he was standing in there with music playing and holding these big posters going through them one by one to make his big proposal.
Planning process.
We planned a lot of our wedding in advance as we had heard that good suppliers and venues tend to book out early. We set a budget that we knew would be realistic and then prioritised things that we would be happy to splurge the most on (for us, it was food, photography, and music). We then put together a spreadsheet and slowly populated it with what we needed to book, what we had booked, supplier contact details, any meeting/trial/fitting dates, deposits paid, and when balances were due. We would highly recommend this as it made it so easy to manage the planning. It also came in handy when we had to reach out to each supplier one-by-one to discuss re-scheduling after our first wedding date was pushed back due to Covid.
Style inspiration.
Autumn! We wanted lots of foliage and bright autumn colours (burnt orange and yellows, reds and dark greens). We had stayed in Daylesford in autumn several times before, and it was the most beautiful season to visit in.
We found it useful to look at real weddings for inspiration. Often we found it helpful when our suppliers would post photos on Instagram of the weddings they had worked on. In saying that, we had a pretty firm idea of what we wanted the day to look like before we even started planning, and so we didn’t spend much time on this.
The ceremony.
Our ceremony was light, warm, and everything we wanted it to be. It was held in Sault’s chapel overlooking the lake on Sault’s grounds. Our celebrant Megan introduced our wedding party to our guests, spent some time talking about how Rob and I met, our quirks, and talked about some memorable moments of our relationship. We had written our own vows with Megan’s encouragement (initially, we weren’t going to do this as we found it a little intimidating, but we were so glad we did!).
We really loved the personalised nature of the ceremony as we wanted to soak it in as much as possible and didn’t want the ceremony to be a mere formality/vow exchange. We wanted to be able to look back at it years from now and laugh.
It was also very special to have our little boy Ashton there with us. Our initial wedding date was scheduled for well before his arrival, and so we did not expect to have a baby (let alone our baby!) at our ceremony. Although he wasn’t in there for long before Jodi from Sault kindly whisked him off to have a play in the reception area, it was extra special and surreal to have him there.
The look.
Dress: I had visited quite a few bridal stores across Melbourne and was feeling a little downhearted that I hadn’t found what I had envisioned, which was a long-sleeved dress with a low-cut back. I had found a few examples online of what I had wanted but wasn’t able to find these in stores, and so I tried on a variety of styles in the hopes that something would be good enough. I finally found my dream dress on a Saturday morning shopping with my cousin; as soon as I put it on, I knew it was exactly what I wanted. The dress was so gorgeous and also very comfortable to wear, which was an added bonus.
Suits: Bianca had always envisioned marrying her husband with him dressed in a classic black outfit, and considering Sault’s elegant grounds and dining room, I felt a tuxedo was the best option. Keeping expense in mind, I looked at several suppliers ranging in price before deciding on a tailored option from InStitchu. They were incredibly well informed about the different types of materials, cuts and aesthetic options available and made the entire process so much fun when often these tasks can seem menial. The jacket had a classic shawl satin lapel and to match my wedding band, embroidered inside is the word “Home” with the wedding date, which was another theme on the day, matching our first dance song. I opted for a custom satin vest under my jacket and gold cufflinks to help differentiate myself from my groomsmen, who had suspenders and silver instead. For a tuxedo, bow-ties were essential, and we opted for the normal shaped, pre-sewn options to help save time on the day. The shirt had French cuffs for a formal feel, a large cutaway collar for a modern look and black button studs. Finishing the outfit with black patent leather shoes, the whole tuxedo felt incredible to wear and gave me such confidence on the day!
Favourite moments.
Bianca: My favourite moment of the day was getting into the limousine with my bridesmaids and nephew (who was our page boy) to head to the ceremony. It was a real “this is finally, really, happening” moment, and I just grinned the whole way there. Getting there and having my nephew hold my train as I walked towards Rob for our first look shoot was so special and exciting.
Rob: I really loved being able to stand at our ceremony and listen to Bianca reading out her vows. It was such a lovely and authentic moment.
Meaning of marriage.
Marriage didn’t change a whole lot for us, as we had been together for over a decade and were really aligned on our values in life and within our relationship. Marriage is about cementing the commitments we had already made to each other to continue working together to build the best life possible for ourselves and our little family.
Wedding soundtrack.
Pre-aisle: Falling like the Stars by James Arthur
Aisle: Army by Ellie Goulding
Recessional: Crazy Little Thing Called Love by Queen
First dance: Home by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros (slow acoustic version)
Funny stories or near disasters.
Our gorgeous little flower girl Frankie tripped over as she was walking up the aisle, and so there was a bit of a tentative pause whilst she got herself up and dusted herself off. She was such a trooper, she was up in a few seconds, and she and our Page Boy Felix kept walking, with the Bridesmaids and then myself right behind them.
Planning surprises.
Neither of us realised just what a production a wedding is. We hadn’t considered that we would need to do things like put together a run-sheet of the preparations and event. We were very lucky to have some great suppliers who gave us some great hints as to how to do this,
Words of wisdom.
We would say to stick with your gut instincts. There are often a lot of opinions voiced both on social media or by people you know when you are planning a wedding as to what the right decision is (whether it be what cake flavour to have, what guests to invite, what formalities to include). The only right decision is what feels best for the couple and what you will be proud to look back on in years to come.
Love a wedding themed around the effortlessly beautiful elements of nature? We’ve curated some of our favourite country weddings, all taking inspiration from the stunning settings surrounding the celebrations. Check them out, here.
ROB & BIANCA’S VENDORS
We used the Easy Weddings app as the first point of reference, which gave us a great range of suppliers, who we then followed up with a peek on Instagram. Instagram was so valuable for us as we could get a sense of each photographer and videographer’s style and also allowed us to get a sense of the personality/style of celebrants, musicians, and hair/make-up artists.
Sault was the first venue we looked at, and we knew straight away that it was where we wanted to get married – we didn’t look anywhere else after that. Sault offered a suggestion of a local florist (Zara from Wildly Flora) and cake-maker (Shaz from Blackbird Cakes). We met with Zara and Shaz, had a peek at some of their work on Instagram and we were very impressed, which made our decision to work with them super easy.
Ceremony & reception venue: Sault, Daylesford. Jodi from Sault was so beautifully relaxed on the day and really went above and beyond to make sure everything went perfectly (she even kindly whisked our seven-month-old son out of the ceremony when he started to grizzle and played with him in the reception area whilst our ceremony continued). It was such a thoughtful gesture.
We went for a tasting at Sault, where we had the opportunity to sample our wedding menu and couldn’t fault the beautiful food and wine. From that night, we were really counting down the days until we could taste that menu again.
Celebrant: Megan Thompson. As soon as we reached out to Megan and received a swift and warm email reply inviting us to a wine bar for an initial consultation, we knew she would be the celebrant for us. We really wanted our ceremony to be a focal point of the day – we wanted it to be funny and light and to capture “us”. Megan had us both complete questionnaires about each other and our relationship and used the content to put together a customised ceremony. We were so pleasantly surprised by what Megan had put together and are so grateful that she provided us with such a memorable ceremony.
Photography: Hailey from One Spoon Two Spoon. We reached out to Hailey in 2018, approximately two years prior to our scheduled wedding date. We had stumbled across her Instagram page in our quest for a wedding photographer who could capture all the light, shade, colour, and magic of our day. We met up with her for coffee, and we were sold; she felt like an old friend and despite the long lead-up to our wedding day (made even longer by a Covid-postponement), we stayed in touch regularly, and she bought the warmest energy to the preparations and to the day itself. Hailey took charge on the day and knew exactly where to find the best light and how to ensure we got all the magic moments captured.
Videography: Steven Beck Media. We are both very much into capturing important family events on video with our old-style camcorder. We really wanted our wedding to be captured in real-time – not turned into a movie or production – but to be shot as it was and very authentically. We found Steven after he had filmed a wedding for friends of ours, and we really liked his down-to-earth style of film. He was completely invisible on the day (which he assured us was his intention), and we can’t wait to see what he put together for us.
Florist: Zara from Wildly Flora. Zara was so in-tune with the theme that we wanted for our day – autumnal with lots of foliage of various colours. We had described our vision to her, and she nailed it in her execution.
Hair: Bridal hair colour – Lia from LA Loft. Bridal hair styling – Sharah from Harlen Hair. Both Lia and Sharah were a dream to work with. They were completely across the look we were going for and really added to the excitement on the day.
Make-up: Hellana Mansour. Hellana was so warm and funny and did an impeccable job with the bridal party make-up (including the mother of the bride and groom). She worked so quickly (doing seven faces of make-up on the day), and the make-up application was fresh well into the evening.
The dress: Wendy Makin (from French by Wendy Makin Collection) purchased and alterations done by Mona from Designer Bridal House. I was in love with my dress as soon as I tried it on. Mona was very lovely and a pleasure to work with.
Veil: Designer Bridal House.
Shoes: Bride – Nina Armanda. Groom – Julius Marlow.
Rings: Bride – Holloway Diamonds. Groom – Kalvarlri.
Bridesmaid’s dresses: Bridesmaids dresses were from Talia Sarah and purchased from Bridesmaids Only. Bridesmaids Only were fantastic as we were able to order a few samples to try on for size and send back to ensure that all of our Bridesmaids were wearing their perfect fit on the day.
Tuxedo: Institchu (Rob). The incredible team at InStitchu took care of us from start to finish, and god made it so much fun! I remember adding a tailor to my mix of vendors, thinking, “I would love to do this, but surely this is out of my budget?” When I met with them in their Little Collins showroom, I not only realised the incredible level of quality that the store exuded but also the affordability that came with it. They offered me and my mates beers or whiskeys for our first consult, and from there, we discussed materials, customised options, and the historical updates tuxedos had been through over the years, laughing all the while. It was clear that this group were a cut above, treating us with impeccable service, and I cannot recommend them enough! Even through Covid and a 12-month delay, they offered to help us with additional tailoring requirements if needed.
Bow ties, cufflinks and accessories: Otaa. Otaa is an amazing organisation that creates environmentally sustainable, high quality and affordable men’s clothing accessories! They don’t stop there, though! They treat every client as a VIP, and it is their mission to help present the best you possible. Their packaging is as good as their products, and it was so reassuring to find everything I needed in one place! It came in a well-presented big box which I used to keep everything fresh until the big day!
Favours: Because we had a four-course wedding menu (including dessert), we sent our guests home with a slice of delicious wedding cake as a favour. We popped each slice into a little box for each guest with some customised Bianca & Rob wedding stickers that we ordered off Etsy.
Cake: Shaz from Blackbird Cakes. Shaz was the warm and friendly auntie figure that we all wish we had. She was such a pleasure to meet with and put so much thought into her sketch of our dream cake. We opted for a three-tiered cake with a different flavour for each tier.
Stationery / Signage: Invitations and Save-the-Date cards from Paperlust. Place cards were ordered from a lovely supplier off Etsy called Mila and May Rob designed and printed the signage (seating chart and welcome board) himself.
Entertainment: Brentwood Duo. Isla and Fin are an extremely talented brother-sister duo who play guitar and sing. They learned a few songs for us (including our first dance song) and provided us with a generously long list of songs to choose from for them to play throughout the afternoon and evening.
Transport: Harmony Limousines
Honeymoon: We are due (COVID-pending) to fly out at the end of August for our Honeymoon. We are spending a week in Hamilton Island at the Palm Bungalows, followed by a week in Port Douglas at the Pullman.
