Real Wedding – Ruby & Michael, Yarra Valley VIC 
Real Wedding – Ruby & Michael, Yarra Valley VIC 
Real Wedding – Ruby & Michael, Yarra Valley VIC 
Real Wedding – Ruby & Michael, Yarra Valley VIC 

Real Wedding – Ruby & Michael, Yarra Valley VIC 

 

For Ruby and Mike, the best moment of their wedding day was seeing their friends and family gathered together to celebrate their love. And what a celebration this one was; a gauzy spring dream of effortless romance and whimsical wonder.

Elevating the classic black and white lines of gorgeous venue Coombe Yarra Valley were incredible floral arrangements by Floral Accent. Suspended above the tables, they created a cloud-like effect of textural earthen fronds and soft powder pink blooms.

Elissa Marie Design created Ruby’s enchanting gown, a soft vision of boho chic in off-shoulder tulle softening into a sleekly elegant skirt. An ivory wide-brimmed hat took the ensemble from ceremony to cocktails in style.

These gorgeous newlyweds suggest couples take time to step away from their celebration and just be together, reflecting on the moment. They did so bathed in a stunning sunset, captured by visual poets Lost in Love Photography.

 

 

The meeting.

We met out, but it’s all a bit of a blur! It really started when Michael added me on Facebook, we started chatting, and I was very intrigued by him. I was about 19 at the time, and Mike was travelling around America. I was so interested in his travels, and we caught up when he got back to Australia.

 

The ‘one’.

I guess I knew I was in love with Mike when I could be my complete crazy, weird and vulnerable self around him. I know that he loves me for me, no matter what. He makes me feel completely comfortable, safe, loved and supported, and he truly helps me be the best version of myself.

 

The proposal.

I was actually at a photo shoot in the morning, and Mike sent me a message saying, “let’s go to take Archie (our dog) to the beach and have a little picnic”. This isn’t out of the ordinary for us, and it was a really nice day!

So, we went to a particular lookout and then dogs were not allowed – oops. I knew a place where I used to go to as a kid called Shoreham beach, we arrived there, and it was super windy! I was starving, so I suggested we just eat in the car. Mike said, “let’s just go for a little explore; there might be a protected spot behind a cave”. It was out of the wind, which was great.

I took Archie and Mike went to get the food from the car, and I took a super cute video of him laying out the picnic mat. In my head, I was thinking how beautiful this looked. As I walked over, I sat down to get straight into the food; Mike said, ‘before you get stuck into the food, I have something to ask you..’ he got down on one knee, and he asked me to marry him. I was in absolute SHOCK!! I don’t think I’ve ever been so speechless in my life; Michael has really bad hips, so he said, ‘Is that a yes? My hips are killing!’ I said, of course!!

The ring is absolutely stunning and fits me perfectly; he did all the research himself and didn’t tell anyone. We were meant to go to Europe in July 2020, so I was kind of thinking it might happen then, but it was the most pleasant surprise, very chill and very us!

 

Planning process.

For me, I really wanted to lock in the big things first. We went and looked at a few venues and fell in love with the big oak tree at Coombe. Once they sent us the available dates, I sent them on to Sophie (the only person I trust with hair and makeup) and Lyndel and Daniel from Lost in Love (photography). I couldn’t believe everyone was free, and I locked them in straight away.

Then while in lockdown, I got organized with all my other suppliers and had most things booked in the first few months of planning. We were so unsure if we would be able to have everyone at our wedding after the craziness of 2020 with Covid and were so lucky to have everything go to plan.

 

Style inspiration. 

I wanted a soft boho feel. Laine from Floral accent truly helped my vision come to life with a mix of dried flowers and real roses.

 

The outfit. 

It was amazing working with Elissa and seeing the entire process of making the dress I had dreamed of come to life. The process started on zoom, seeing her sketches, then picking the fabrics instore. We had about five or six custom fittings, and it was so cool seeing the dress come together piece by piece. It was perfect and fit me like a glove.

 

Favourite moments.

A special moment was when we were getting out of the car at the ceremony. I got out and turned to look at everyone; I saw Mike, then all my beautiful friends and family and I just lost it and started bawling my eyes out. This continued as I walked down the aisle; I tried to keep it together, but I was just so overwhelmed with how lucky I felt to have all these amazing people here after such a crazy year to celebrate our love.

 

Meaning of marriage.

To me, marriage is a lifelong commitment with my best friend, it’s declaring our love in front of the most important people in our lives and being there through the good and bad times. It’s having fun, creating memories and just enjoying life together.

 

Wedding soundtrack.

Bridal entrance: Can’t Help Falling In Love by Kina Grannis

Signing: You Are My Sunshine by Johnny Cash

Recessional: You Got the Love by Florence and the Machine

Reception entry: A Good Night by John Legend

First dance: Perfect by Ed Sheeran

 

Funny stories or near disasters.

The lead up to the day was actually incredibly stressful; I had to get my dress altered the Tuesday before the wedding and physically had it on Wednesday – keep in mind I was getting married Friday!

Then on Thursday morning, I had a call from my original celebrant who was super unwell and had to get a Covid test, but she had organized the lovely Mel! Then we got an email saying the lead singer of the band might not make it due to a family emergency, our dog Archie couldn’t get to the ceremony anymore, and the aircon in our room broke the night before.

What a crazy lead up! But on the actual wedding day, nothing went wrong!!

 

Planning surprises.

I found picking the music quite hard, it was fun listening to all the different songs during the lead-up, but after the wedding I had to ask Mike if they played all the music we wanted as the entire ceremony was a blur to me!

 

Words of wisdom.

Take the week off before the wedding if you can, there are so many appointments and little things you’ll need to do.

I know everyone says it, but take moments on the wedding day to stop and just soak it all in; it can be so overwhelming but remember the day is about you two.

Bring a fun dress that you can dance in and just enjoy the night! It goes so quick!!

 

 

The right bit of bling or shimmer can take your wedding day ensemble to the next level. Check out some of our dream day jewellers to help find the perfect accessories for your celebration. 

 

RUBY & MICHAEL’S VENDORS

So grateful to all our wonderful suppliers who made our day so perfect!

Ceremony and reception venue: Coombe Yarra Valley

Celebrant: Melissa Jacob, The Ceremony Store

Photography: Lost in Love

Videography: Ryan Adams

Florist: Floral Accent

Hair and make-up: Sophie Knox

The dress and veil: Elissa Marie Design. My second dress was just a cheap online purchased for our engagement party that never happened.

Earrings: Saint Valentine Jewellery

Rings: Brilliant Earth & Kavalri

Suits: Oscar Hunt

Bridesmaid’s dresses: Bianca Spender

Bow ties / ties: Myer

Stationery / Signage: Coombe helped with all our signage.

Entertainment: Brentwood Duo and Blue Avenue Entertainment

Honeymoon: Noosa, staying at Netanya




loading
loading
Crop The Image

Actual Size

Recommended Size

Cropped Size

loading