Real Wedding – Shakira & Leigh, Maffra VIC
Shakira and Leigh’s nuptials were elevated to memorable heights thanks to the unique, inexplicable magic of Mewburn Park Homestead.
The sprawling green lawns, century-old trees and manicured gardens gave rise to a blend of rustic romance that was deeply atmospheric and undeniably charming.
Seeds for the couple’s love story were sewn as early as their primary school meeting, so the long-awaited celebration was appropriately grand and yet refined in colour palette and styling choices.
Shakira, who had dreamt of her wedding day since she was a little girl, wore an intricately detailed fit-and-flare gown she’d saved on her phone for years before an official engagement.
The venue’s clear top marquee let the light of golden hour shine down on guests during dinner and speeches before the dancefloor became a joyful blur of movement and music under a canopy of fairy lights.
Scroll on to experience every enchanting moment through the lens of legendary photo and video team, Chamore Creations.
The meeting.
We first met in primary school. I remember Leigh to be the class clown, always cracking jokes and getting into trouble. We went our separate ways for high school but reconnected where all good love stories start… at a night club. Leigh asked me on a date that night, and we caught up a few days later, where we knew it was the start of something special.
‘The one’.
Shakira; Everything felt safe when he was around. No matter where we are, he makes me feel like I’m home.
Leigh: When I told my Dad I was taking Shakira on a date, he responded with “you’re dreaming”, so I made it my mission to prove him wrong. In all seriousness, we were lucky; even dating so young, we always had the same goals and outlook on life. Everything just fell together how it was meant to be.
The proposal.
Leigh had organised for us to go to a winery on the Mornington Peninsula. When we got there, it happened to be closed for renovations. I suggested another place, but when we got there, it didn’t feel right. Leigh kept suggesting other places, but I was determined to eat there. So we ate and then Leigh suggested we go down to the beach with a bottle of wine and watch the sunset. He then asked to get a photo where he dropped down on one knee. I didn’t even let him ask the question; I just kept yelling with pure excitement. It was completely unexpected. Leigh always told me it wasn’t going to happen for a long time and not to get my hopes up, so when it finally happened, I was in pure shock.
Planning process.
The lead-up to our wedding day was not a straightforward process – it had lots of bumps in the road with multiple changes. We originally were getting married in 2024; however, problems with building a house forced us to reschedule 1.5 years. I was absolutely heartbroken, but little did I know it worked out even better than we had originally planned.
Then, just a few weeks out from our day, our original florist unfortunately had to cancel. It was incredibly stressful trying to find a replacement in such a short amount of time. Luckily, the amazing Blooms By Mel agreed to do our wedding. Mel truly brought our day to life with only weeks’ notice. With all the hiccups and challenges during our wedding planning, everything eventually fell into place and made for the most perfect day.
Style inspiration.
I would say our wedding was romantic and timeless. We wanted our celebration to be relaxed, fun and full of love to represent who we are. Our priority was to provide good food, plenty of alcohol and a good time for our guests.
Our venue, Mewburn Park, has the most beautiful marquee. Once we viewed the space we knew it was ‘the one’, and all the styling came from there. When the marquee lights up at night, it is truly breathtaking so we didn’t want to over style. We chose white and bright shades with lots of candles. Seeing what our florist/ stylist did for us was one of my highlights of the day.
I spent hours endlessly scrolling Instagram, Tik Tok and bridal pages. I found real weddings and following other people’s wedding planning journeys the most help. I also had an amazing team of vendors that I had always followed for years, so I took a lot of inspiration from them.
The ceremony.
Our ceremony was one of my favourite parts of the whole day. I dreamt of those moments since I was a little girl. Walking down the aisle and seeing Leigh emotional is a moment I’ll remember forever. Our celebrant did a perfect job making our ceremony a mix of both funny and heartfelt, and telling our story in such a thoughtful way. We also wrote our own vows that were honest and heartfelt.
The outfits.
Dress shopping for me was pretty quick. I knew going into the day what style I wanted. I went to three different places and tried on multiple styles but always went back to the style I knew I wanted. I actually had this dress saved in my phone for years and when I put it on, I knew it was the one.
Leigh also knew the style he was after. He made an afternoon of it with his bridal party and they went with a traditional all black.
Favourite moment.
I truly did love every minute of our day, and it’s hard to pinpoint a single favorite moment. With the chaos of wedding planning and lots of hiccups one thing I loved about the wedding planning process was grabbing a bottle of wine and practising our first dance in our lounge room. On the night, it went perfectly and felt like it was just us two back at home practicing. Then it led into a night of dancing with all our closest family and friends.
Meaning of marriage.
Marriage to us is a promise to keep choosing each other every day. A life-long commitment that involves growing together, shared dreams, teamwork and full of love and laughter.
Wedding soundtrack.
Aisle; Iris by Amber Leigh Irish
Reception; Saving Up by Dom Dolla
First dance; Next to You by Chris Brown & Justin Bieber
SHAKIRA & LEIGH’S SUPPLIERS:
Ceremony & reception: Mewburn Park Homestead
Celebrant: Abbie Frew
Photography & videography: Chamore Creations
Styling & florals: Blooms by Mel
Hair: Hair by Eb
Make-up: Makeup by Skye Mazalin
The dress: Raffaele Cuica Bridal
Shoes: Harlo Shoes
Rings: Avedis Jewellery
Bridesmaid’s dresses: Showpo
Suits: Mickey Blue
Catering: Duart Catering & Events
Entertainment: Fakos Events
