Real Wedding – Shauna & Daniel, Werribee VIC
Real Wedding – Shauna & Daniel, Werribee VIC
Real Wedding – Shauna & Daniel, Werribee VIC
Real Wedding – Shauna & Daniel, Werribee VIC

Real Wedding – Shauna & Daniel, Werribee VIC

 

Shauna and Daniel’s dream day took place at the glorious grounds of Werribee Park, where their relaxed and elegant approach wowed all in attendance.

Drawing inspiration from Shauna’s stunning rose gold engagement ring, their colour palette celebrated the classic combination of white, blush pinks, magenta and romantic burgundy tones. With metallic accents, Shauna’s incredible headpiece and some hand-made touches by the bride’s talented father – there were stunning elements everywhere you turned.

The real beauty in this day, however, can been seen in the emotion of the bride, groom and their loved ones as they celebrated into the night and began their own happily ever after. Captured by Katie Harmsworth, the romance of this celebration is one to remember.

 

In Shauna’s words…

The meeting.

We always knew of each other from mutual friends (my best friend dated his youngest brother). Daniel was graduating year 12 when I began high school and I always had a huge crush on him. Years later we crossed paths and the rest is history.

 

The ‘one’.

During the early days, I’ll never forget we went to the beach and when we left to get lunch, he was carrying my thongs in his hand. He sat me down on a bench, wiped the sand and dirt off my feet and put my thongs on for me. It was such a small, simple gesture but I was head over heels at this point.

 

The proposal.

It was New Year’s Eve in 2016, we were in Phuket, Thailand with my family and he hatched a plan with my good friend Effie and brother Simon to lure me to a dimly lit Thai sala. From there, he jumped out of the bushes and got on one knee. This was right before the NYE countdown so crossing the road onto the beach following that, to light up a lantern and make a wish, was pretty damn spectacular.

 

Planning process.

I am a typically calm person, so nothing really phased me. My mum and sister were shocked at how calm I was! The planning process was enjoyable for me because I am an Executive Assistant for work, so I organise peoples’ lives for a living. It literally just felt like part of my job.

 

Style inspiration.

The main focus began with my engagement ring. It’s set in rose gold, so I definitely wanted the colour palette to match that. We opted for whites, blush, magenta and dark burgundy tones. Once I locked in the venue, I knew I wanted it to be a classy yet relaxed affair. We had a beautiful garden ceremony on the grounds of Werribee Park. It all came together perfectly. My father handmade my wedding arbour and signage stand out of rose gold copper pipes. It looked beautiful with the flowers added.

 

The dress.

My dress was created in ivory coloured Mikado with a hand finished underlay. It was sweetheart shaped and figure hugging, then from just above my knees, it slightly fishtailed out. Funnily enough, I was trying on the complete opposites to what I ended up buying. I picked up my gown as a joke as it seemed so puffy and big, and once I came out of the dressing room, my mother burst out crying and then I was crying and that’s when I knew – we had that ‘aha’ moment…as cliché as it is, I knew it was the one.

 

Favourite moment.

I had two favourite moments. I held it together perfectly all morning and the minute we had the dad/daughter reveal is when I started to cave. The door opened, I turned around and I saw the look on my dad’s face, full of pride and adoration, so I just crumbled. It was truly a special moment between Dad and I. Being in the room with my Mum and Dad before I walked out to the ceremony was such a special moment for me. I felt so lucky to have them both there. The other favourite moment was definitely walking down the aisle and seeing my husband to be. I couldn’t believe it, it felt so surreal and yet I was so overcome with love and joy, I just couldn’t wait to get to him to give him a big kiss and cuddle.

 

Meaning of marriage.

Marriage to me is a commitment between two people, a special symbol of their love. It may sound like something out of Shakespeare, but despite everything that life throws at them, they don’t ever give up on their love. It was so easy to get wrapped up in the small things like the colour of a piece of cloth not being the right shade, so I constantly reminded myself that my marriage to Daniel is about us. Only us. It didn’t matter what we wore, or how big my bouquet was. Ultimately, it was about us and our love. That’s what marriage is to me.

 

Wedding soundtrack.

Halo (acoustic) – Madilyn Bailey (cue the tears!)

This is your night – Amber

Perfect – Ed Sheeran/Beyonce covered by Charles Lavea-Williams & Kimba Ward (both friends of mine)

 

Funny stories (or near disasters).

I was with my Dad and Bride Tribe, about to walk down the stairs of the Mansion Hotel and to the buggy to be transported to the ceremony when dad said nonchalantly, “Shaun, aren’t you meant to be like, carrying or holding something?” I went white in the face, looked at my cousin Tarsh, one of my bridesmaids, who had already raced back to the bridal suite to get my bouquet. Phew! Crisis averted! Big Nick saved the day.

 

Planning surprises.

I thought to myself, ‘how on earth do people plan a wedding on their own, without the help of a planner?’. There is so much thought and detail that goes into it and it can be so incredibly overwhelming at times. It’s so worth it though, when you see it all come together like a fairytale.

 

Words of wisdom.

Start with booking the big-ticket items. Venue, celebrant (or church) and photographer. Brainstorm different themes and styles you like, different colour palettes you’re drawn to and what you hope your day to look like. Take advice from everyone, ask questions, negotiate on prices. Shop around and try to support your friends or small local business where you can. However, the number one thing for me would definitely be to hire a planner.

 

Final words.

I would like to give all of my suppliers a huge shout out, they truly are one of a kind and they went above and beyond for me. All of our wedding guests kept raving on about how much fun they had and how beautiful our wedding was. It really warms my heart when I stop and think about all the dancing, drinking, eating and not to mention LOVE that was in the air on that October day.

Just a side note – Katie and the boys at Tango Films really blew me away with the footage they captured on the day. I heard several times from guests that our video looks like a movie trailer and the photos look like they’ve just come out of Vogue magazine. What an incredible compliment!

So much love to you all.

 

 

Allie and Daniel’s day is full of country charm, be sure to take a peek at this sweet soiree.

 

SHAUNA AND DANIEL’S TRIBE

Ceremony venue / location: Silky Oak, Werribee Mansion

Reception venue / location: The Refectory, Werribee Mansion (Vanessa and the team at Bursaria were so pleasant to deal with, so on the ball and extremely helpful).

Celebrant/Officiant: Jessie Belle Marriage Celebrant (Jessie was unlike anyone I had ever met, she has a real presence about her. Her huge smile and boisterous personality made our ceremony that extra bit special)

Photography: Katie Harmsworth Photography and second shooter Eric Ronald (My absolute favourite! Katie, you know how I feel about you but just to summarise: she is an artist. She is able to see things others can’t and her vision is brought to life in her images. I highly recommend Katie to all future brides out there)

Videography: Tango Films (The A Team. Like I said above, our guests along with facebook friends raved on about how much our wedding video looked like a movie trailer for a Hollywood film. How cool is that? Absolutely adore their work.)

Styling: The Super Styler (My right hand woman. The biggest perfectionist known to humankind but you appreciate it when you see how incredible her work is. From style guides, flowers and stationery – there really is nothing she cannot do)

Florist: Bellewood Florist (Incredible, Bella totally nailed the brief. I loved by bouquet so much so that I’ve had it preserved to keep forever)

Hair: Tyla Miller Salon (My sister (and hairdresser) works alongside Tyla and there is no one else I trusted with my hair, my bridesmaids’, my mother’s and mother in law’s on the day. She made me feel like a Queen and made sure I looked like one by carefully placing my crown so that it didn’t move all day – literally)

Make Up: Cosmetique Make Up (My make up artist for 4+ years now, Dani is remarkable at what she does. She works on enhancing your features rather than trying to pack on make up and change the way you look. That’s what I love so much about her)

The Dress: Helen Constance from Rafaele Ciuca Bridal Boutique (Sydney Road, Brunswick) The team at Rafaele Ciuca were great. Lucy helped me pick my dress and I was fortunate enough to deal with Francesca, the Head Stylist at RC. I never got to meet Helen but I did email her to say thank you for creating my dress and she called me right away to have a chat. That made me really happy!

Crown: Windsor Bridal Jewellery (My crown was purchased for me by my Aunty and Godmother, Marisa. I’ve always been close to her from when I was born so to be wearing something so special on the day having known it was a gift from her, really warmed my heart.

Veil: Custom made by the Bride’s aunty (My Aunty Antonella handmade my 3 metre veil with rose gold stitching along the edges. It was so nice to have a custom piece handmade by her. She’s currently kicking cancer’s butt so to take that on whilst undergoing chemotherapy, she truly is my heroine.

Shoes: Sophia Webster (loved my Rose Gold Rosalind heels from Sophia Webster, super comfy too)

Rings: Michael Hill (matching His + Hers rose gold bands)

Bridesmaids dresses: MOH: Elle Zeitoune & BMs: Shona Joy

Grooms suit: Calibre Australia

Grooms Shoes: Aquila

Bow ties / ties: Menzclub

Catering: Bursaria Fine Foods

Favors: candles by Fifty Scents of Soy (Sarah, my best friend’s sister, handmade my favours with a French vanilla scent and my stylist Nadia created the sticker that went on each of them)

Cake / Cake topper: Vivalicious Sweets  (LOVED our wedding cake. Viv really nailed the brief with the gold lustre)

Stationery / Signage: The Super Styler

Entertainment:

MC: Randello Brothers (the best MC & DJ going around! They kept the crowd entertained and made sure everyone had a ball. We actually danced so much so that we happened to break the dancefloor. Oops.

Another quote from our guests “I’ve never witnessed before, every person rise from their chairs and spill onto  the dancefloor immediately following the bride and groom’s first dance. It was a scene out of a movie!”

Live Singers: Charles Lavea-Williams & Kimba Ward (They had never sang together before but they truly sounded like angels. It gives me chills every time I re-watch the video of them singing our first dance song)

Décor:

Hire: Blush napkins from Harry The Hirer

Honeymoon: Port Douglas (one of our favourite spots in Aus!)

Other: Wedding arbour and signage stand was handmade by my Dad – he really couldn’t say no to his little girl!




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