Real Wedding – Taryn & Simon, Buninyong VIC
There’s so much love and warmth that oozes off the page when you look at Taryn and Simon’s exquisite candid moments (photographer Jackson Grant’s speciality) from their wedding day.
The whole day was steeped in meaning with Taryn’s parent’s home in Buninyong, North West Victoria providing the perfect backdrop.
Envision towering gumtrees, lush green paddocks, a rogue emu, soft neutral tones with bright wild florals and the scene is set. Taryn and Simon went about instilling the help of a stylist; Lucy from Lulu Creative and an on-the-day coordinator to make everything as stress-free as possible and the day could not have been more perfect.
Nat Sproal shared their love story with equal parts wit and sentiment, Like this Band took care of the entertainment side of things with a plethora of performers throughout different stages of the evening and everything from freshly shucked oysters to bagels were served up, ensuring the party never ended!
A truly decadent, dazzling day and one we wished we were there for!
The meeting.
We met through Instagram in 2015, Simon gave me a sneaky like from a photo from ‘12 weeks ago’, this was before you could slide into someone’s dm’s. I did the same and then we ended up chatting over Facebook, I made the first move. We decided to meet out at a bar in Melbourne, we spent the night chatting and we immediately knew it was on. We spent the next three days together eating Uber eats and watching movies. We were both immediately obsessed and were dating from that point onwards.
The ‘one’.
Almost immediately. After seeing each other a few times, it was clear that everything has changed and our entire focus became each other. It has been the same way for seven years.
The proposal.
The morning after a beautiful night out with our best friends in Melbourne, Sim woke up and came around my side of the bed and knelt down, Moe our dog sat beside him and asked. It was very simple, heartfelt and beautiful and in one of our favourite places, bed. He had planned on doing this at our beach house but the ring was burning a hole in his pocket and he couldn’t wait another second. He knew I wasn’t a public engagement or grand gestures kind of person so this was just perfect.
Style inspiration.
We tried to make it as ‘us’ as possible. I love a beautiful table setting so linens from Cloth and Confetti was a must. I chose some beautiful ceramic crockery and the ripple glassware from Dann hire and beautiful candles tied it all together to make a dreamy and classic setting. For the rest of the style we just aimed for earthy, understated tones with the real star being the florals which brought in some pops of colour. Dann Hire made it easy style wise as they have an amazing collection of furniture in beautiful neutral tones which were a nice point of difference.
Ivory Tribe, Hello May on Instagram gave me some great inspo for styling and florals. Our other suppliers were ones we had experienced at other weddings. Jackson our photographer was a non-negotiable, as was Like This Band and Josue films, as we had seen their magic at multiple events.
The ceremony.
Our ceremony was held in a gumtree paddock behind my parent’s back yard. This was extremely special for me as it is a place I spent hours playing, built cubby houses and spent so much time in my childhood. I felt very calm and relaxed as it was a place that I had been one million times before and it was extremely surreal seeing all of our friends and family there waiting for me to arrive. I walked over a little bridge into the ceremony area that I used to think was magical as a child and the magic was brought back that day! I loved how natural the setting was, with the beautiful gumtrees, the little creek running, the green grass and the amazing flower Arbour that looked like it belonged there. The rain had just cleared for the day and a moment I will never forget was when it started sprinkling rain in the ceremony and everyone popped up their umbrellas. Our celebrant Nat also made the ceremony a 10/10. She told our story in a way that reflected us perfectly as a couple, in a laid back, funny, yet sentimental way that avoided any cliches.
The look.
My dress was definitely not one I went looking for, the girls at Kyha chose it out and recommended it to me. I loved the organza sleeves and once I had tried it on, no other dresses compared. Simon had his suit and shirts made at P Johnson. He wanted a clean and classic look.
Favourite moments.
Coming into the marquee to ‘Baby I Love You’, seeing all of our favourite people with their napkins in the air, we couldn’t believe it was all for us! The happiness in that moment is indescribable and is something I will never forget.
Meaning of marriage.
Making each other your family. Having someone that is always in your corner, puts you first and has your back 24/7. Having someone to constantly celebrate your successes, big or small and someone to support you through the hard times. Your constant in life that you can always rely or, turn to and have fun with!
Wedding soundtrack.
Aisle: California Stars by Billy Bragg Reception
Reception entry: Baby I Love You by The Ramones
First Dance: Chrimson & Clover by Tommy James and The Shondells
Funny stories or near disasters.
My parents emu almost ruined the flower arbour by eating it so had to be ushered out of the ceremony area unfortunately. This was probably for the best as during the rehearsal, it chased after one of the bridesmaids. Would have made for good wedding day comedy though. It was the coldest day March has ever seen, with 80% chance of rain. I looked out the window at 2pm after having the most relaxing, stress free and fun morning and there was horizontal rain, bucketing down. My beautiful planner quickly organised for the purchase of 40 umbrellas and we popped them under the chairs. As soon as we were about to get into the car, the rain magically cleared.
Planning surprises.
How much time and energy goes into it. I was so surprised about the time and mental space that was freed up after the wedding. I enjoyed the planning process so much that I didn’t notice at the time. Post wedding blues are real, so be prepared!
Words of wisdom.
Use a budget spreadsheet to track spending, just don’t look at the running total, ever.
Make sure to have a detailed run sheet for the day, mine was a BEAST and was made by my wedding planner Lucy at Lulu Creative. It was organised into 5-minute intervals, including Simon dipping me on the dance floor.
Having an on-day coordinator is essential, especially for a home wedding. It fully takes the pressure of family and friends and means you can fully enjoy the day. We had Bonnie at Gathered Events and she was amazing. So professional, efficient and most importantly kind and laid back!
Get your bridal party together for a wedding wine tasting and food pairing. We just did this ourselves at home but was such a fun way for the bridal party to get to know each other better, nothing connects people more than thirty bottles of nice wine and it was so nice because everyone was comfortable together on the day.
Planning a wedding on a private property? Then instilling the help of a seasoned expert is a must. We know the best in the biz so check out our on the day planners here.
TARYN & SIMON’S VENDORS
Ceremony & Reception location: Buninyong, Victoria (parents private property)
Planner: Lulu Creative – If you want your day to go as smoothly as possible, make sure to get the assistance of Lucy at Lulu Creative. Lucy made every single wish come true, she has all the best vendors on speed dial and no task was too great. She has such a genuine love of what she does and it shines through in her excitement and positive attitude. Having someone like Lucy helping you at a home wedding Is essential if you haven’t planned events before, as, there will be 1000 things that you haven’t even considered she made sure even the most minor of details still hit the mark. She made the days leading up to the wedding feel so relaxing, as we were so organised and could just focus on enjoying the countdown.
Celebrant: Nat Sproal – All of our guests RAVED about our ceremony and how amazing Nat was. If you want someone who is laid back, creative and sentimental (with minimal cheesy cliches), Nat is your gal. She did such a great job of telling our story in a way that reflected us as a couple. She was engaging, funny and had everyone in tears. She really set the tone for our magical love filled day, everyone walked away from our ceremony with a big smile on their face and love hearts in their eyes.
Photography: Jackson Grant – I If you secure one thing early on for your wedding, it simply must be Jackson. The photos speak for themselves. Jackson has such a beautiful eye for detail and the small, special moments. Our one request was to keep it casual and to avoid posing and he truly delivered. Every single photo we received back from Jackson was a 10/10. He captured the exact vibe, happiness and love oozing out of our special day, from not only myself and my husband, but our families and guests. He brings so much fun, energy and classic one-liners to your day, you immediately feel comfortable in front of the camera. You will never want him to leave/want to make him your best friend forever. Also his outfits are stunning and his presence will make your day at least 50% cooler.
Videography: Josue Films
Florist: Flower Queen
Hair: KC Hair
Make Up: Illios Skin
The Dress & Veil: Kyha – Hazel Gown. The girls at Kyha were the ultimate hype queens. They showed genuine interest and excitement in the process and made the entire appointment so fun. They made great suggestions for the dress and I actually ended up choosing one of their recommendations.
Shoes: Senso
Rings: Luvluc (wedding bands and pearl earrings), Krista Mcrae (Engagement ring)
Bridesmaid’s dresses: Paris Georgia, Camilla and Marc, Shona Joy
Suits: P Johnson
Catering: Charlton Catering – Tracey and her team were incredibly efficient and professional. No one’s glass was ever empty and her staff were friendly, professional and efficient. No one went hungry and the food was DELICIOUS.
Blackman Bay Oysters (THE BEST!) – This was a highlight for us and for our guests. The waiters walked around the canapé area and shucked fresh oysters from Tasmania for guests with chosen accompaniments.
Round the Way Bagels (late night supper) – The late night snack is a must have! The crowd went wild for the mini cheeseburger bagels, tacos and shoestring fries! It gave all of the guests a second wind after one too many vinos.
Cake: Cake and Kaboodle – White chocolate mud cake and lemon cream cheese layered cake
Stationery / Signage: Lulu Creative
Entertainment: Like This Band – Ceremony: acoustic duo, Canapes: Jazz Quartet, Reception: 8 piece band
Décor: Dann Event Hire – furniture, bars, glassware. Cloth & Confetti – table runners and linen napkins
Honeymoon: Tasmania (Hobart, Brunny Island, Freycinet, Bay of Fires, Launceston, Crade Mountain)
On Day Coordination – Bonnie at Gathered Events
