Real Wedding - Trav & Jess, Coldstream VIC

April 17, 2018 In Real Weddings By Jessica Brawn

Real Wedding – Trav & Jess, Coldstream VIC

Trav and Jess wed in an elegant affair, set among the gorgeous grounds of The Riverstone Estate set in the beautiful Yarra Valley.

Their personal vows were a moment to remember as they not only shed tears but also laughed as they declared their love for each other.

The charm of the venue, coupled with the bride and groom’s adoration for one another, their favourite people, and some gorgeous styling, all made it a day to remember.

Captured by Tribe favourite Michael Briggs, this is a celebration set to blow you away.

In Jess’ words…

The meeting.

Trav and I met at a mutual friends birthday party on April 20^th, 2013. Trav had only just moved home from a six year stint in the UK. That night he came across like a bit of a bad boy, covered in tattoos, smoked, a bit too cool for school, albeit wearing a ladies nighty as it was a pajama party. Somehow he was still Mr. Cool. I’d met my fair share of Mr. Cool’s over the years so didn’t expect much, even after we’d hung out all night and gotten along so well, and he’d promised to Facebook me, as he had no credit. After the party to my surprise, Trav did as promised and Facebook messaged me and we ended up catching up for dinner the following week. Since then, things fell into place really quickly! Living together by September 2013 and inseparable ever since. For those wondering, he still buys credit for his phone to this day.

The one.

Trav was definitely the ‘keen one’ early on in the relationship (which he would totally admit). I was a little more reserved as I had to work him out. I had never ever met anyone like Trav before and the beautiful gestures he organised back then in the “woo-ing” phase I’m still lucky enough to experience now, five years on. He was and still is the most thoughtful, loving, kind, funny, generous person I know and I think once I really worked out it was genuinely him – as I honestly believed men like him did not exist – I gave in.

The proposal.

For a change of pace, I let Trav arrange a weekend away for our anniversary (he did not disappoint!) After he invited my dad for a special 1 on 1 midweek dinner, you could say I was slightly suspicious! Trav blindfolded me and drove me to the Mornington Peninsula, when he took the blind fold off we were at one of our favourite wineries – Polperro. Later that evening (when I had lost all hope) we were sitting in our robes enjoying a few wines and a picnic on our deck. Trav finally got up the courage to ask me to marry him. It was perfect and everything I’d ever wished for!

The planning.

We got engaged in June 2016, pulled together an amazing engagement party in October that year and then didn’t tie the knot until Feb 9th 2018. We decided this would give us enough time to plan and save. There was lots to do in the months that followed the engagement, but then all of the sudden, nothing! This was clearly the calm before the storm, as the few months that lead up to the wedding were hectic, and consumed 99% of my time and thoughts! Why we decided to cut the budget around a wedding planner I’ll never know, I think I wanted to experience what it was like and didn’t think our wedding was too complex. I clearly wasn’t thinking! A wedding planner would be something I’d definitely recommend to other brides about to commence this crazy wedding planning journey!

Style inspiration.

Both Trav and I wanted a wedding the reflected us, a venue that was stunning, had natural character and wouldn’t need huge amounts of styling! Riverstone Estate was the perfect spot, it is a venue you don’t really even need to style because the view is one of the best! It had everything we were looking for. The winery had old charm with stain glassed windows, a huge decked area overlooking the Valley and festoon lighting. Riverstone was a canvas and Aamie, our beautiful florist from When Frankie Met George, put her touch on! I trusted her completely and we had numerous conversations about our styling being natural with heaps of greenery, with white florals throughout and a splash of pink for me! It was natural and romantic with flowers, a foliage wall and tea light candles scattered everywhere!

The dress.

I spent a few special days dress shopping in Melbourne with Mum, she will always be super honest so it was important she loved whatever I chose! I didn’t find the “one” during those trips, I actually flew up to Sydney to catch up with one of my beautiful bridesmaids Katie and ended up going into Karen Willis Holmes in Alexandria. It was mainly so she could see me try on a few dresses and be involved (and obviously have a sneaky glass of bubbles; even though it was 10am, you can’t bridal shop without it). We found the one that day! I booked another appointment at the Melbourne boutique and my Mum, Dad, bridesmaid Skye and our MC Tahnee came along, my sister/Maid of Honour Loz flew in from Newcastle to surprise me for the appointment! I had all my favs see the dress, and with my Dad getting a bit teary I knew I’d found it!

My dress is fit and flare which suits my body, being teeny tiny in height I needed something relatively form fitting so this was the best of both worlds! It’s strapless but high enough around the bust to not experience unflattering wedding cleavage which was my worst nightmare! The beading on the corset added an elegant and delicate touch and the addition of the removable train made my feel more princess-esque for the ceremony and photos!

The meaning of marriage.

Marriage to us means love, support, commitment and laughter. It’s about saying we are in this for the long run, and making that promise official! When I think about marriage I get so excited because it’s also an awesome excuse for a well-orchestrated party.

Favourite moment/s.

I loved every aspect of the day! It honestly was perfect! Some highlights were waking up the morning of next to each other! Going against tradition we stayed together all weekend with our whole wedding party and a few extras! This was full on but exactly what we imagined our day and celebrations to be! Doing our “first look” prior to the ceremony was scary, exciting and emotional all in one, seeing Trav for the first time, but also seeing him see me was really special. Our vows were something both of us were petrified about but they were the absolute best and made me laugh and cry simultaneously, which is when you know you’ve got magic! From the time our reception begun and formalities were over I was on dance floor with all of my beautiful family and friends, I have all of the photo and video reminders of how wild that dance floor got and it has still made me smile every day since.

Wedding soundtrack.

Aisle: Home by Edwina Hayes
Signing of the registry: Higher Love by James Vincent
Pronounced as Husband and Wife: Perfect by Ed Sheeran
Introduced to the reception: Hold On, We’re Going Home by Drake
Father/Daughter Dance: Autumn Leaves by Paolo Nutini
First Dance: So Into You by Tamia (Childish Gambino version)

Funny stories/near disasters.

We had a couple of minor things go wrong in the lead up, our bus company that was transporting our guests pulled out with two weeks to go, but with the stellar support of our venue, Riverstone Estate, I was able to book another company who were much more helpful, and as a bonus, cheaper! Yarra Valley Transfers – thank-you!

Something hilarious was the additional love story that was happening over the wedding weekend. We managed to orchestrate a relationship between my bridesmaid Katie Hart and Trav’s groomsmen and our long term friend Matt Davies. Prepare to feature their epic wedding in the future!

Also watching 90% of our wedding guests including Trav and I dancing in unison to Souljah Boy, I seriously hope this was caught by the boys from OneHeart!

Planning surprises.

Because I organise events as part of my role at City of Melbourne, I thought this would be really fun and not at all stressful. Don’t get me wrong there were definitely fun times throughout! But I didn’t imagine myself to get flustered and certainly didn’t see myself being a bridezilla! I think I managed to keep most of that bad behaviour saved up for Trav in the lead up! The combination of logistically planning a wedding, managing a million suppliers and dealing with this exciting but scary life event that’s about to happen is what causes stress. Ask for help when you need it and as Trav would often advise – just breathe.

Words of wisdom.

Sit down with one another and work out what suppliers are important to you both and go after them first. For us, photographer, celebrant, music and flowers we most important! Make a list of different vendors, get quotes and meet with several if needed. These people are going to have a huge impact on the day and the overall vibe, so be sure and don’t cut corners on things that matter to you. Once you meet someone you like, BOOK THEM IN! Don’t worry about meeting anyone else, cross it off the list and move on to the next. Better yet, unfollow all other wedding photographers on Instagram, as you don’t want to spend the next 12 months second guessing a decision you’ve made.

Also, if you’ve got the money in budget, book a wedding planner! My favourite planners to get inspiration from have been Weddings of Desire, and if budget isn’t even an issue for you at all; The Style Co are the holy grail.

Last words.

Something our photographer Briggsy said to us at the start was to not forget what the day was ACTUALLY about. Yes the flowers, the music and the food and drinks are all important, but Trav and I kept reminding ourselves throughout the process that it was about the vows and promises we were making to each other and the marriage we were about to enter! Try not to forget the essence of the day, the party is just the bonus.