Real Wedding – Tristan & Alex, Rutherglen VIC
High Country Wedding
Alex and Tristan’s dream day is a stunning pastel vision of boundless blissed-up emotion, chic romance and incredible fun-filled vibes. Leaning on a stellar line-up of local vendors meant their planning process was guided by expertise, and the day unfolded in the smoothest of experiences.
Choosing to do things their way led to touches of tradition interspersed with divine detail. An all-out family dance number, hot jam doughnut dessert and even a surprise song from singer Alex to her new husband made for a captivating concoction of memory-making moments, all captured through the gorgeous lens of Georgie James Photography.
A long-time fan of the fabulous Georgia Young Couture, it was no surprise that Alex chose one of her gorgeous gowns for her wedding day. Layers of soft embossed fabric drape to glam perfection, accessorised by a chic column veil and switched up for dance floor drama with the addition of some killer kicks later on. We love seeing our friends, The White Tree, making magic behind the mics.
The gents look sharp in navy tuxes, immaculately articulated against the bridesmaids in shades of sweet pastel. The overall effect is one of a fresh spring dream, modern and romantic.
To see every dreamy detail of this divine day, scroll on.
The meeting.
It all began back in 2012 at Uni. Before we had even met, I (Alex) referred to Tristan as the guy in the black cap because he wore the same hat every day. Tristan referred to me as the girl in the Doc Martens because I usually wore big, chunky boots that made me look like I had clown feet. After a while, we started studying in the library together, then we became friends, then (as many good love stories happen), one night after a few cheap white wines at a local footy club night, we shared a dance floor smooch and voila – love blossomed.
The ‘one’.
Alex: three months into our relationship, we went on our first romantic holiday together to Fiji. We both ended up with terrible food poisoning a few days before the end of the trip. Even though Tris was just as unwell as me, he was so attentive and caring. He made sure we were well stocked with water, Gatorade, plain biscuits… toilet paper. We were so sick, but you couldn’t wipe the smiles off our faces, and I knew that if he could make me laugh even at my worst, he was the one for me.
Tristan: I had a lot of trouble writing my vows because I really wanted to pinpoint the moment I knew Alex was the one, but I realised I couldn’t – and that’s OK! It was because there were too many “she’s the one” moments to narrow it down; lucky me!
The proposal.
Tris: It was Alex’s 28th birthday and a cold winter’s night in London lockdown (we lived in London at the time). Alex started getting dolled up for her birthday dinner at our share house with our housemates. I told Al that the housemates had asked me to take her out for a quick walk whilst they were getting the house ready (not true, of course, but all part of the plan). We walked along Upper St Islington, past the lovely Christmas lights, and when we got to the Islington Town Hall (one of our favourite buildings), I stopped and told Alex I wanted to take a photo of her. I took the photo, then came and stood next to her, put my arm around her and said, ‘How many weddings do you think we’ve seen at this place?’
She answered, ‘I don’t know. Lots? Why?’
I replied, ‘It’s just such a beautiful building, and we’ve seen so many weddings here; it would be nice if this place was part of our love story in some way.’
I then looked at her and said, ‘You bring out the best in people, Alex, and that’s especially true for me. You make me the best version of myself, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you’.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out a little black box, got down on one knee, right there in front of the town hall and proposed.
Planning process.
Alex: We had the BEST time planning our wedding. It was very much a team effort, and we both played to our strengths. Tris took all the logistics (setting up the website, buses, budget, RSVP tracking, signage and most importantly, DRINKS). I took the lead on some more creative elements (flowers, the band, colour theme), and then we both decided on everything else together. We both love being organised, so everything was planned on a 28-tab spreadsheet!
Style inspiration.
We wanted it to be a big, fun, love-filled feast and party. We have big extended groups of family and friends, and we wanted everyone to drink, eat, dance and be merry! We also wanted people to have fun with their outfits too, so we made the dress code colourful cocktail, and it was a beautiful contrast against the rustic country setting at Mount Ophir.
We also opted for some fun, nontraditional touches. Instead of a father/daughter dance, we danced with both sets of parents to We Are Family; instead of a cake, we did a tower of cheese, and for dessert, we had a hot jam and cinnamon doughnut van. Also, instead of a traditional guest book, we had an audio guest book where people could leave (some very silly) voicemails.
We loved looking at photos of other weddings at our location or similar locations as it helped shape our vision for the day. We were very blessed that our photographer Georgie had shot lots of weddings nearby, so we used her photos a lot for inspo. We also found it very helpful to get advice from friends who had recently been married. We got opinions from lots of people, but the best advice and tips came from those who had just been through it themselves.
The ceremony.
Alex: I arrived sitting on the back of Dad’s blue convertible BMW (It was my something old, borrowed and blue) with my maid of honour/sister, my Mum and my Dad. Doing an acknowledgement to country was very important to us both, so we sought advice from friends to ensure our wording was as accurate and respectful as possible. Our celebrant is a close family friend who I’ve known since I was eight, which made it extra special as she has seen our relationship from the very start. For our vows, we wrote eight-ten promises to each other and then both finished with the same line, ‘How wonderful life is now you’re in the world’ – which is from Your Song by Elton John (which I walked down the aisle to).
The outfit.
Alex: I wore a one-shoulder Georgia Young gown. The first wedding dress I ever saw and loved was by Georgia Young. I knew it was the one as soon as I tried it on. I didn’t want to do a dress change because I was just so in love with my dress, so instead, when the dance floor really kicked off later in the night, I changed into some colourful sneakers, and Georgia’s dress design allowed the sleeve to be tucked around the back of the dress, leaving both my arms free for maximum dance moves.
Tris: I always wanted to go with a classic look and prefer a navy suit to black, so the navy tux was a no-brainer. I’d had good experiences with Oscar Hunt in the past and knew I wanted to go with them. It was a great to go in with all of my groomsmen and make a day of it.
Favourite moments.
Alex: I know it seems like a cop-out, but I cannot put it down to one moment. I loved every minute of our day, from start to finish. Getting ready with my best friends and my Mum, holding hands with Tris as he read out his beautiful vows to me, climbing up onto a rickety window frame to get the perfect ‘shot’, the wonderful speeches, and being on the dance floor together all night.
Tristan: My favourite part of the day came right at the end of our wedding speech when Alex surprised me by singing Make You Feel My Love by Adele. Yes, Alex is a singer, and it had been joked that she would sing at our wedding, but she had told me that there was NO WAY IN THE WORLD she would be singing at our wedding, so I thought it was off the cards. Until it wasn’t! She blew me and everyone else away. Not many dry eyes in the house.
Meaning of marriage.
Marriage to us means getting to spend every day of the rest of our lives with the person who understands each other best in the world. It’s knowing you’ll never go into or end any day alone.
Wedding soundtrack.
We LOVE Elton John (sad to admit we were in his top 1% of Spotify listeners last year), so we always knew Your Song would be our aisle song.
Our first dance was to Alicia Keys If I Ain’t Got You, and we had one of our best friends, Simone, sing it for us, which was super special.
Funny stories or near disasters.
Alex: I had a near disaster with my tan. I had developed some stress eczema on the very front of my neck a few days before the wedding, and went I went for my spray tan, it stuck to my dry skin like, you know what. It looked like a huge bruise or splotch of mud on my neck, and I was in full panic mode. But after some very gentle scrubbing, some moisturising and some miracle working of the make-up gals on the wedding day, it all turned out fine!
Also, two days after our wedding, the road out of Rutherglen literally collapsed (it’s ok now!), so if our wedding had been the week after, there is a high chance we couldn’t have had it there at all.
Planning surprises.
Tris: I think we found it surprising how many people expected Alex to be doing all the planning and for me to just turn up in my suit on the day. So many people were shocked that we did it all together.
Words of wisdom.
If you decide to have a mostly DIY wedding (e.g. Mount Ophir was a blank canvas venue, and we had to bring everything in ourselves), it is very helpful to try and get a group of suppliers who know each other and have worked together before so that the day runs smoothly.
It is one day, so try to enjoy the process leading up to it as much as possible. Then when you look back on it, you don’t just have the day to look back on but the whole lead-up to it as well.
Considering a blank canvas venue, but unsure whether it’s worth the work? Consider engaging one of our incredible planners to lighten the load and bring your vision to life, here on the directory.
TRISTAN & ALEX’S VENDORS
We are lucky as two of our best friends, Nat and Trav (Nat was our MC), live in Rutherglen, and we just love that part of the world, so we knew we wanted to get married up there. We wanted to go with as many local suppliers as possible, so Nat sent us a list of options. We locked in our venue, photographer, catering and florist, all from that list. We found the rest of our suppliers through recommendations from friends. We also found blogs like Wed Shed helpful (they had tips for vow writing and a drinks calculator) and Ivory Tribe for styling inspiration.
Ceremony & reception venue: Mount Ophir Estate, Rutherglen. They also offer accommodation on site which was very helpful for bridal party and family/getting ready.
Celebrant: Elizabeth Stewart
Photography: Georgie James Photography
Videography: OneHeart Studios
Styling & decor: Anna from Bang Event Co
Florist: Carla from Thistle & Fern. We had so many compliments on our flowers on the day. The pastel palette was perfect and matched the bridesmaid dresses so well.
Hair: Suze from Jack and The Fox.
Make-up: The Beauty Mark. Jas and Alaura had such beautiful energy and made us all feel like absolute queens.
The dress & veil: Georgia Young
Shoes: Wittner
Rings: Simon West
Bridesmaid’s dresses: L’idee
Suits: Oscar Hunt
Bow ties / ties: Tristan’s tie – DeClic, groomsmen ties from Calvin Klein (David Jones)
Catering: The brilliant couple team of Matt & Erica from Milkin Kitchen (Grace, Rutherglen). We both LOVE food, and so do Matt and Erica. I don’t know how they made phenomenal food for 175 people in a location with no working kitchen on site, but they did!
Bar: Alcohol sourced ourselves, served by staff from Milkin Kitchen
Favours: In lieu of favours, we donated to Dementia Australia
Cake / Cake topper: Tower of cheese – Matt & Erica from Milkin Kitchen, Hot Donuts from Tim at Happy Cat Donuts
Stationery / Signage: Tristan’s extremely talented graphic designer sister Renee
Entertainment: The White Tree
Honeymoon: Mexico!
Other: Audio Guest book from At The Beep
