Real Wedding – Victoria & Sam, Bannockburn VIC

Victoria and Sam’s vision for their wedding day was to craft an intimate, fun, and personal celebration that harmonised perfectly with the ambiance of Clyde Park and they achieved exactly that.

In selecting their florals, linen, and stationery for their special day, Victoria and Sam deliberately embraced a theme of understated elegance and timeless beauty. They favoured a minimalistic approach, with a focus on clean lines and classic elements. Notable details included the subtle yet captivating hints of blue that adorned their floral arrangements. These thoughtfully incorporated elements provided a unique and sophisticated twist to their overall wedding look.

Victoria looked absolutely stunning in her Kyha Studios gown, featuring hand-draped tulle that gracefully wrapped around the bodice, a stylish dipped back neckline, and elegant ruched tulle sleeves. The structured bodice with a gentle sweetheart neckline provided the perfect, flawless fit.

Ministry of DJ’s did an incredible job kickstarting the dance floor and ensuring that Victoria, Sam, and their guests danced the night away.

With talented photographer, Tess Follett, skillfully capturing all the enchanting moments, scroll on for all the darling details of this day.

The meeting.

We met as teenagers, sharing a similar friendship group, and over time, we just realised we clicked. He asked me to be his girlfriend at the milk bar across the road from my high school when we were 14, and here we are now at 25!

The ‘one’.

We have essentially grown up together because we started dating when we were so young; we had an immediate connection and banter. We’ve navigated a range of significant life experiences together and have always done so with unwavering support and love for one another. We both agree that there was no specific moment of knowing we’d found ‘the one’ – instead, a gradual realisation that we wouldn’t want to go through life without the other by our side.

The proposal.

It was just before another one of the many COVID lockdowns in early 2021.

Sam suggested we go out for dinner before we went back into lockdown, which I was all for. However, the whole dinner, Sam was so quiet and was on his phone a lot – which is very unlike him, so something felt off.

We got home, and our friend Tom had finished this outdoor lounge area for us that he’d been working on; Sam suggested we go and sit out there for some wine. I went to get a jacket while he said he’d get the fire going.

I walked out the back and saw Sam standing there, with my favourite song playing – he got on one knee and asked me to marry him! Sam also organised our beautiful friends to come and celebrate with us afterwards, we all had drinks and danced out the back by the fire, it was the most beautiful night. Couldn’t imagine anything better. It was perfect.

Planning process.

Not long after we got engaged, we made the decision to plan for a wedding in early 2023 due to the unknown of COVID at the time. My family live overseas, and we wanted to give ourselves the best chance of them being able to attend. We were lucky that by planning so far ahead, we were able to lock in all of our dream vendors.

We had meetings to look at several venues, but once we had the meeting with Clyde Park, Sam was actually the one to make the call and didn’t want to look anywhere else.

The initial planning process seemed to just fall into place and was very smooth – we ended up having months and months in between where we didn’t have to do anything at all. The months just prior to the wedding were just incredibly exciting – lots of catch-ups and locking in final details with vendors.

Style inspiration. 

We both agreed prior to beginning planning that we wanted our wedding to feel intimate, fun and true to us – which is why our venue, Clyde Park, was the perfect venue. Not only did they offer delicious food and wine, but it is also such a beautiful location – the views across the valley and vineyard are amazing – and the venue itself felt so warm and intimate. We truthfully didn’t need to do much in terms of additional styling. When choosing our florals, linen and stationery for the day, we kept to a very minimal and timeless look, with elements such as the design of our on-the-day stationery and hint of blue in our florals as points of difference.

We found all of our vendors via Instagram, and it was really key in finding inspiration for styling elements  – particularly florals, table styling and stationery – and the overall vibe of the wedding.

Ivory Tribe was also a big source of inspiration. I am guilty of loving Ivory Tribe even prior to being engaged – I was and still am such a sucker for the real weddings section. It was especially helpful once we had locked in our vendors and wanted inspiration on how we wanted the day to feel and the overall vibe; it was a much more intimate/personal resource – being able to hear directly from people on their weddings is invaluable.

The ceremony.

It was a really beautiful celebration that felt so surreal, light-hearted and intimate. Hearing Sam’s vows for the first time and being able to share mine with him was so incredibly special, especially to do so in front of our family and friends. Our celebrant, Kahani, was incredible and curated a beautifully personalised ceremony that captured us and told our story so far, with plenty of laughter and tears. It was perfect, everything we could have hoped for and more.

The look. 

I spent a weekend in Melbourne with my mum; I think I had around six appointments at various designers – which was incredibly overwhelming – however, I knew from the start that KYHA Studios was where I had always wanted my wedding dress to be from. The team at KYHA was phenomenal and so helpful, and they made the whole experience so wonderful and exciting – I tried on a few different dresses, and my wedding dress was actually one I hadn’t even thought to try – I was obsessed the moment I tried it on.

For Sam, the process was so easy (shocking) – he knew he wanted the classic look of a black tux. Eddy Elias were brilliant, and the boys all really enjoyed the process; from two fittings, they created the most perfect timeless suits for Sam and his groomsmen.

Favourite moments.

It’s so difficult to just choose one moment; the whole day was perfect, but there was something so special about seeing Sam for the first time.

I only really got nervous just as the ceremony started, but the second I saw him standing there at the end of the aisle, I honestly just melted. From that moment, the whole ceremony felt surreal; as cringe as it sounds, all I could see was him.

I remember talking to him later in the night about how it was such a whirlwind and that I could barely remember hearing the music or what the florals all looked like. Thank god for our beautiful photos and the wedding film to look back on.

Meaning of marriage.

I had the following sentiment written in my vows – that falling in love with Sam didn’t feel like falling at all; it felt like walking into a house and knowing I was home. This is what marriage means to us. It is a celebration of finding the person you can’t wait to come home to each day, to tell them everything and to have them by your side throughout whatever life has in store. It is acknowledging the ongoing commitment to adore, respect and have unwavering support for one another. Marriage itself doesn’t change anything, but the concept of sharing that love and celebrating with your family and friends is so special.

Wedding soundtrack.

Our ceremony songs were both performed by the INCREDIBLE duo of Maisie & Josh from Tillee Music.

Aisle: Bloom by The Paper Kites

Recessional:  This Will Be (An Everlasting Love) by Natalie Cole

Reception entry (bridal party): I Like Love (I Love Love) by Solitaire

Reception entry (bride and groom): Burning Love by Elvis

First dance: Love Is A Verb by John Mayer

Funny stories or near disasters.

One of my beautiful bridesmaids, Em, was sent out the doors to start walking down the aisle a good five minutes too early – the poor thing had to turn around and walk back – but it truly couldn’t have happened to a better person  – she was so, so funny and brushed it off so well – everyone was laughing, and when she came back down a few minutes later, everyone cheered her on. The rest of the girls ended up being cheered for when they walked down the aisle as well, which was so special and made the whole vibe of the ceremony so fun.

Planning surprises.

How much is involved in planning a wedding – it is so easy to feel overwhelmed and get caught up in what others have done for their weddings. However, the whole process overall was so positive and so much fun.

Words of wisdom.

Soak it all in, and enjoy the whole process – it’s so hard to put into words how special the lead-up and day are. It goes by so quickly.

There are definitely aspects to planning a wedding that can feel overwhelming, but taking time to step back by doing things like having a glass of wine together, dancing to your wedding playlist and letting yourselves lean into the excitement of it all is a fab way to remind yourselves that the most important part is that you’re going to be marrying your best friend.

Also – get the disposable cameras. They are worth it. The additional film photos we have from the morning of, right up until the end of the night, are priceless.

There’s no doubt that the soundscape of your wedding can impact every aspect of the celebration. So, when choosing your entertainment, check out some of the best in the business via our directory.

VICTORIA & SAM’S VENDORS

Ceremony & reception venue: Clyde Park Vineyard. We loved Clyde Park from the second we walked in – I still remember Sam saying we had to cancel the rest of our venue meetings because he didn’t want to get married anywhere else. Terry, Sue and the rest of the Clyde Park crew are phenomenal; they made us feel so comfortable, and everything from the planning, the setup and the big day itself was perfect.

Celebrant: Kahani. Gosh, we absolutely adore Kahani. We were so nervous for the ceremony, as we both hate being the centre of attention/public speaking, but from the first time we met with her, we were immediately so comfortable and knew she would be incredible. She made the whole planning of the ceremony so exciting and was the perfect soundboard for both of us when we were writing our vows. Our ceremony was so beautifully tailored to us we couldn’t have asked for anyone better.

Photography: Tess Follett. Tess is, without a doubt, the best of the best. Her expertise is second to none; she made us all feel so comfortable and guided us through the whole day. We had so much fun when we went off to get photos together and with our bridal party. We could not be happier with all of our photos; they are so beautiful and well-captured, we will treasure them forever.

Videography: Moon & Back Co. One of the first vendors we locked in; we loved their films as soon as we saw them on socials. They were so incredible to deal with in the lead-up to the big day, and Christine, our videographer on the day, was so wonderful.  Our wedding film is absolutely beautiful; they captured the day perfectly.

Florist: The Refined Bloom Co. Annie is one of the most lovely humans I have ever met. She was SO helpful and easy to work with; she was on board every time I changed my mind on what colour scheme/vibe I had in mind for the florals, and the end result was better than anything I ever could have imagined.

Hair: Jessica Burtt. Jess has been doing my hair for years, and she is an absolute ray of sunshine. She was such a calming force on the morning of the wedding. I wanted my bridesmaids to be able to choose how they wanted their hair so they were comfortable – Jess was super accommodating to this, and each of the girls looked absolutely stunning – we were all especially impressed by how incredible the hairstyle was that Jess did for my younger sister who has the most beautiful natural ringlet curls.

Make-up: Maddi Nicholls. Maddi is amazing! She is so sweet and, like Jess, was such a calming force the morning of the wedding. Maddi went above and beyond to make sure everyone was comfortable and happy with the looks she created. We all made comments throughout the day/night about how lightweight the makeup felt on our skin and how it lasted the whole night.

Tans: The Sorority. Aimee from The Sorority is an absolute angel! She came to the house to do our tans, and she made every one of the girls feel so comfortable – including my younger sisters, who had never had spray tans before and my mum, who was initially reluctant to have her tan done – they all felt so beautiful as a result.

The dress & veil: KYHA Studios. The girls at KYHA are incredible, they are so helpful and knowledgeable. Every appointment felt so special and exciting and made the whole experience so memorable. Also, a huge thank you to Adelaide, who made me try on the Ziva gown at my first appointment – I would have never thought to try it on, and it was truly the perfect wedding dress.

Shoes: Dior

Rings: Lili Fine Jewellery. Jason at Lili Fine Jewellery is fantastic. He created both our wedding rings as well as my engagement ring, all of which were beautifully made. So much attention to detail, and wonderful to deal with throughout the whole process.

Bridesmaid’s dresses: Bec + Bridge, as well as an unreal Boohoo find! I’m so glad I went with the concept of mismatched dresses – I knew I wanted cohesion in the colour and material but dreaded the idea that I would be making the girls wear something they weren’t comfortable in. Bec + Bridge dresses were such a perfect fit; it was so easy going into the store and having the ability to try on a bunch of different dresses. One of my bridesmaids, Em, also ended up finding a gorgeous dress on Boohoo that she wore on the day. The girls all looked so beautiful and so happy they were wearing something they loved.

Suits: Eddy Elias. The team at Eddy Elias in Geelong were amazing. Sam and his groomsmen had such a wonderful experience getting their suits organised – they particularly loved being able to have a beer whilst at the fittings! The suits were so timeless and well-made; the boys all looked so handsome on the day.

Cake: Sue from Clyde Park Vineyard – she owns the property with her husband Terry. The cake looked so beautiful, exactly like the inspiration we had shown her and, more importantly, tasted incredible – the leftovers didn’t stand a chance at our day-after celebrations.

Stationery / Signage: State of Elliott. Sarah and her team were incredible; she was so so helpful in picking out colour schemes and made the process so simple for us. The end products were stunning and looked beautiful on the day. SOE hire items were also so easy to organise and looked great.

Entertainment: Acoustic duo – Maisie & Josh, from Tillee Music. Tillee Music were wonderful when it came to planning and organising the music for our ceremony. Maisie & Josh sounded beautiful on the day; they are both so incredibly talented. So many of our guests commented on how fabulous the music was during the canapé hour also.

DJ – Andy, from Ministry of DJs. Andy was amazing! He made everything so easy and was incredibly helpful; we got so much great feedback on how wonderful he was on the night and still, to this day, we have friends and family saying how fabulous he is. He also created a Spotify playlist for us to have that included all the songs he played throughout the night, which we felt was a really special touch.

Transport: Nuptial Collective organised a beautiful old Rolls Royce that I went to the wedding in with my parents – I feel so awful that I’ve forgotten his name, but our driver who owned the car was AMAZING. He was so incredibly friendly and matched our excitement the whole way there; his chats on the way up definitely helped ease my nerves (and my dad’s as well). We also had local businesses Murrells and McHarrys to transport guests – all of which were so easy to organise everything with.

Linens: Table Art Event Hire. The girls at Table Art were wonderful, they had so many options and were very helpful when it came to making the final decision.

Honeymoon: We spent two nights at Jackalope after the wedding, which was amazing, and we are heading off to Hawaii in August for our honeymoon.