Tuscan style at an outdoor Butter Factory wedding
Kyle and Emily had always dreamed of a Tuscan wedding, so they brought the romance home. A historic butter factory in Gunbower became their backdrop, full of rustic charm and sunlit elegance.
Having lived and travelled overseas, they wanted a day that felt intimate and personal. Beside the beautiful Gunbower Creek, they exchanged vows that were emotional, heartfelt, and entirely their own.
Bridesmaids shimmered in soft dusty blue, mirrored in delicate touches throughout the florals, while Emily’s floral-appliqué gown felt effortlessly romantic. As the sun dipped, guests gathered around long tables, with an Aperol spritz in hand.
Photographed by Love By Shae, the day was layered with thoughtful DIY details, warm moments, and unmistakable love.
The meeting.
We met in Adelaide ten years ago. We are both from country Victoria but went to Adelaide for university. Kyle studied to be a schoolteacher and I completed a commerce degree. As we were coming from the country, we were staying at university accommodation – Aquinas College. Kyle was in his third year at Aquinas and I was a fresher. When I arrived, I was put in the same ‘house’ as Kyle with twenty other people. Kyle and I bonded over being two of the very few Victorians at Aquinas. We would walk home from pub nights together and stop for a typical schnitzel hot pack at the Blue & White, and that’s where it all started.
The one.
Kyle and I had such similar upbringings and values. We both have big families, a love for travel and big career aspirations. We spent hours and hours talking about our childhoods and the future just weeks after we first met, we knew this was going to be something special. However, 18 months after being together I headed off to Montreal, Canada for a semester abroad and that was our first stint of long distance. We survived and supported one another and that is when we really knew.
The proposal.
Kyle and I are big travellers and spent two years living in London and travelling around Europe.
About a year into our overseas adventure, we went to Belgium for the weekend. Kyle had been travelling for about three weeks prior and the ring had been made in London, so he trusted one of his friends to bring the ring and meet him in Poland.
The ring then travelled to Prague and then to Bruges where it was finally put on my finger – nine years after we first met!
Kyle walked around with it in his pocket for the day and then found a nice quiet bridge where he got down on one knee, there were so many tears that I nearly forgot to say ‘yes’ and he made some poor stranger video the whole thing!
Planning process.
Half of the planning process was done from the other side of the world; we booked in our wedding venue without seeing it and had meetings with all of our vendors virtually and on different time zones. We spent nights in our campervan in Norway and Portugal organising our save the dates and a few other bits and pieces.
When we returned home, we were so excited to celebrate our engagement with friends and family, and this is when the DIY component all began. We spent months shopping on Facebook Marketplace, picking bits up from op shops and spent quite a few craft nights with my maid of honour, Sydonny. Kyle also spent his school holidays in my stepdad’s workshop, building a bar, creating signs and painting gold frames.
Overall, we loved the process and would definitely do it all over again. The week leading up to our big day was so special, we had multiple people coming from overseas, so it really turned into a week of dinners, craft nights and celebrations.
Style inspiration.
I had always dreamed of a Tuscany wedding, but family and friends are so important to us, and we knew they wouldn’t all be able to make the journey. So, we brought Tuscany to the small country town of Gunbower, close to where I grew up. We both love our childhoods but have also spent so much time travelling so it felt fitting to have a country European styled wedding with Aperol spritz, Italian canapes and limoncello shots.
The ceremony.
Our ceremony was our favourite part of the day. Set by Gunbower Creek on a beautiful 24-degree spring afternoon. Kyle arrived by boat with his groomsmen, brother and Dad and was greeted by Emily’s Dad and stepdad when he arrived. I walked down the stairs of a beautiful old rustic butter factory and had my eldest brother walk me down half of the aisle with my other brother walking me down the rest. We had our beautiful three bridesmaids wearing a dusty blue Hansel & Gretel dress and Kyle had three groomsmen in M.J Bale suits.
Our celebrant, Corinda, was incredible, wearing a big smile throughout the entire day. She introduced our wedding party, told our story and also added some humour with a Lord of the Rings reference to our ring bearer – one of Kyle’s groomsmen was the person that picked up the engagement ring from London and now he was giving us our wedding rings on our wedding day.
Grim Fawkner, our musician played a beautiful acoustic version of ‘Everywhere’ by Fleetwood Mac as I walked down the aisle and was also able to play a quick Lord of the Rings overlay during the giving of the rings. Kyle and I read our personal vows to each other with just a few tears. We both felt so present.
Once the ceremony was over, we walked back down the aisle to Signed, Sealed, Delivered with a cheeky dip and kiss in the middle with our loved ones throwing confetti. It really was our dream ceremony. Cocktail hour then kicked off straight away with the Aperol’s flowing!
The outfits.
When we were living in London, my mum came over and one of my bridesmaids and I surprised her one day and went wedding dress shopping. We had no expectations to find anything, we just thought it would be a fun thing to do for the morning. When shopping, I had tried on a few dresses, but my Mum picked up one dress at the end which was very different and she asked me to try it on. I instantly fell in love, took it off, looked at the price tag and thought that would never happen. However, we took a photo of the tag and started doing some research, it turns out it was an Australian designer.
When we returned from overseas, I went shopping in a few different boutiques with my Mum, but nothing felt right. I wanted something that was different, but I still wanted to feel like me. We decided to start doing more research on this dress we had found in London, it turned out that it was stocked in a boutique in Melbourne. We went and tried it on and instantly fell in love straight away! That was the one.
Kyle found his suit by doing a quick bit of research online, booking in to a few places with his groomsmen and loved the first suit he tried on. It really is that simple for guys! He was going to be standing next to his twin brother, so we knew he needed something a little different – he wore a tux and the groomsmen wore a suit.
Favourite moment.
Our favourite moments were the ceremony and after our first dance when Kyle’s Dad started a conga line to get the party going. Having all of our friends and family on the dancefloor together was pretty special.
Meaning of marriage.
Having been together for so long, marriage had a less of a traditional meaning for us. Ten years after we met, it just felt right that it was the beginning of our next chapter. In some ways, it symbolised us coming home, settling down and enjoying family time.
Wedding soundtrack.
Aisle – Everywhere by Fleetwood Mac,
Reception entry – Celebration by Kool & the Gang,
First dance – The Time of My Life by Bill Medley, Jennifer Warnes
Funny stories (or near disasters).
Kyle lost one of his cuff links on the day and the videographer fortunately had a safety pin to do the job – I am only finding out about this now!
Kyle became sick three days before the wedding (stomach issues) when we had a house full of people including bridesmaids and groomsmen. We’re lucky that we isolated Kyle but it could have been a different story if we all got what he had!
Planning surprises.
Everyone says how quickly the day goes, but when you really start planning it out, there isn’t a lot of buffer room in there.
Words of wisdom.
On the night of our wedding, at the after party, I found myself giving this advice: “Just do it – it’s all worth it. Money doesn’t matter.” And honestly, I’d give the same advice today.
I understand why people elope, but for us having everyone there for one day was all worth it.
If you have non-negotiables make sure you stick to them. Find the vendors that will help you get the wedding of your dreams, yes you will have to compromise but write out the things that really matter to you and don’t compromise on those.
Kyle also enjoyed being involved in the planning process and it made him enjoy the day even more. So, my other advice would be to make sure you do it together and although other people will want to help it is also really special planning your big day with just the two of you.
EMILY & KYLE’S VENDORS
We used recommendations that The Gunbower Butter Factory had given us as our first stop. We then looked at other weddings that we liked and saw what vendors they used. Given we were being married in a smaller country town we also used Google and reached out to a lot of vendors to get quotes, and then viewed their photos and determined their professionalism to make sure they were the right fit for us.
Ceremony and reception venue: The Gunbower Butter Factory
Celebrant/Officiant: Corinda is a Celebrant
Photography: Love By Shae
Videography: TwentyFour18
Styling and decor: DIY
Furniture and hire: Rich River Party Hire
Florist: Grace & Flo Florist
Hair: Elk Collective
Make-up: Skin Aesthetics Moama
The dress & veil / headwear: Ella Moda gown purchased from Bluebell Bridal
Shoes: JJ’s House
Rings: Prouds Jewellers and Angus & Coote
Bridesmaid’s dresses: Hansel & Gretel
Suits and accessories: M.J Bale
Catering: Two Tarts Catering
Bar: Dan Murphy’s
Favours: DIY
Cake: Kimmy’s Cake & Brownies
Stationery / Signage: DIY
Entertainment: Grim Fawkner
Transport: DIY
