Prepare yourself for some West Aussie Wedding Gorgeousness..!!
The lovely Del and Charlie got married late last year.. their beautiful wedding was full of laid back charm and beautiful personal touches... all set against a beautiful West Aussie Hills backdrop! My favourite!
Del talks us through her wedding planning...
Mr. and I are not religious and always wanted a garden wedding followed by a
fun, light and easy reception with great food and loads of laughter. After
dragging ourselves to every winery in the valley we decided that actually
none of these suited or had the feel of what we were after. My Aunt and
Uncle had recently purchased a 25 acre block in Glen Forrest - they had lots
of trees and enough space for a marquee!
We felt unsure about how they would respond to us saying "So....can we have
our wedding at your place?" But we plucked up the courage and they not only
said YES but were ecstatic at the thought. In fact they were building a big
deck around their new home which overlooks the valley which we could use
instead of worrying about a marquee - perfect
I began to draw loads of inspiration from bridal blogs particularly of West
Aussie Wedding and Ruffled. We wanted the overall event to be unique, fun
and to reflect our personalities. There was so much DIY that I loved even
though I would not consider myself to be crafty, I picked a few favourite
projects to have a go of.
Invitations
My father is an extremely talented photographer and very good at graphic
design so it began with the invitations. I wanted a silhouette of us and in
the background our high school (we are high school sweethearts - not sure if
that is cute or cringe worthy.)
We then also took a picture of the tree we decided we were going to have the
ceremony under and used that image in the invitation.
photo by Odelia Sarre
photo by Odelia Sarre
Ceremony Seating
I had seen hay bale lounges covered with quilts everywhere and loved it! My
grandparents are farmers and my grandmother makes everyone in my family a
quilt when they have a big birthday. So we had enough quilts and ordered
bales after I convinced my grandparents they didn't have to grow hay that
year "just so that it would be the right colour.
Dress
My favourite gown I found was on West Aussie Wedding blog it was by
Castigliano International. I hit many of the "off the rack" bridal stores
and found nothing to my taste, they all looked the same, white with beads. I
then hit a few of the couture designers, I still felt they did not
understand what I was after, that was until I went to Kevin at Galleria
Couture. Those of you that have been to him will be able to relate - he just
gets it and he was the only one who didn't constantly go on about how little
time there was left. You have to have faith in him right until the end
though as I really didn't feel as though I knew what my dress was going to
look like until my final fitting one week before the day!
photo by Rob Alla
photo by Rob Alla
photo by Rob Alla
Food & Booze
The beauty of having the ceremony and reception on a private property meant
that we could have anything we wanted! We found an amazing local caterer
Brush Fork and Pencil who offered incredible cocktail menus (so substantial
that our guests didn't have to hit the McDonalds drive thru on the way
home.) We also selected our favourite spirits and did a delicious raspberry
cocktail. I also bought water bottles and covered them with personalised
labels I designed myself, this was actually the easiest project to DIY.
photo by Odelia Sarre
Cake
I loved the cake that I had seen everywhere with the rustic wood stand. Mr.
doesn't like cake (and yet I still married him) and asked if we could have
"that stuff they put on top - the chocolate bit." My favourite dessert is my
grandmothers hedgehog - she suggested we have a hedgehog covered in white
chocolate ganache! DEAL we said! She made this for us a few days before the
wedding along and covered it with organza flowers (another DIY favourite on
all the wedding blogs.) She made the flowers well before the wedding - in
time for her singed eyebrows to grow back she reckons (if you have seen the
project you will understand.)
Flowers
I wasn't really bothered with bouquets and centrepieces, we were having a
cocktail reception as we felt people would mingle more. I did however like
the idea of a hanging arrangement. Luckily I have brilliant grandparents who
designed and built from scratch two hanging baskets -more 6 feet in
diameter which the day before we filled with native bush and chrysanthemums
Photography
Being in the photographic industry and knowing many of the wonderful
photographers we have in Perth - this for me was the most difficult decision
to make. I had been watching Robert Alla's work and knew he would hit it off
with the Mr. He brought his friend along on the day hoping I wouldn't mind,
Rocco Ancora (Australian Wedding Photographer of the Year who flew in from
Melbourne.) I had high expectations and they went along with all of my ideas
- even jumping on the trampoline!
photo by Rob Alla
photo by Rob Alla
photo by Rob Alla
Photobooth
Worth every cent! We got guests to put one pic in our "guest book" and write
a note. It was an absolute hit (especially the props) and the photos still
crack us up!
We had an amazing day overall, if we can continue to surround ourselves with
the beautiful love that was there that day emanating from our friends and
family I'm sure married life will be a success. I didn't have all the things
people said I "had to have" (such as favours) and am glad I didn't. To other
brides - it is totally worth all the preparation on the actual day and don't
be dramatic it's not that hard to plan a wedding. Have your favourite things
and invite your favourite people and at the end of the day so long as you
are married to your sweetheart that's all that matters.
Love your work Del!
You can check out more of Del's magic at Sarre Photography