Normally I write a few words about each wedding I put on the blog, in this case I’m going to let Narelle – the bride – do it for me! I will add that this was an amazing day, it was super fun to shoot and Steve has one of the biggest smiles I’ve ever seen.
From the Bride…
The task of planning our wedding was quite a daunting one, especially as we were crazy enough to build a house at the same time. However, to help guide us, we made a list of the really, really important things we knew that we wanted for our special day.
Firstly, the fact that we wanted our special ‘day’ to instead be a weekend long celebration. We had many family and friends traveling from interstate and overseas and the idea of trying to say “hello, thank you so much for coming” and hugging everyone enough, in only one evening, seemed unimaginable. ‘The Old House’ at Woodhouse in the Adelaide Hills was large enough to fit all of our guests affordably, and was one big, beautiful colonial style building. The house and surrounding grounds felt like a secluded getaway complete with a creek, winding paths through the forest and an abundance of autumn trees. This venue with it’s old building and the colours of the trees even ticked a few more of the criteria off the list!
Lastly, we wanted to ensure that the wedding was true to us, that we included the traditions and details that reflected our relationship and personalities. Choosing this venue meant that we had the opportunity to customise everything, and that is just what we did. However, we knew that a DIY wedding, not to mention over an entire weekend, meant lots of time and lots of work.
We hired our dear friend Courtney, from ‘Courtney Rae Events’, to help us to bring our ideas to life through the organisation, styling and setting of not only the ceremony site and reception, but the large house and grounds also. Luckily to help her and to help us, we had an incredible team of family and friends that went above and beyond to make all of our crazy thoughts and ideas a reality. From hand painting signage, creating thousands of paper cones, making 60 beds, cooking a welcome dinner and recovery breakfast, baking our wedding cake and desserts, stringing lights, arranging and moving furniture, spreading autumn leaves down the aisle (in colour order), quietening the noise of the creek with logs and every other little detail required for the weekend, they were more than happy to help. Our wedding, which was perfectly us, simply would not have been the same without every single one of them.
When you have to supply everything for an event, you really realise how many people it takes! The vendors we chose for the wedding day completed our dream; with exceptional food (that everyone is still raving about), stunning flowers, incredible photographs that captured the emotion and moments of the day, a celebrant who we worked with us to create a ceremony full of meaning and personal touches, a talented musician who rearranged an acoustic version ‘500 miles’ for our processional song and the people behind the scenes, making the bridal party look the part.
We wanted to incorporate the grounds for our wedding ceremony and reception and do something a little different. Our ceremony and after ceremony drinks were along side the creek, nestled within the autumn trees. This was followed by a cocktail style entree on the paved courtyard, complete with acoustic music a friendly kookaburra. Our guests then followed us into the clear marquee, which enabled the beautiful surroundings to be seen throughout the evening. The tables were a combination of rounds and rectangles and the room was lit by fairy lights and candles, to create an informal but inviting atmosphere. A main course was a traditional sit down meal, followed by the guests helping themselves to dessert from our favourites table – a combination of both mine and Steve’s favourite things. The Open Photo Booth provided many hours of fun and wonderful memories and guests danced the rest of the night away.
The overall feeling of our wedding weekend was intimate, full of small details, rich in love and laughter and honestly, more than we ever could have hoped for.
Vendors
Venue: ‘The Old House’ Woodhouse Activity Centre http://www.woodhouse.org.au/
Hiring: Adelaide Hills Party Hire http://www.
Chair Hire: Budget Party Hire http://www.
Styling: Courtney Rae Events http://www.courtneyrae.
Celebrant: Diana Woods http://
Rings: Handmade by Karrans of Hyde Park http://www.karrans.com.
Photographer: Simon Bills Photography http://www.
Flowers: The Tenth Meadow http://tenthmeadow.
Music: Kiki from Escapades https://www.facebook.com/kiki.
Catering: InStyle Catering http://www.
Macarons: The Mac Factory http://www.
Photo Booth: Open Photo Booth http://openphotobooth.
Guest Book: Etsy, Lorgie https://
Wedding Dress: The Ultimate Bride http
Bridesmaid Dresses: Etsy, Mondora https:/
Flower Girl Dresses: POMPdeLUX https://
Alterations, Veil and Headpiece: The Frock Parlour https://www.facebook.
Hair and Makeup: Blush http://www.
Grooms Suit, Groomsmen Shirts and Ties: Peter Jackson http://www.
Grooms Shoes: Aquila http://www.
Groomsmen Suits: Peter Shearer http://www.
