11th November 2017
Magical is my favourite word to describe our wedding day.
It really was such an indescribably happy, beautiful, fun and laughter-filled day and I'm so excited to finally be sharing the photos with you!
These are, of course, mostly taken by our amazing photographer Katie Grant (she's a film photographer and I love how dreamy and timeless her photography style is) and I've also sprinkled in a few shots from our guests towards the end as well!
I had such a great time planning our wedding and feel like I have so much to share from the experience, so I'll still be doing a few more wedding posts after this one! If you happen to be engaged then hopefully you'll find some helpful advice and inspiration! I kinda just want to have a record for my own memories too as it was such a special, happy time in our lives!
For today I'm sharing my memories...
Getting Ready
The morning of the wedding I woke up ridiculously early (as in 3am!) and had to force myself to go back to sleep until about 7. I honestly felt like a little kid on Christmas. People talk about being nervous but I really wasn't at all. I just felt so excited!
My bridesmaids started arriving around 8-9am and, we had a relaxed morning chatting and chilling out while having our hair and makeup done. It was so nice getting to hang out with them and my Mum (and Dad - who would pop in every now and then to see how things were going). I felt so lucky as everyone really went out of their way to make me feel so special and loved :)
It all started feeling very real (and a little bit rushed!) when our photographer and videographer arrived and it was time to put my dress on - a beautiful princess style by Hayley Paige (I'll be doing a whole post about the dress and my experience finding it later on!)
There was actually a little drama with the dress just 2 weeks before the wedding but it was all sorted out thanks to the amazing skills of Holly of Holly Barker Millinery. I am so grateful to her for helping me out of that situation! She's not only extremely talented (she made the most gorgeous lace veil for me) but also incredibly kind, and you can tell she really cares about her brides. If anyone is in Perth and looking for a special veil or headpiece - go to Holly - she really is the best!
I found some incredible vendors throughout our wedding planning so I'll be doing a few different posts talking about them in more detail later on (and they'll be linked at the end of this post too!) That was one of my fave things when it came to the planning - getting to meet and work with such awesome people!
The Ceremony
Walking down the aisle with my Dad was one of my favourite moments of the day. I didn't cry at all the whole day (I was just too happy!) but I will admit I did feel pretty emotional and a tad teary as I walked down the aisle to my sister playing "A Thousand Years" on cello and saw all our friends and family there smiling at us and looking so happy.
It was quite funny really because as we walked towards the front of the church I was looking around at everyone there, some people I hadn't seen in ages, and only realised when I was about 3 meters from the front that I hadn't actually looked at Tom yet! (That sounds really bad, but I was obviously so excited to see him, I just got a little overwhelmed and distracted by everyone else!)
When I did eventually look at him, he had the cutest expression on his face!
As my dad went to shake Tom's hand, his arm got caught up in my veil almost pulling it off my head, and it was a funny little moment that made everyone laugh and that I'll always remember :)
The ceremony went by so quickly, and while I really don't remember much of what was actually said, there are a few memories that stick out; Turning around to look at all our friends and family, holding hands with Tom, having the biggest smile on my face but trying to appear just a little more serious - particularly when my sister went up to do her reading. She'd had an uncontrollable laughing attack at the rehearsal ("my beloved is like a gazelle, like a young stag" was what set her off) and it was so amusing watching the bridal party as they all tried to keep straight faces/not look at her in an effort to avoid provoking the laughter.
I remember standing behind the table as our witnesses were taking turns signing the documents, chatting to Tom and dancing a little to the music, going - "Wow - we're married!!"
Congratulations and Photo Time!
We headed outside (to "You're my best friend" by Queen) and stood under the tree in front of the church as everyone came to say hi and congratulate us!
Then it was time for family photos. This is the part where I started to feel just a tad stressed, because there were so many people milling around and our photographer had her work cut out for her rounding everyone up! She did a great job though and was very efficient, but Tom and I look pretty stiff in all the family portrait photos because our faces were getting sore from all the smiling! It's kinda funny actually!
Luckily, by the time we'd arrived at the location for the bridal party photos we'd had a chance to rest our tired cheeks and were back to looking happy and relaxed!
These were my some of my favourite photos of the day. I particularly love the one above, with my bridesmaids helping hold my dress (it was beautiful, but not very practical) and the one of our bridal party on the steps. The "Vogue cover shot" as our photographer called it :)
We then headed to the river for portraits with just Tom and me. It was so nice (and fun!) to have a quiet, peaceful moment with just the two of us (and our photographer and videographer). I know a lot of people don't want to spend too much time taking photos on their wedding day because they want to get back to their guests, but I really really loved having this time by myself with Tom!
I love this photo of us on the jetty. We almost didn't take it as it was pretty busy (and very windy), and I was in a very "I'm fine with whatever" mood, but Tom knew how special this place was to me and insisted on a photo (I'm so glad he did!)
As it was so windy by the river we only stayed for a short time before heading to a laneway that Natalie our videographer had found with a beautiful white bougainvillea covering the wall. There we did a little practice of our first dance and answered a few questions that Natalie asked us (including - "If Lauren/ Tom was a type of ice-cream, what kind would they be". Thankfully that part didn't make it into the video but it was a fun memory!)
Chillin' With The Bridal Party
It was then time to head back to the house (the reception was held in my parents garden) for the party!
Our guests were milling around enjoying canapés by the pool while we snuck in through the back door (passing through the garage and saying hi to the caterers on the way!). We made our way upstairs to where our bridal party was chilling out and were greeted with lots of cheering and hugs!
This was another favourite moment of the night (I have a lot of favourite moments!)
It was so fun just hanging with our best friends for a little while. The caterers brought up some canapés for us (and I very much enjoyed trying all of them!), Tom ordered me a drink (a delicious virgin mojito) and we sat and chatted for a while and watched our guests from the upstairs windows.
My Maid of Honour Emi also did a little repair job on my flower crown as it had gotten a little battered, I changed into my sparkly rose gold Keds (so much more comfortable!) and my bridesmaids had quite the challenge of figuring out how to bustle the many many layers of my dress!!
Walking Into Our Reception
Our entrance into the reception was a little delayed due to the previously mentioned dress bustling debacle, but once it was sorted we headed downstairs and lined up waiting for Darryn - our awesome MC- to announce everyone.
I will always remember the look of surprise on the faces of our bridal party when our rather dramatic entrance music started playing - The Star Wars Main Theme! (My idea - a throwback to when we first got together and one of our favourite movies!)
It was such an amazing feeling walking into our reception with all the people we loved smiling, cheering and looking so happy for us.
We were so lucky to have our reception in my parents garden and it was incredible how the space was totally transformed into the most magical setting. Long tables running down the grass beside the house and under the veranda, simple flowers in jars for decoration and chandeliers and lights strung overhead providing the most beautiful glowing light. The jasmine covering the wooden veranda beams smelled heavenly and, to me at least, it felt like a magical fairy garden (like something out of a Shirley Barber book... did any one else absolutely love those books when they were younger?).
I remember looking around in amazement that all the ideas in my head had been brought to life so perfectly (a huge thank you goes to our planner Jess and florist Alina!)
I was sitting at dinner, looking at Tom and around at all our family and friends and just feeling so, so happy. It felt like a big, (fancy) family dinner party under the stars which was just what we'd been hoping for!
The Magical Dessert Table
The dessert table was another favourite detail. We could see it from where we were sitting and it looked (in Tom's words) "like a magical fairy portal", piled high with various delicious sweets and berries, all lit up with pendant lights and with a green garland draping along the front. The photo above looks pretty impressive, but at night it looked even more magical! Hello Sukar's treats were delicious (although the disappeared very quickly!) and a family friend made the incredible croquembouche for us!
"The Feast"
Dinner was served family style so everyone could help themselves. "Fancy comfort food" was how Tom's mum described it! I'd spent hours pouring over cookbooks with my mum to give the caterers an idea of the kind of food we were going for, and they did such a great job - everything was delicious! Because my dress was so big a poofy (and therefore made it difficult to navigate between the tables) I was actually able to sit down and properly enjoy our meal! The lack of mobility was an advantage in this instance and it just meant everyone came to say hi to me (and Tom) rather than us having to rush around! We did of course eventually go around and say hi to everyone, but it was nice to be able to sit and eat our dinner and chat with our bridal party and parents! I'd spent so long on that menu I was determined to eat it! haha)
We really enjoyed all the speeches - just the right level of teasing and funny yet also sweet and sentimental (at least we thought so, although we may be a little biased!). We actually just received the rest of our wedding videos the other day with the full speeches, and being able to watch them back was incredible!
Cutting The Cake And Our First Dance
Our wedding day also happened to be my Nonna's 77th birthday, so we surprised her by getting everyone to sing her Happy Birthday before we cut the cake! It was a really lovely moment :)
Then it was time for our first dance. We'd been practicing for a few weeks (almost two months actually) and had choreographed a dance to Ed Sheeran's "Perfect" by watching numerous first dance videos on Youtube and learning from a guy called Egils who is a dance teacher in Latvia (I think it was Latvia). He actually makes really good videos if you want to learn to waltz!
Just a week before the wedding we hadn't figured out what to do for the last few minutes of the song, so I roped some of our bridal party into joining us for the last part of the dance! They surprisingly agreed without much protest and we managed to pull it off pretty well! We're certainly not the most graceful of dancers but it was a lot of fun and something I'm so glad we took the time to do!
Then it was straight into Brown Eyed Girl for the father daughter dance which was also a fun one, and after that it was time to party! (With a short break while we went to find dessert!)
After that the night just flew by!
Around midnight we did a "Circle of Hugs" to say goodbye to everyone while Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now" played, and then it was time to head off!
And that was our wedding day!
I've heard so many people say their wedding day passed by in a blur and that they couldn't clearly remember it, and while the day did fly by so so quickly (the fastest day ever), I actually have such a clear memory of it. I think because I was so determined to be fully present on the day and really have fun and appreciate every single moment, I managed to soak in all the details.
That would be my advice to anyone getting married!
So what I had initially planned as a simple post to share photos has turned into a rather mammoth one! If you've read this far I hope you enjoyed getting this little peak into our day whether that's involved actually reading my ramblings or just enjoying the photos!
If you happen to be planning a wedding I have this one piece of advice. I know it's easy to get caught up in all the little details and everyone's opinions , but once the day comes, no matter what happens, just enjoy every moment!
No matter what happens, it's always going to be magical because you're saying "I do" to spending the rest of your life with your best friend. What could be more fun and exciting than that?
Lots of Love
Lauren
xxx
VENDOR CREDITS
Photographer: Katie Grant
(some photos above taken by friends!)
Videographer: Auburn Hour Films
Planner/Stylist: Butcher Baker Stylist & Creator
Florist: Alina Tang “Giant Pansy"
Stationery: Violet Street Boutique
Printer: Peterkin
Catering: Comestibles
Desserts: Hello Sukar
Furniture hire: Hire Society
Wooden Table Raisers - Owl and Bear
Marquee: Pedersens Hire
Lighting: Micktric Events
Sound: DJ Willy Slade (no website)
Ribbon for bouquets - Lines and Squares
Dress: Hayley Paige
Veil: Holly Barker Millinery
Heels: Badley Mischka purchased via The White Collection
Hair: The Pretty Parlour
Makeup: Kristy Ellis Makeup
Bridesmaid dresses: Tulle and Lace Bridesmaids (closed?)
Suit - Daniel Hechter
Groomsmen suits: Brittons Formal Wear