The Perfect Storm…..Ben and Zoe’s Wedding 6th March 2010

Ben and I met in St Kilda, Melbourne  at a bar and after a whirlwind romance, spent a couple of years living in London before returning to South Melbourne where Ben proposed a few years later (with the help of our loving Cocker Spaniel Boseley – who was the ring bearer in our local park).  Ben (originally from a small country town in Gippsland ) and myself (being a Melbourne girl born and bred) wanted to have our wedding somewhere that would be easy for all our guests to get to.  We decided on the perfect venue located in Mt Eliza on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula. Morning Star Estate had all the elements that we wanted, a beautiful restaurant with views of the ocean and manicured English style gardens, fantastic food and wine all contained within a historic property with beautiful period details.

The day of our wedding, was fraught with drama, with storms lashing Melbourne and labeled  “the worst in 100 years”.  Fortunately, our wedding was held at 6pm and because the venue was located just an hour’s drive out of Melbourne the weather was not quite as bad as in Melbourne. The  wedding was able to be held  inside the main building in the “Theatre”, where Ben and I were married in front of a roaring open fire.

There was a real buzz of excitement from the beginning of the day until the end, even though the ceremony didn’t start until 6pm, the whole drama with the storms and whether or not we would have it outside added to the drama of the day…..fortunately it all went perfectly and even though we only had a 15 minute window of time outside to take photos the photographers did a brilliant job and captured our day perfectly.

I walked down the aisle to “Claire De Lune” by Debussy. This piece was special to me as I had played classical piano from a young age and I always loved this beautiful tune…..our first dance was “Message To My Girl”….both Ben and I have very similar musical tastes so our decisions were easily made in regard to music.

I planned the wedding myself with the assistance of my mother and sister (who was my only attendant and maid of honour). My vision for my day was something classic with a modern twist.

This style was evident in my choice of dress,  black and white colour theme and simple, low key decorations in the venue.  The tables were kept simple with tea light candles scattered throughout and small vases of bouvardia and gardenia. This simple effect looked perfect as the venue didn’t need a lot of competition with the gardens surrounding us.

Wedding Dress: Jane Hill

Shoes: Mollini

I wore emerald green shoes by Mollini – I saw them and just had to have them! I have always had an obsession with green things and I have an emerald cut engagement ring so I thought it would all tie in perfectly! Plus my mother’s engagement ring is an emerald so it felt like it was meant to be.

Venue: Morning Star Estate, Mt Eliza

Hair and Make Up: Georgie Pickett

Groom’s & Groomsman suit: Hugo Boss

Bridesmaid Dress: Willow

Photographer: Dally Street Images

These guys were fantastic, and managed to capture our day in a natural candid style as well as taking photos of all our guests.  Ben and I sent thank you cards that were designed by Dally Street with images of us on the front in black and white and inside we placed photos of each guest we sent the card to.

Flowers: Blush Floral Design

Cake: Cioccoalata Bella

Music: Baker Boys

Stationery: Papyrus Design

Special Touch – As our venue was located in Mt Eliza and we had guests coming from Gippsland and Melbourne that would be staying in and around the venue, we thought it would be nice to hire a large bus to transport everyone to and from the venue to save them having to wait for limited taxis in the area.

Wedding Night Accommodation: Fairview Bed and Breakfast, Mt Eliza, VIC

The following day guests who stayed over joined us for lunch at the local pub in Mornington so we could reflect on what a fantastic night we all had…it certainly was the best day of our lives and most importantly Ben and I both made sure we took moments together to take it all in.

Ms Polka Dot says: What a gorgeous wedding this is! We are thrilled that Zoe and Ben have shared their day with us in such a beautiful way. And don’t I just covet those yummy green shoes!

Zoe says: During the week I am fairly organised and stuck in routine, being Front of House for a large organisation in Melbourne so on the weekends I love getting away from it all.  Ben and I and my very cute Cocker Spaniel Boseley head to his old hometown in the Gippsland hills at any opportunity for some R and R, …I am a bit of a gym junkie – helps me unwind but I LOVE my food especially cashews and I never say no to a glass of bubbly or a Mojito…I asked Ben to describe me in three words as I was having trouble…he said “Caring, talented and beautiful” I don’t know about that after all he is biased 🙂