Farren & Matt

 In my dreams I have a farm, a farm where whenever we have a celebration I can deck the halls with beautiful decorations, crank up the music with no worries about noise restrictions, laugh and sigh with guests until the wee hours of the morning and invite all my friends to get married there. Well luckily for me I can live vicariously though weddings like today’s of Farren and Matt’s who married on Matt’s family farm in Warrandyte in a beautiful black tie affair.

Farran tells their story. “Matt & I met at a gig that Matt had played at and we literally bumped into each other.  Neither of us was out to meet anyone – we smile about it now because it is so true what everyone says about meeting the right person at the most unexpected of times.  We started talking and instantly knew that we would know each other for a long time.  I guess when it is right, it just is.”

Photographs are by Love, Katie & Sarah Photography who manage to capture the details, and the atmosphere without missing any of the emotion, big moments and huzzahs!

Farren says, “We were absolutely blessed to have Matt’s parents’ property.  Not only was it a perfect setting, it was where Matt grew up which is a nice piece of tradition.  Not to mention the creative freedom!”

Every part of the day that could be, was filled with family and friends. Farren explains “Our friend made our L.O.V.E letters for us, and they added yet another area for our family and friends to have fun and take photos.”

Farren describes the wedding as “Old world tradition with a twist.” Farren wore a gown and veil from Johanna Johnson and Jimmy Choo shoes. Adorning her outfit was “A sapphire pendant which was a gift from Matt as my ‘something new, something blue’.”  Her bridesmaids wore gowns from  Lisa Brown with jewels from  Mimco and hairpieces by Jennifer Behr . The littlest bridal party member wore a dress from Tea Princess .

Debbie O’Neill  styled the flowers and floral decor for the day. Farren remembers “Our favourite details were all in the flowers.  They were absolutely amazing.  The arch was the perfect structure to be married under, the bouquets were perfect, and the flowers on the tables were exactly as we had asked.  I definitely have some favourite vendors that I will recommend to anyone that will listen, and our florist is one.”

The bridal party were transported by Always Classic Cars.

Farren walked down the aisle to Ben Harper’s ‘Forever’, performed by a member of Matt’s family.

Farren and Matt were married by John McCullough. Farren notes “While we chose to not write our own vows to say on the day, we did so in a letter to each other that is sealed in our ‘Love Box’.  It was sealed in our ceremony by Matt, myself, and our mothers.  On our 5th year anniversary we get to open the box, read the letters, and share the wine.”

Farren remarks, “The most important (thing) was that as bride & groom, we made every decision together.  Planning our wedding was by far one of the best experiences that we both have had!  So much fun! Yes, there were stressful moments, but that is perfectly normal. ”

The bridal party portraits were at the Warrandyte Berry Farm. Of their photographers, Farren says “One word… Amazing.  We were so lucky with the photographers that we found.  Their style is flawless, and they are forever smiling which makes those semi-stressful moments easier when they arise! We had an engagement shoot with them so it gave us the chance to feel more comfortable in front of the camera, which I would recommend to anyone.  We already have used them within the family and I am sure that it is not the last time!”

Farren explains “The whole wedding was a DIY-a-thon.  What we did not do with our own hands, Matt & I worked very closely with the vendors to produce our vision.”

The couple hired big yard games from Yard Party. Farren remembers, “We made sure that our wedding had lots of areas for our guests to do the most important thing that there is to do at a wedding – have fun .  We had extra large chess, croquet, & ring toss.”

Farren and Matt made sure to set up many little surprises for their guests. Farren explains, “After all the formalities were done, we opened our whisky & cigar bar, our photographers opened the photo booth – and the party was officially started.”

The couple had a four tier brightly coloured wedding cake made by Fantasy Cakes . Farren recalls “Our wedding cake was one of our favourite elements of the wedding.  We wanted something that reflected our personalities – so we designed it to be happy, colourful, and four different flavours, ” Guests received toffee apples as favors.

For their first dance, Farren remembers,  “We were more nervous about our first dance than saying our vows!.  We chose our song, ‘Cheek to Cheek’ by Ella Fitzgerald in no time, then simply forgot about having to practise dancing until 2 days before the wedding.  So, as a quick fix, we had one dancing lesson, forgot the steps faster than we had learned them, then, well, we tried to be as graceful as we could in the moment.”

Congratulations Farren and Matt! Thank you for sharing your wedding day with us on Polka Dot Bride! Thank you also to Love, Katie & Sarah Photography  for sharing today’s wedding with us!