Vintage Romance Wedding - Polka Dot Wedding

Chantelle & Ben

Chantelle and Ben planned a vintage romance vibe to their wedding. Choosing a Spring day in Rockhampton, the day allowed them to move from spot to spot within their venue enjoying the shade, dappled light and golden sunshine that Spring embodies.

Chantelle tells their story. “Ben and I met during grade 12 through mutual friends. We both had an interest in cars and we spent a lot of nights driving around with friends, meeting up and chatting the night away. Ben is a very shy and quiet person so it was I who did all the chasing! We got to know each other over the next few months and finally started dating the day after my 17th birthday.”

Kellie Blinco Photography captured today’s photos. Each one telling a story, capturing a beautiful moment of the day.

Chantelle wore a gown from Allure Bridal purchased at Hills in Hollywood.

Chantelle and Ben chose to hold their wedding in the one venue at Rockhampton Heritage Village. Chantelle explains, “The wedding was held at the Rockhampton Heritage Village. It was very important to us to have a non-stressful day from start to finish. We decided the Heritage Village would be perfect as it suited our vintage style theme and we were able to have the ceremony, photographs and reception all in one place. The wedding was held on a beautiful spring day, September 15th 2012. We planned the date knowing that it would be perfect at that time of year and it certainly was on the day.

The ceremony was held on a grassy area in the village. Ben and I stood under the shade of a gorgeous old oak tree. Our guests were also able to be seated underneath the shade of the tree. After the ceremony the bridal party wandered around the village getting photographs while our guests enjoyed light refreshments in a court yard behind the Wool Shed where our reception was held. The Wool Shed is an old Australian shearing shed. Its high ceilings, timber walls and floor blended beautifully with the vintage styling.”

Chantelle put great importance on the processional. She explains, “I chose Bruno Mars – Count on Me. It was song Ben and I had like for a while and the lyrics are quite fitting 😉 It was very important to me how I walked down the aisle. I grew up as one of 5 kids and we are all very close. My eldest sister was my maid of honour. I choose to have my brothers and mother walk me down. The two youngest brothers walked me half way and then my Mum and the eldest brother walked me the rest of the way. It was so special to me. The whole way I felt the support of them by my side as I just looked straight down the aisle at Ben.”

Chantelle and Ben’s ceremony included a special ceremony for their daughter. Chantelle remembering, “We really wanted the wedding to be very personalised and family orientated. It was very important to us to have our daughter as part of the ceremony. After we exchanged our rings we made a promise to our daughter and we presented her with a gold two- toned love heart necklace that is engraved with Mum & Dad 15-09-12.”

Of their photographer, Chantelle says, “Our photographer was the amazing Kellie Blinco from Gladstone (QLD). I had followed Kellie for a little while and just loved her work and knew she would do a fantastic job. Her images are truly beautiful and natural. I really wanted someone who could capture the story of the day. As most grooms are, I knew Ben would not be too keen on posed photographs so I knew it was very important to hire someone who could capture genuine natural moments.”

Standout Events styled the wedding. Chantelle remarks, ” Susan was a great help from our very first phone call. She really understood my idea of styling and was very enthusiastic. She gave us some great ideas that helped convey the vintage the theme. She also made great suggestions that helped give the wedding a personal touch. Mel from Blue Petal Exquisite Florist – Mel also knew exactly what I wanted for the flowers. She did an amazing job making the boutique and flowers for the pews and centrepieces. The flowers were absolutely gorgeous! I just loved them. When I met with Mel to talk about the kind of bouquet I wanted she described it as if I was to ‘run through a field of flowers, picking them at random, therefore creating a very rustic, vintage boutique. I squealed with excitement as that was exactly what I had in mind! ”

Chantelle notes, “Having a DIY wedding was really important to me. I really wanted to have personal touches for our guests. My sister and I spent so much time crafting and preparing for the wedding. At times, after hours of work, I thought I was nuts doing it all. However, when I seen it all come together I was just over the moon that all our hard work paid off. Pretty much everything was DIY. We collected hundreds of glass jars over a year or so leading up to the wedding. The pews, the centrepieces, the bonbonierres, the napkin ties and the special postcards we gave to our guests so they could write their special advice to us. The rest of the vintage decoration pieces were supplied from Susan Stafford- Standout Events. ”

Chantelle and Ben followed a few traditions, Chantelle explaining, “The first dance, garter and boutique toss were something Ben and I were unsure of the whole time we were planning our wedding. Ben is so shy and really does not like being centre of attention. We decided to just see on the night if he was feeling up to it. A few nights before the wedding we put on the dirty dancing video – ‘I had the time of my life’ and danced around and practiced a few moves just in case. (Including the lift of course). On the night everyone cheered us on and we just went with it. We danced for about a minute and invited the rest of the bridal party on to the floor. It was unplanned and ended up being the funniest part of the night… And to Ben’s dismay I ran at him with full force, hoping he would catch me for the lift!”