Sam and Hayley

The wedding destination was my parent’s beautiful property located in country Victoria – 55km from Mildura.

The homestead was built in the 1920’s and is surrounded by beautiful grassed areas and huge peppercorn trees. This was the location for our reception venue. To Sam and I it was the little details of our wedding day we wanted the guests to enjoy the most – All the little touches that made our day so special. From the handpicked ‘swishers’ for the guests to use to keep the country flies away during the ceremony, to the personalised water bottles and little packs of tissues – we had tried to think of everything the guests and ourselves would need to have a wonderful day! We had home-made jam for the wedding bonbonnieres, an antique teapot and cups and saucers borrowed from the bride’s grandmother, a personalised photo booth for guests to entertain themselves and a bar built by the bride’s father especially for the occasion.

The day was captured by the talented Ildiko Gagyor Photography from Bendigo. She was able to capture the emotion of the day and the special bond between us.

Our wedding had a rustic with vintage charm feel and all our styling details reflected this with hessian, lace, doilies and old collectables borrowed from the bride’s mother and grandmother. All the decorations around the yard were items borrowed from family friends and my mother and grandmother.

We gave everyone home-made jam for the wedding bonbonnieres.

Leading from the carpark to the ceremony was a range of hand painted signs with messages of love. At the ceremony site we provided the guests with a ‘swisher’ – a piece of broken off tree branch to swish away the country flies. Personalised water bottles were handed out and small packs of tissues were available also. We hand made the programs which doubled as a relief from the heat!

There were bags full of confetti to throw after the ceremony which provided a beautiful display of colour for the photos. During the ceremony we had old photo frames hanging behind where we stood – everyone commented on them and a lot of the guests used them afterwards to take their own photos!

The boys arrived in a restored 1950’s FJ Holden ute, while the bridesmaids & flower girls arrived by horse and cart.

I arrived in a rustic jinker driven by my father. The crowd could see me coming from the distance and I was greeted by cheering from the guests. My stunning dress was by Bride’s Desire, bridesmaids dresses were by Alfred Angelo & carried parasols instead of bouquets. The flowergirls wore the most amazing Tutu’s  by Little Chiyo. The groomsmen & page boy suits were provided by Bendigo Formal Wear.

My clever fiance even made the structure for us to be married under!

Following the ceremony, the guests were treated to drinks from the refreshment stand and nibbles on the grassed area under the peppercorn tree.

Our guests didn’t have allocated seating – instead at the entrance to the wedding reception area the guests could choose their name tag to place in the seat they wished to sit in. This name tag then doubled as a wishing well card to place on the tree for the newlyweds.

The reception area had a rustic feel with the two piece band being located on the tray of an old Bedford truck. We had spent months going around to Op shops and collecting mismatched vintage plates for the table settings. The meal was a buffet of roast beef, chicken and lamb with an array of vegetables to choose from.

I have a small party styling business and so I displayed my talents by putting together the dessert buffet.

The most amazing feature of our wedding was the Dessert Buffet complete with lollipops, jelly beans, chocolate fountain, a variety of slices and biscuits, cupcakes and macarons. It was a highlight of the night for the guests who indulged in the delicious treats!

All of the styling little details were bought from a variety of vendors including The Little Big Company, Lark, Ebay, Gum tree, Goody Goody Gum Drops, My Vintage Tea Hire and Bluebird Treasure Vintage Party items.

My Dad and I had a beautiful waltz to My little girl by Tim McGraw before I joined the groom and the bridal party to entertain guests with a surprise choreographed wedding dance to a few of our favourite songs. The guests were asked to fill out ‘feedback’ sheets with their wishes and stories about the bride and groom. These were read throughout the night!

The reception kicked well into the night with the last bus loaded with guests leaving at 2am.

We were surprised by our parents with a gorgeous rustic honeymoon suite, an old horse wagon covered in hessian and lace and fitted out with a queen size bed complete with chocolates and wine and campfire outside. The wagon had been placed out in a paddock on the property.

We used my horse of 17 years in the wedding photos which was a ‘very special moment’ for me. Jaz has been my horse since I was 10 and never have I known her to be so well behaved. She stood perfectly still and even let me get up on her back with my dress on!

The highlight of the day was late in the night Sam and I walked out in the distance and looked back at the wonderful setting we had created. The fairy lights and atmosphere was incredible. It was a day we will never forget and everything we had dreamed of.

Photography by Ildiko Gagyor Photography

Ms Gingham says: Divine! It’s like Jaz knew to be well behaved! So gorgeous! Congratulations Hayley and Sam!

Hayley says: “I am 27 years old and I am a newlywed! I live in central Victoria (Bendigo) and got married in country Victoria (Mildura). My wedding was very unique and 6 years in the making.”