Ryan and Natasha

Ryan and I met over 5 years ago in at a pub in Hawthorn. It was somewhat of a chance meeting as Ryan’s best friend, Jason had a broken foot and they were only at this particular pub because it had a seating area that was moon-boot friendly. After chatting for a while we swapped details and Ryan rang frantically later that night as he thought he hadn’t saved my number correctly (or as I like to think he believed I gave him a fake number)! It wasn’t long before we realised we had something special and that we couldn’t just be friends. Now 5 years later we share a beautiful home, have two of the most spoilt cats in Melbourne and live happily as not only best friends but as husband and wife after our October 13 Wedding.

The day saw emotions running high as I am not only my parents only daughter, I am their only child. It was important to me to share the day with them in my family home as I share a close relationship with both my parents. It was also extra special as my grandparents had travelled from Germany to attend the wedding. Getting ready at my family home was made easy with an abundance of catering and the incredible services of Andrea from Make Up With Me and Stacey Cole Hair.

I chose a made to measure gown from Brides of Armadale. Working with Sue from Brides of Armadale was a breeze, all the changes I made to the original gown were no problem and she worked tirelessly to ensure I was happy with the end result. Samantha Wills earrings and my mothers wedding clutch completed my wedding day looks. My bridesmaids wore dresses from Bariano with the too-cute flower girl and page boy in Bardot Junior.

The groom and groomsmen got ready at the stunning Yarra Valley Lodge enjoying all of what their suites have on offer. The men were dressed in navy suits from Roger David as the Ryan decided black and grey were too common.

 

We chose to have our ceremony in the Barrel Room of Helen’s Hill Estate. The hardwood floors, open fireplace and gorgeous view of both the property and the stacked wine barrels added to the rustic atmosphere on the cold, rainy day. We added a simple arrangement of various flowers in jars on the mantelpiece and a lace trimmed aisle runner found on Etsy to achieve the simple yet classic look we were after. Guests were treated to wine tastings as the mingled before and after the ceremony. After looking online at endless invitations and wedding paper suites I decided to handcraft the goods myself (with a little help from Ryan). Choosing paper goods from The Paper Place I added individually handmade polymer clay hearts to the invitations and kept the programs and favour boxes matching.

We were married by the creative and bubbly Maree Livy. After having met Maree once we knew she was the right match for us. She created the perfect ceremony for us which included personal readings and a “wine ceremony”. Music also played an important part in the ceremony with the processional to Ed Sheeran’s “Give Me Love” and the recessional to Ryan’s favourite song “Steal my Kisses” by Ben Harper.

As for our photographer, we chose Dani from AMR Photography after having seen her work online. The beautiful editing and emotion captured in her natural shots was exactly what we were after. We were also fortunate to have the boys from Evolve Digital Films on hand to capture the day.

After the ceremony our guests took the short walk up to The Vines Restaurant where they were greeted with our Wishing Tree. The Wishing Tree was something we both liked the idea of and after speaking with our incredible florist Debbie O’Neill we settled on the style and I set about creating the tags. One of the things we enjoyed most about our wedding day was sitting down to read the heart felt wishes & advice our guests had left for us.

We made a bit of an entrance to our reception – walking in to the Hawthorn Football Club theme song! Our guests joined us singing along before we made our way to the cake The Vine’s had created for us with a cake topper from Etsy and blooms supplied by our florist.

We chose to have our wedding in the Yarra Valley venue Helen’s Hill Winery and The Vines at Helen’s Hill for two reasons – the food and the view! The Winery is so picturesque with views of the rolling vines, dams and a gorgeous homestead on the neighbouring property. Having visited The Vines on a number of occasions we knew the stunning interior, scrumptious food and friendly staff would make for a perfect wedding reception.

For the reception décor we chose simple floral jar centrepieces for inside and had these jars scattered along the serving counter and entrance. I spent hours making lace wrapped mason jars for the ledge along the dance floor and to act as mood lighting together with candle bags on the undercover veranda. The jars and candle bags were a cost effective way of adding character and atmosphere to the reception. We chose our personalised cork place card holders on Etsy and paired these with handmade favour boxes filled with heart shaped mints for our guests. Having a clear vision of the styling I wanted it was fantastic to see it put together by Sharon from Wedding Day PA who provided on the day coordination.

Having shared the fabulous food and plenty of laughs during speeches it was time for the dance floor to open. We chose to have our two-foot shuffle first dance to John Mayer’s cover of “Free Falling”. A nervous Ryan quickly invited our guests to join us on the dance floor and things kept on pumping thanks to DJ and MC Bruce Harrison. Bruce encourage the shyer guests and played a brilliant mix of songs that kept both young and old dancing all night. Bruce created a particularly memorable moment for us when he invited Ryan and I to the middle of the dance floor, asking our guests to circle us, linking arms and sing the “national anthem of Australia”. This song was of course “The Voice” by John Farnham.

Overall we were blessed to have had the weather hold out for us on our wedding day and loved spending the evening surrounded by our nearest and dearest. It honestly is a day we will enjoy reliving for the rest of our lives (we have watched the video too many times to admit!). If only you could experience the emotion of your wedding day more often as it is the most magical feeling!

http://vimeo.com/80703388

Images by AMR Photography

Ms Gingham says: A beautiful wedding with just enough well executed DIY details. Congratulations Natasha and Ryan and thankyou for sharing your day with us!

Natasha says: “I am a young wedding obsessed, DIY loving and creative Melbournian who was recently married in the Yarra Valley.”