Country Winery Wedding - Polka Dot Bride

Lauren & Brad

The sweet, relaxed nature of Lauren and Brad’s country winery wedding is utterly beautiful. From the country scenery, to the beautiful garden and winery that set the mood for the day. Lauren and Brad set out to have an elegant outdoor wedding amongst the vines followed by a classic reception that felt like nothing but a party and I think they nailed it! Jason Vandermeer was there to capture the day.

Lauren tells the story of how she and Brad came to be. “Brad and I met at work at the photocopier! We were friends for a while before we started dating. After living together for a year we decided to move to London, and spent two and a half years working and traveling, having the time of our lives. Just before we returned to Australia, Brad proposed in the Cotswolds in England while we were enjoying a bottle of wine by the river. It was perfect!”

The wedding date was a special one, Lauren remembering, “We chose 5 April as it is the same date Brad’s parents and grandparents, and my great grandparents married.”

Lauren chose a gown from Maria Gonzales. Her bridesmaids wore gowns from Zimmermann.

Foxglove Botanicals created the floral arrangements for the day.

Glen Erin in Lancefield was chosen for Lauren and Brad’s wedding. Lauren remarking “Both our ceremony and reception were at Glen Erin in Lancefield. We had a classic outdoor ceremony in front of the vines on a beautiful sunny autumn day. Our guests had drinks and canapés outside and the reception was indoors, overlooking the vines. We had so many beautiful photos at Glen Erin amongst the vines and around Lancefield. Kim and the team at Glen Erin made the planning so much fun, and went above and beyond to give us a perfect day.”

Both sets of grandparents walked down the aisle before Lauren.

Lauren remembers, “I walked down the aisle with my Dad to Ellie Goulding’s ‘How long will I love you’. It was such a nervous and exciting experience!”

Of their photographer, Lauren tells, “Jason’s photography is absolutely amazing. We were so excited to see the final photos, and they were even more amazing than we could imagine. As Jason’s style is relaxed and natural, he made the whole day so easy. His photos captured all the moments, and tell a beautiful story of our special day.”

There was a major surprise for the groom! Lauren tells, “Brad loves kombi vans so I decided to surprise him with a kombi van to drive him and his groomsmen from Bendigo where his parents live, to the wedding. He was completely surprised and loved the trip. We also used the kombi van to drive us and our bridal party around Lancefield for photos which was a lot of fun.”

Celebrations continued back at Glen Erin.

Lauren tells, “Brad is the creative one in our relationship so he had many DIY tasks. He designed and printed our wedding invitations and kept the same theme for our place cards and bomboniere. He used corks as the place card holders, and printed our own wine labels for miniature bottles of wine and jelly beans as bomboniere. He also made the banner for our wishing well.” Eat Freely created a three tier wedding cake.

Lauren and Brad entered the reception dancing to Party Rock Anthem.

The first dance was a special, choreographed number! Lauren remembers, “As Dirty Dancing is my favourite movie of all time, we had our first dance to Time of My Life. We had several dance lessons with Julie from The Wedding Dance Company. Although we couldn’t quite do the mambo like Johnny and Baby, we had a lot of fun and surprised our guests with our routine!”