Jade and Tristan’s Romantic Country Manor Wedding

Jade and Tristan

Tristan and I went to high school together and started dating in Year 12 so you could say we are high school sweethearts. We were together for eight and a half years before we got married. One night at home Tristan asked me to sit down on the couch next to him. Unknown to me, I sat on the cushion that he had hidden the ring box behind! After some cushion re-arranging, I was surprised to find him getting down on one knee and asking me to marry him. He proposed with a beautiful stone and I was able to design my own ring from there.

We held our wedding celebrations at Marybrooke Manor. It is an old hotel so our guests were able to stay the night at the venue and didn’t have to worry about getting home. Tristan, myself and our bridal party were also able to stay at the hotel the night before our big day. It was great to be able to wake up and already be at the venue. It was a little awkward with breakfast though… we had to organise a roster so that the girls and boys ate separately to avoid Tristan and I bumping into each other too early.

Tristan’s jacket and tie were from Ted Baker; his smart shoes were Laurence Crockett.

My beautiful dress and veil were from Brides on Collins and I wore a hair comb and cuff from Anna Campbell.

With our photographer, Tigs Macallan, Tristan and I had a ‘first look’ before our ceremony. We wanted to share our nerves privately so we could have a more relaxed and fun ceremony. We also felt that by having a ‘first look’ and arranging to have our photographs taken before hand, we would feel less rushed and have more time to take in the whole day.

All of the advice given to us from friends and family before our wedding was exactly the same. Everybody said that it will go so quickly so don’t forget to stop and spend some time together so you don’t miss it. Looking back on the day now, we feel like we were able to enjoy every part of it.

My two bridesmaids wore dresses from Review and our beautiful capelets I ordered from Crochet Butterfly.

Marybrooke Manor provided the most beautiful backdrop for our wedding photographs.

Something very funny happened to me on our wedding day. Immediately before our ceremony and straight after Tristan and I had just been wandering through the forest to have our wedding photos taken, I noticed that one of the cheeks on my bottom was stinging (I couldn’t believe it – and didn’t know why!!!!) – so much so that I asked one of my bridesmaids to have a look! She screamed in horror and pinched me, flicking something onto the carpet. She then proceeded to step on this thing on the carpet several times with her high heel while squealing. It was absolutely hilarious!! Of everyone that had been in the forest having their photograph taken, I was the lucky one who managed to get a leech on my bottom! At least it’s a funny story for our grandchildren…..

I walked down the aisle to ‘Somewhere Over The Rainbow’ by Israel Kamakawiwo’ole.

A really important part of the ceremony for me was asking my mum and Tristan’s mum to read a poem together. They were both really nervous about reading in front of our guests but agreed to do it anyway. They read an adaptation of an ‘Irish Blessing’ and each read alternating verses. I really wanted to include our Mums in the ceremony and it was a really special part of the day.

With our celebrant Angela Cameron, we included a wine box time capsule as part of our ceremony. In the lead up to our wedding, Tristan and I wrote letters to each other; during the ceremony we locked the unread letters inside the wine box with a nice bottle of wine (of course!). We plan to open the box, read the letters and drink the wine on our five-year wedding anniversary.

Guests enjoyed lawn games, canapés and a drink from the lemonade bar after the ceremony. We received lots of great comments about the games that we set-up, including croquet, ring toss, giant jenga and noughts and crosses.

During the reception we had photos of our parents and grandparents on their wedding days on display.

The beautiful flowers from Sugar Bee Flowers were also a favourite part of the day. Not only did they look stunning but they smelt amazing too! Youki did such an incredible job and went above and beyond for us.

I designed and made a lot of the table decorations myself. I wanted to bring the whimsical Sherbrooke Forest that surrounds the venue, inside the reception room. Every table number was different because I couldn’t choose just one style!

Tristan works as a carpenter so it was nice to include some timber touches in the ceremony decorations. He handmade the wood log tea light candle holders and the timber tree slabs. The bridal party sat at Table 7 because that’s Tristan’s and my favourite number.

The Baker Boys Band were fantastic and we received lots of great comments from our guests about them. Tristan and I spent a lot of time before the wedding going out to band showcases to find one that suited us best. It was so much fun!  Nick was so helpful in the lead up to our day. The band looked after our ceremony music as well as the music for our pre-dinner canapés in the garden and the reception. They also took care of all MC responsibilities for us which was great… it was the most perfect day!

Ms Chinoiserie Says: What a beautiful wedding Jade and Tristan; the DIY details are so lovely, especially the table centrepieces!

About Jade: Hi, my name is Jade. I’m 27-years-old and I work at Channel 7 Melbourne as a scheduler. No, I don’t do anything glamorous like work in the News room, haha. I’m actually a fully qualified Registered Nurse but after getting my degree last year I decided to go back to my previous job which was working for Seven…. I’m newly married to my (now) husband, Tristan. We had a long engagement that lasted for two and a half years so I spent a lot of time planning our wedding; it was a perfect day!