Carly & Drew
The look of joy on Carly and Drew’s face during their Mornington Peninsula winery wedding, well it had me at first glance. That overwhelming joy is such a beautiful thing to see and positively infectious when you learn about their story through their photos and words. They chose the amazing Love Katie + Sarah to capture their day.
The couple met through a friend, but that’s not all there is to their story. Carly explains, “Andrew and I met through a mutual friend about three years before we actually started dating. Like many relationships back then, Facebook was key in the courting process. Andrew and I communicated in that way for months before our official first date. As cliché as it sounds that first date was it for both of us! Five days later Andrew confessed his undying love for me and then left for the USA for a couple of months! So back to Facebook communication! We still have all the messages. It is so funny reading them now. It was actually nice to get to know each other in that way.
When Andrew came back it was FULL stream ahead – cat, house, puppy/engaged and now married! Did I mention Andrew proposed with a chocolate Labrador puppy? Who could ever say no to that!!!!”
Ashlee Walker from Maguinness Salon and Nicki from Bayside Brides styled the bride and bridesmaid’s hair and makeup, the bride remembering, “Andrew and I were SO SO Lucky! The entire experience with all our vendors was wonderful. Ash & Billie who rocked up ready to go at 6.30AM to do my hair, 5 bridesmaids, my mum, Andrew’s mum, Andrew’s Grandma AND then Andrew’s hair were absolutely amazing!!!!!”
Carly chose Vasiliki Couture to make her gown, remembering, “I had the most wonderful experience with my dress. Vicky from Vasiliki Couture was so divine! We had so much fun at every fitting. I probably only needed to be there for 15 minutes but would end up talking for another 45 minutes every time! I really wanted my dress to be comfortable. I had already picked my fabric and really just had a few images of what I liked to show Vicky. Over time I think Vicky learned about what I wanted from the day and how I wanted to feel and really made the dress to suite those factors.
The fabric is very detailed so it was great having her attention to detail and expertise every step of the way! When she showed me the back my mum & I lost it! We LOVE the back! I just wanted to feel like myself and on the day I felt comfortable in my own skin!”
Carly loved, “Getting ready with everyone in the morning. Andrew & I were in separate villas, but our families were going in between the rooms. It was so much fun as it wasn’t just the bridal party! Having my mum, Andrew’s brother’s girlfriend, his mum & grandma all getting ready in the room made the morning really special. There were people EVERYWHERE… I loved that we could all be a part of it!”
Carly and Andrew chose Crittenden Estate for their wedding, remarking, “Andrew and I really wanted to have the ceremony & reception in the one place. I also felt that if we were able to get ready close to venue that would make the morning run smoothly. Thankfully they have amazing villas also at the winery so we stayed there for a couple of nights. I was semi freaking out about being on time as our ceremony started at 11am.
Stillwater has a reputation for good food (which they delivered and then some..delish!) and they had a private dining area in the restaurant. We only had 50 guests so didn’t require the entire venue. The estate is absolutely gorgeous so it wasn’t a hard decision. Thankfully the sun was shining so we could have our ceremony on the lawn by the lake.”
Carly chose Ben Harper’s ‘When She Believes’ to play as she walked down the aisle, remembering, “I loved having my best friend Caitlin of 25 years walk down the aisle with me. We have been soul sisters for a really long time.”
Ken Hatherley officiated the ceremony, the bride remembering, “The ceremony was the only thing I was super nervous about. It seemed so formal and I didn’t want to make a mistake. Andrew and I sat down with our celebrant Ken and said we wanted it to be fun, maybe even funny. We didn’t have any readings but Ken set the scene perfectly! Andrew and I had so much fun writing our couple stories and Ken really brought them to life.
Andrew is hilarious so I was laughing the entire time. Our vows were short and sweet. I think the entire ceremony went for 15 minutes. It was a really good reflection of who we both are and the amazing times we have spent together and all the fun that is to come for us as husband & wife.”
Carly’s bridesmaids wore gowns from For Love & Lemons paired with bouquets Carley arranged herself with flowers from Tullys, explaining, “I was really excited that peonies were in season. I love them & was sure to include them in the bouquets.”
Of their photographer, Carly tells, “I first heard about ‘Love Katie + Sarah’ Photographers years ago as a colleague from work used them for her amazing wedding …. and that was that! That was the first phone call I made after Andrew & I became engaged, even before I called my Mum! No no no, But definitely after all the family calls. Looking back I feel like it was meant to be! They are both so lovely and incredibly talented. Katie had done so much research about the area and had found this amazing spot in Shoreham for our couples photos. I didn’t expect the photos to capture the day so so so perfectly! I need to figure out a way to have the girls photographing moments in my life more regularly!
Katie & Sarah obviously are Andrew and my new super BFF’s. I felt like our entire family adopted them on the day hahaha. My favourite part of the planning was getting to know so many incredibly talented and lovely people!”
“The entire day was always going to be over quite quickly so I needed pack up time to be easy. I hand painted 50 small pots and paired them with the good old IKEA herb. They doubled as the table display and the bonbonniere. The table cards were downloaded from Etsy. The flowers I purchased from Tulley’s the day before and put the bouquets together. Then with the left over flowers my amazing friends Flic & Hayley picked up my delish plain jane cake (from Sunbeam Cakes) on the way to the wedding and covered the cake with the flowers that morning, I also picked up a cute cake topper from Etsy. Seriously! They did the cake in like 5 minutes! I thought it looked so amazing! What legends!”
“Allison from Stillwater was so fantastic! We didn’t have to think or worry about a single thing on the day. She had everything covered and planned. Speeches went over (time) and I didn’t feel like the staff were trying to rush us to stick to a rigid plan. Everyone was very easy going and made Andrew and I feel special and stress free!”
There was no first dance, Carly explaining, “We didn’t plan to do a first dance. I was so desperate to do a Lip Sync Battle but in hindsight it probably would have been a bit toooooo much. Thankfully Andrew was the sensible one in this instance. Perhaps when we celebrate our 50 year wedding anniversary we could do it and become a Youtube sensation.”
“Andrew & I also wanted to make the time to get up at the end and really thank our parents, family & friends. We both wanted to take the opportunity to express the large part they have played in who we are and how grateful we are for all the love & support we receive.”
Congratulations on your marriage Carly and Drew! Thank you for sharing your day with us! Thank you also to Love Katie + Sarah for sharing today’s wedding with us!
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