Sarah & Cam
We love a lot of colour here at Polka Dot Bride, so you can imagine how smitten we were when we discovered Sarah and Cam’s bright and colourful country wedding captured by Daniel Sheehan. It comes complete with wide open country spaces, tipis and a beautiful love story. What could be a better way to start the day?
Sarah and Cam fill us in on how they met. “We both grew up and lived in a small farming town called Clyde North. We joke that it’s taken 3 generations for us to meet; Cam’s Italian grandparents had a vegetable farm in Clyde while Sarah’s Dutch Grandparents owned the local milk bar/post office. They must have passed each other in the street many times! It was inevitable, we finally crossed paths in 2008 at the same pub where Sarah’s parents met. Cam was working at the bottle shop and Sarah, being underage, was flirting so he would sell her a bottle of Midori. Apparently Cam was captivated, and when Sarah’s friends returned later, he offered to drive them home to find out more about her.
We bumped into each other at another local pub a few weeks later, then made contact on myspace. After some witty banter we set a date, met at Sarah’s house to watch ‘back to the future’, and we’ve been together ever since!”
Sarah wore a Rue de Seine gown from The Bridal Atelier, remembering, “My Nanna actually picked it out for me! I had to go back twice, and also try on the new creations at the trunk show, but after trying on about 10 dresses I decided that was the one!”
The couple were married at Sarah’s family home, the bride remarking, “I always wanted to get married at my parents’ home, having lived there since I was 10 and watching my parents renovating the house and garden, so it felt very personal and special. It was a lot of work, with so many logistical things to think of like power, toilets, leveling the ground, gardening etc, but was well worth it to get married under the tree I played in as a child, and sharing this with our friends and family. It also makes our photos extra special! We had 4 tipi’s set up on the lawn by the lake as the reception space, with guest milling around in the tipi’s and spilling out into the garden. It looked incredible, it was just what we wanted.”
Sarah walked down the aisle to “All I Want is You by Barry Louis Polisar, sung by Toby & Dan who did an amazing cover.”
Of the ceremony, officiated by Father Peter from Cam’s family church, Cam remembers, “We had a catholic ceremony, as my family is catholic; the priest from my church was able to come to Sarah’s parent’s property and marry us there which was really special. My Grandfather, sister and Sarah’s Nanna did readings during the ceremony. We decided we would be too nervous without having to write our own vows, so we stuck with the good old fashioned ‘to have and to hold’. There were a few tears, but mostly smiles! Although Sarah’s Dad did cry through the whole ceremony.”
The day was a blistering 42 degrees. “When we got the weather forecast we made sure to set up all the ceremony seating in the shade, have cold drinks and luckily we had an ice cream cart organized for after the ceremony!”
Guests took shelter from the heat and danced and dined under tipis from Tipikata. Sam adds, “Luckily we have very talented and generous families and friends. Sarah’s Uncle made the bar and DJ tables out of packing pallets, and also made the rotunda. Sarah’s Dad installed a fountain in the driveway, as well as building a jetty and bridge for us to have photos on. He and Sarah’s Mum made the signs for out the front, the parking and ceremony. He also levelled and reseeded the ground where the tipi’s were, and kept the garden watered and green! Sarah and her Mum did all the styling, collecting bits and pieces like crates, tables, trays, glasses, ect. Mum already had a lot of the things we used like the couches, tables, rug, punch bowl, candlesticks ect. We did all the linen including table runners, tablecloths and napkins. It took Cam’s Mum a full day to iron and fold all of those! Sarah also made the menu’s that went on the tables just with the printer at home.
Sarah hand muddled all the mojitos the day before the wedding- it took about 3 hours but people were commenting how delicious they were! We also made up the punch. Sarah’s Aunty made lemon cordial with lemons from my tree, and her Uncle designed and baked our fabulous cake. We had a big group of friends and family come by the day before to help set up- they put out furniture, decorated the tipi’s, set up the ceremony area, worked in the garden, set up the sound system, and lots more! Our gorgeous friend Emily, who is a visual merchandiser, also ran around in 42 degree heat on the wedding day setting up tables and styling everything. Thanks Em!”
Of their photographer, the bride remarks, “Daniel did a fantastic job, and was an absolute trooper working outside for 12 hours! He got some amazing shots, we were so excited to see the sneak peek he put up on his website as we landed in Hobart for our honeymoon!”
“All our vendors were amazing, it took so much stress out of the day having reliable people to depend on! Spending lots of time with my Mum planning, shopping and crafting was lots of fun.”
“We’re both terrible dancers; we didn’t have a first dance! We did, however, spend a fair bit of time on the dance floor. Well, mostly Sarah.”
Congratulations on your marriage Sarah and Cam! Thank you for sharing your day with us! Thank you also to Daniel Sheehan for sharing today’s celebration!
Just wow! What a beautiful day! And I love white bridesmaid dresses too. Stunning couple, congratulations.