Michelle & Eden’s Rustic Collingwood Children’s Farm Wedding

Michelle & Eden

I love that the threat of rain didn’t dampen the emotion and spirit of Michelle’s wedding day. The sunshine came out just as the couple prepared to say their vows, and the sunset? It was pure magic. All captured beautifully by Ed Sloane.

Michelle kicks us off with the tale of how they met. “Growing up I worked at a pie shop in Toowoon Bay. Eden and his friends would frequent the pie shop after surfing. It was a bit of a tradition for them. Surf in the morning on the weekends and come past to get a pie and a chocolate milk. Soon enough Eden would stay in the bakery well after I’d served him and his friends had left to sit in the gutter out the front to eat their breakfast. Serving him pies turned into giving him my phone number which turned into hanging out more and more and well…10 years later, now we are married!”

Michelle tells, “My bridesmaids and I all made our bouquets on the day of the wedding. None of us had any real experience but it turned out to be a fun, relaxing activity to do.”

Michelle chose a Rue De Seine  gown, noting, “I chose the Rue De Seine Sophia gown and the Grace blouse. I wasn’t planning on wearing this style of dress but after I tried it on I fell in love with it. I purchased my dress from the Bridal Atelier in Melbourne. Amy, the stylist, was a great help. She made me feel comfortable, relaxed and was very helpful with suggestions and ideas. The bridesmaids chose their own ivory lace dresses. I wanted them to choose something that they felt comfortable in.”

Michelle and Eden chose The Collingwood Children’s Farm for their wedding, noting We wanted to keep the theme of the wedding in line with our venue, so we went with a natural, rustic theme. We complimented the venue with Australian native flowers and foliage. We didn’t use a lot of decorations as we wanted the natural beauty of the Farm and it’s surroundings to be the focus.”

Looseleaf styled a wreath of native flowers to act as the ceremony backdrop.

The bride chose an acoustic version (perform by Ben Williams) of INXS “Flame Trees” for her walk down the aisle.

Jon Von Goes officiated the ceremony. Michelle adding, “We were extremely happy with our vendors. They all exceeded our expectations. However, the wedding would not have been such an amazing day if it wasn’t for a select few; The Farm’s wedding planner, Vanessa Pidwell. She took care of everything and made sure it was all perfect. It was all organised through emails as we were living in France. She was very friendly and professional. Jon Von Goes was our celebrant and a crowd favourite. He had everyone in tears and stitches. His service set the tone for the rest of the wedding. DJ Eddy is a great friend of ours and an incredible DJ. He kept the party going all night and the dance floor was always full.”

Of their photographer, Michelle remembers, “The photographer we chose for the day was the amazing Ed Sloane. Ed is a friends of Eden’s who met working together in the surf industry. Ed’s primary work was once in surfing but his portfolio is now so much more. We were blown away by the results and could not have wished for better. He produced the most amazing images of our day, capturing memories that will last forever. He comes very highly recommended.”

Guests celebrated long after dark under tipis from TipiKata. The stunning wedding set up, catering and all round planning of Michelle and Eden’s dreamy wedding was by fabulously put together by Vanessa from The Farm Cafe. 

“It was raining for the ceremony and it didn’t look like it was going to ease up but against all reports and all odds the clouds cleared, the rain stopped and the sun came out for a magical afternoon.”

Sweet Milton created a naked wedding cake for the couple. Special tributes were made to extended family, “We had a table that had photographs of all our family members wedding photos. We also had a candle burning next to those who had passed. It was quite emotional but also a great way to include our lost loved ones in our wedding. Instead of wedding favours, we had made a donation to Alzheimer’s Australia. This disease has deeply affected both sides of our families so it really meant something to the both of us.”

“Unplanned, we had moved to France 6 months before our wedding for work. Most of it (the wedding) was planned over emails and from abroad. Our wedding was more than a wedding, it was a coming home party.”

Of their first dance, the couple wanted something different, Michelle explains, “Our wedding was not traditional in anyway, and our first dance was no exception. Instead of dancing together for the first time, I danced with my dad and Eden danced with his mum. The song we chose was “Stand By Me” the Otis Redding version.”

Congratulations on your marriage Michelle and Eden! Thank you for sharing your day with us, thank you also to Ed Sloane for sharing today’s celebration!