Sam & Josh

If there ever was a time to turn an apple shed into a wedding venue then today’s splendid vintage inspired apple shed wedding was it! The beautiful Tasmanian countryside was the perfect setting for these two lovebirds who chose Photography With Cassie to capture their day as it unfolded.

Sam, who met her beloved at university, tells how they came to be. “We were both studying in Ballarat, at different universities, but with a large group of mutual friends, and it was in our last months of our degrees that we met at a random house warming/birthday party. We started chatting, and found out that we had a lot of things in common. His best mate was a good friend of mine also and he played on the same Gridiron team as one of my very best friends (I would have watched him play multiple times). I also learned that his mother grew up in the same town as I did (a town of less than 300 people) and his grandfather was the principal at the same school my dad’s family went to. I of course didn’t believe him and accused him of being a stalker for about two weeks until I had cold hard evidence that he was telling the truth!”

 

The groom and groomsmen took care in their attire, finding blue suits at Suit Shop Melbourne.

The bride chose Melissa E  to create her wedding gown, telling “I found my dress practically straight away. We flew home for the annual Pier to Pub, a Miller family tradition, and met my Mum, sister and Grandma in Ballarat for the day. We peeked at a couple of bridal shops and the first dress in the second shop was the one. It fit like a glove, it was like nothing I could have ever imagined and I wanted to wear it home then and there. It was fun, lots and lots of fun!

The dress was two pieces, an ivory, fitted, french silk slip, with an overlay, heavily beaded, boatneck front, and V-back. It had a soft mermaid silhouette. I wore a simple chapel length veil as a train for the ceremony.”

The couple got together for a first look in the misty forest. “Josh and I had a first look at Silver Falls, at the base of Mount Wellington. It was a short 15 minute walk from a little tavern – it was misty with rain, and a little chilly, but that’s exactly how we love that part of the world. It was mystical, and enchanting, and Cassie our photographer captured it perfectly. We decided to have a first look so we could spend as much time together as possible. It worked out perfectly for us as we got to laugh, and catch up on our day apart, and have a good little chat about our feels for the day.”

“We have two favourite photos. There’s the one of Gus, our dog with my veil wrapped across his front, his face displays pure happiness! And then there’s one of Josh and I standing in front of two doors of this tiny hut we found in the forest. I’m looking and laughing at Josh, and he has this look on his face of pure love and a little cheekiness.”

Lisa Kingston Flowers created the stunning floral arrangements for the day, the bride remarking “I think the next words after I said YES was, “oh my god I can have all the Lisa Kingston I want!”
Lisa is a local florist who grows all of her own flowers in her amazing Woodbridge garden. She sells the most divine, wild bunches of flowers from her stall at Salamanca Market each Saturday.

We went with deep and rich reds, burgundy, purple tones with some native greenery added in. I had a traditional cascading bunch which still is, and forever will be, the most exquisite bouquet I will ever see. My girls carried smaller posies and the boys had buttonhole with raspberries and leaves. We had two arches with big arrangements and a mixture of garden flowers scattered around the tables in mismatched crystal vases.”

Sam remembers “I walked down the aisle with my Mum to Asgier – On That Day. The song still makes me well up every time I listen to it.”

The couple were married by someone very special to them “We flew my local minister down to officiate the ceremony – it’s always been a big thing for me to have a religious ceremony as it’s what I grew up with and what I know. Our ceremony was relaxed, and filled with love. A beautiful friend of mine read a passage from The Velveteen Rabbit – a passage which summarised our relationship perfectly, and Josh’s best mate read some paragraphs from Les Misérables our favourite play.”

Sam and Josh chose Willie Smiths as their wedding venue, noting “As soon as the idea of marriage and a wedding came up, we knew we wanted it at Willie Smiths Apple Shed. It was our perfect destination. A little farmy feel, being surrounded by paddocks, a beautiful original cider house, a stunning outdoor garden and stunning mountains in the background.”

“Our dog Gus was with us for our ceremony and reception, such a handsome pooch.”

Of their photographer, Sam remarks “Cassie our photographer went above and beyond. She was drenched, walking around in the rain with us, smiling and laughing. After finishing in the rain forest, she found a leech on her ankle, and she just laughed it off. She listened to what we wanted, and the photos she created have told the entire story of the day. She really is golden.”

Guests enjoyed a delicious feast from Taco Taco and Bruny Island Cheese Co. “We had our favourite food truck, the Taco Taco van cater – we had share platters of pulled meats and delicious salads with the option of making tacos for the main.

Our very good friend Dan set up cheese platters for the canapes from Bruny Island Cheese Company,”

Of their wedding style, Sam tells “We went with antique and rustic, think mismatched crystal vases, silver and brass candle sticks, antique furniture and wooden arches, and the most beautiful flowers on earth. It was a pretty cool calm and relaxed atmosphere, with everyone in their best attire.

I spent 14 months going around op shops and antique shops to find crystal vases – we didn’t necessarily DIY, our goal was to have as little waste as possible. We felt that buying from op shops was putting money back into the community and charities.”

Guests took home jars of Sweet and Raw Honey and the cake was made by the bride. “We DIY-ed our cake, with the help of three generations from my family. it was pretty special having so much time and love put into it.”

Of their first dance, Sam tells “We did our first dance as we walked into our reception. Our amazing band, Katy Raucher and the Mangus Trio performed our favourite of Fats Waller’s Aint Misbehavin’, it was cute, quirky and had everyone having a little giggle at our four left feet.”

Congratulations on your marriage Sam & Josh! Thank you for sharing your beautiful day with us. Thank you also to Photography With Cassie for sharing today’s gorgeous photographs!