Dana & Scott

For some couples, food can be a bit of an afterthought but for Dana and Scott? Well, they booked their caterer before they even chose their wedding date! Their carefully curated menu was the jump-off point to their day that was so beautifully thought out to ensure their guests had the most amazing time.

And shall we talk about the rest? A Kombi van serving up craft beer, a cocktail station mixing up mojitos and pina coladas (and after dark espresso martinis as the dance floor started), majestic tipis with stunning floral arrangements and even a wow-factor nitrogen dessert demonstration that left guests applauding. You’d never guess that a torrential downpour almost washed this beautiful day out. Luckily, Mother Nature relented just in time, and Merge Photography whipped into action to capture every single beautiful moment.

The newlyweds share the story of how they came to be. “Our mutual friend Holly suggested that we might be a good match. We were both reluctant about a forced setup but agreed to be introduced at her birthday party at the Raffles Hotel. On the night of the party we barely spoke to anybody else, we definitely hit it off and moved in together a few months later.”

Dana and Scott opted for no bridal party, explaining “We chose not to have a formal bridal party because we wanted our closest friends to just relax and enjoy themselves. We asked our two closest friends Callam and Grace to witness our marriage certificate and speak at our reception. We also asked our brothers Callan and Andrew to look after our rings and take part in our ceremony.”

The bride wore a beautiful v-neck lace gown she found at Hobnob Bridal. She tells “My dress was from Hobnob Bridal. The dress was actually the opposite style of what I thought I wanted to wear. Lynn from Hobnob, brought the dress into the changing room as a suggestion, at first I thought the dress had too much beading for my style, but once I tried the dress on, I didn’t want to take it off. I got emotional in the dress so I knew it was the one. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience at Hobnob, I invited my best friend, mum and mother-in-law, to share in the day and it made the day so special having them there.”

Dana notes “I wore my late grandmother’s ring as her something blue. It was important for me to have a part of my Nan with me on my wedding day. In our reception, we included a photo table of our grandparents and parents on their wedding days. It was nice for us to show our guests the people who made us who we are.”

Gilgara Retreat provided the perfect blank canvas for Dana and Scott, who tell “This was an easy choice because Gilgara is a stunning venue with a Heritage Homestead in a beautiful bush setting, combining our love for both heritage buildings and nature. The property allowed us to have our ceremony under their London Plane Tree and with a reception space large enough for us to fulfill a vision of tipis, cocktails and dancing under the stars. We loved that Gilgara offered us the ability to have everything at the one place and also have accommodation for us and some of our guests on site.”

Dana remembers of her walk down the aisle. “We chose ‘Love you til the end’ by The Pogues. I’ve always dreamed of walking down the aisle with my dad, Brad, and was so honoured to have him give me away on the day.”

Celebrant Kerry Grist officiated proceedings, Dana and Scott remarking “We wanted a short but memorable ceremony. We wrote our own vows which we kept as a surprise until the ceremony. We wanted the ceremony to feel very personal and intimate so we made sure we had enough seating for all guests and asked for an unplugged ceremony. As a result our ceremony was full of laughs and many tears, we loved being able to see the faces of all our guests sharing in the moment. The ceremony was one of the many highlights of the day.”

Dana and Scott remark “Our favourite part of wedding planning was being able to spend as much time as we did down in Margaret River. We had lots of road trips and weekends away, planning our day and spending quality time together. We also really enjoyed the creative process and including our own personal flair into the day.”

Of their photographer, Dana and Scott note “We chose Jodie from Merge Photography before we even had our wedding date, her work has always stood out to us and is our exact style. We wanted a natural, relaxed and real feel for our photos. We don’t particularly like getting our photo’s taken but Jodie made us feel really comfortable right from the first meeting and even more so on the day. We couldn’t have chosen a more friendly, warm and professional photographer to capture our special day. When we received our photo’s a short time later, we were blown away by the quality and the moments Jodie was able to capture. We will be forever grateful.”

 Sorella Flower Merchant created the stunning floral arrangements for the day, Dana explained “After a lot of research, we chose Sorella Flower Merchant and we are so glad we did. From the first meeting with Tamarin and Courtney, they completely understood our vision and offered so many amazing ideas, nothing was too hard for them, including an incredible hanging installation in our tipi which people are still talking about. We didn’t have a specific colour scheme in mind but loved the idea of bright reds, plums and pinks. I’ve always had a soft spot for natives and really wanted to include King Proteas and native gum into our arrangements. Sorella absolutely nailed the brief.”

The Zest Group worked with a huge group of suppliers to install two enormous tipis and style them full of beautiful decor, fit for Dana and Scott’s wedding.

Badger and Frankie were on hand to whip up mojitos, pina coladas and dance floor espresso martinis, while beer-loving guests got to enjoy craft beer from a kombi thanks to Kombi Keg WA. Says Dana and Scott “Our day would not have been possible without all our incredible vendors. Each and everyone stood out for us. We have and will continue to highly recommend our vendors to others.”

Dana and Scott love their food, so an amazing caterer was the first thing they booked for their day. Working with Food By The Chef, the newlyweds explain “We wanted to create a great party with great food and drinks with our closest friends and family. Therefore the food was very important to us. We specifically chose the date of our wedding around the availability of George and Kayleigh from Food By the Chef. We are both foodies and felt it was so important for our guests to enjoy beautiful food at our wedding. The food was incredible, our favourite being the nitro dessert demonstration by George, which wowed our guests and tasted amazing.”

“Our favourite photographs were the photographs taken during the speeches. They show the true emotion of the day, the laughs and the tears. It is so special to look back on those memories.”

The newlyweds kicked off an evening of dancing with Van Morrison’s “Days Like This” They tell “We chose ‘Day’s like this’ by Van Morrison for our first dance. We chose this song because Dana grew up listening to it and always pictured herself dancing to it at her wedding. As we both have two left feet we kept it simple and just enjoyed the moment.”

Congratulations on your marriage Dana and Scott! Thank you for sharing your beautiful day with us! Thank you also to Merge Photography for sharing today’s stunning images!