Valentina & Luke

This romantic Werribee Mansion wedding is so filled with gorgeous details and love, we have been swept right off our feet! From the majestic sweeping grounds of the location to the lush blooms and with a smitten couple thrown in, we are thrilled to share this beautiful day. Heart and Colour captured every lovely moment.

If you’ve any doubts about modern dating apps, think again! Valentina tells, ”We met on Tinder! We decided to meet at a bar for our first date. I actually brought two of my friends along just in case, they were in the back corner the whole date! Luke had no idea about this until much later when we were already together. Definitely happy I swiped right!” Luke sealed the deal with a romantic proposal, with the bride sharing, ”We knew right from the beginning that we were meant for each other. He took me to a spot we went to for one of our first dates. It was a very special place to me and I was so very happy that’s where Luke asked me to be his wife. It was just the two of us with a beautiful view, at a lookout. He got down on one knee and I said yes. It is a memory I will treasure forever.”

FInding her perfect gown ended up being quite simple, with Valentina telling, ”My wedding dress was designed by Karen Willis Holmes and was called ‘Annika’. It was a beautiful lace dress with romantic lace sleeves which draped off my shoulders, and was accompanied by a beautiful train. It was one of the first dresses I tried on and I fell in love. I wanted to keep looking as I had just started my search and I tried a lot of other dresses on but found myself always comparing it to the ‘Annika’ gown. I decided to try it on the second time and I was convinced! My experience with the girls at the Brisbane store was amazing, my dress was made to measure perfectly and even with a last minute issue they went above and beyond to have my dress perfect for my big day. I would recommend Karen Willis Holmes to any bride!” Of her jewellery, the bride shares, ”Luke and I gifted each other some beautiful jewellery pieces that we will have to pass on as heirlooms one day. My bridal jewellery and Luke’s cufflinks were from Jan Logan and were our bridal gifts to each other. A ring for Luke and a necklace and earrings for myself were from Canturi where our wedding bands and engagement rings are from. I am very excited to have memories and special gifts which I can pass on.”

We love a dapper groom, and Luke was just that! The bride shares, ”We wanted Luke’s suit to be made to measure and something unique and special. We had his custom suit made from scratch by Briggins in Melbourne. Laura helped us every step of the way with decisions and designs. His suit was an amazing bright blue, with custom stitching and a custom vest. It was all in the detail with wooden buttons on his white shirt to match his wooden bow tie. We had amazing vendor Peggy and Finn who make amazing wooden bow ties, cufflinks and fabric ties. They came to a suit fitting and we were able to browse their collection and get matching accessories for Luke and all the groomsmen. We finished his look off with Aquila brown dress shoes. As a wedding gift I also bought him gold cufflinks from Jan Logan and a beautiful brown and gold watch to match his shoes. He looked amazing.”

Wanting an intimate and heartfelt ceremony, the bride and groom set up in the grounds of the Werribee Mansion. Valentina tells, ”Our celebrant Anthony Cribbes did a fabulous job of telling our love story. We said our own vows to each other and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. Luke and I couldn’t hold back the tears and we had everyone crying happy tears with us. I loved our ceremony because I felt it was truly a reflection of Luke and I and we were able to really express our love for each other with all our closest family and friends there to bear witness. It was truly a love filled affair.” The couple chose ‘Angels’ by The XX for Valentina to walk down the aisle. The bride says, ”The words just spoke to us and described our love for each other so well. We had a two piece duet sing the song for us acoustically. Like This Corporate Band were our entertainers and they did a fantastic job. My mum walked me down the aisle; she has been there for me my whole life and I couldn’t imagine another person walking me down the aisle.”

Choosing the venue for their wedding, the bride and groom knew this was the place after a site visit. The bride recalls, ”We went for a site inspection at the Werribee Mansion and fell in love with the beautiful gardens and the old world charm. We were able to have a mix of the history and charm of the mansion for our ceremony and had a contemporary space to style for our reception in The Pavilion which were both coupled with the beautifully manicured gardens. Our venue also had amazing food and wine and to top it all off a hotel on site where all our wedding party could stay after the wedding. It had the complete package!”

We are head over heels for the colours of this romantic wedding, and the flowers play a large part. Valentina shares, ”The flowers were phenomenal! We had a very clear colour palette in mind, which was mostly berry tones, pink, peach and a touch of white to lighten everything up. We had Peonies, David Austin Roses, Queen Anne’s Lace, Hypericum berries, Lisianthus, Jasmine foliage and a mix of a couple of other foliages in our arrangements.” Choosing a favourite detail from the day was particularly hard on the couple, as, ”it was all the little details of our day that made it special. I absolutely loved my flowers. Kate from Mary Mary Studio truly captured my vision in terms of colour and style and I dreamed of those beautiful peonies leading up to the wedding and boy did she deliver. It was the main reason we chose November for our wedding. I am a big fan of peonies. I loved making decisions around styling, flowers and table décor. It was very fun picking all the little details and then seeing it all come together.”

Speaking of their chosen photographer, the bride says, ”Heart and Colour were absolutely amazing! Phil and Aaron were so relaxed and it made for a fun day. They took some amazing photos of our day and we were truly blown away. They are so gifted and captured so many perfect moments for us to remember our day forever. I would love to mention our videographers too. Steve and Phil, from The White Tree, they made an amazing video of our day, again capturing the day so perfectly. Both vendors had a such a way about them we didn’t even realise they were taking pictures or video half the time. We would highly recommend both of them.”

Of the styling for their wedding day, the bride says, ”Our wedding was all about the details! From the gift boxes for the bridesmaids and groomsmen to Luke’s bow tie which matched the groomsmens’ ties. The stationery was designed by a friend. Our planner/stylist The Super Styler was amazing with all the little details that made the day special and all about us. My non negotiable was peonies, they are my favourite flower and I also wanted our vows to be personal and from the heart. We truly had such an amazing team of vendors that all made our day the amazing day that it was! I think that’s truly key. A true stand out though was Nadia, our wedding planner and stylist from The Super Styler. We actually had started off with a different planner/stylist and I was absolutely dismayed and stressed and it was an awful few months. We decided to part ways and we found Nadia. Best decision we ever made! She truly went above and beyond to help us plan, coordinate and style the wedding. She had amazing vision for the style of our day but always listened to us and what we wanted and kept that as her focus. The result was a beautiful wedding, more beautiful than we could ever have imagined and exactly what we wanted.”

Having dance lessons paid off, with the bride sharing, ”We had a wonderful instructor, Mr Jay, and he taught us a beautiful routine. We wanted to be able to have a dance for people that wasn’t a sway and we actually loved the opportunity to learn the dance together leading up to the wedding, it was lots of fun. Our first dance was to ‘1000x’ by Jarryd James. It was a song Luke and I connected with. We had a neon sign from Neon Poodle custom made for us with the words to our song in the background at our wedding whilst we danced. We now have it as a cool neon in our house and a memory of our first dance as husband and wife.”

We love a bride and groom that have fun as a priority during their wedding day! Valentina says, ”We had such a blast the whole day! The photo booth from Poppy’s Photobooths was a particular favourite and is something I would highly recommend. We got some great pics and funny memories to cherish. Another is our band. Like This Corporate Band were so amazing! They had us up and dancing all night, coming into the crowd and getting amongst it. A highlight was Luke’s Aunty busting out to ‘It’s Raining Men’. So much laughter and fun! I think our photographer and videographers were laughing their heads off at all our dance moves. There was even a conga line!”

The White Tree created this stunning video for the bride and groom. It captures the day perfectly!

A special thank you to our bride and groom for sharing your gorgeous day, and congratulations on your wedding! Thank you also to Heart and Colour for your beautiful photographs.