Nicole & David’s Modern Rustic Collingwood Children’s Farm Wedding

We stayed at Peppers in Cradle Mountain and Dave had planned a hike up to Dove Lake with a little picnic. So we did the hike, but things didn’t go exactly to plan. Dave was pretty unwell on the day so I kept offering for us to turn back and do the hike another day, but he was extremely determined to get to our destination and powered through – I was baffled (but once he had proposed, it became apparent as to why he was so persistent). We eventually got to Dove Lake after a 13 KM walk (poor Dave) and he launched into a really sweet speech. Now I might be the most oblivious girl in the world, but I actually didn’t know what was coming next. It wasn’t until he was reaching in his pocket to grab out the ring that I realised what was going on. As I now know, I don’t deal well with surprises and this was no exception. I was in shock and needed time to process what was happening. Much to Dave’s dismay, I left him hanging there in the freezing cold for a few minutes. I felt bad, but I was seriously freaking out. After a bit of discussion, and reassurance from Dave that this didn’t mean we were getting old or that anything about our relationship would change, I said yes and we got super excited and loved up!”

David put together his own wedding look, using pieces from Saba, Calvin Klein and Aquila. A pair of brown leather double monks completed the look.

The bride found her Q’nique Bridal gown at Bluebell Bridal. She shares the story. “The day I found my wedding dress, I wasn’t expecting to come home with anything. I had a really close friend also getting married around the same time as me and had booked a session at Bluebell Bridal. Since I was going anyway, I thought I should try a few things on too for a bit of fun, as I didn’t originally have a huge budget for the dress. After my friend locked in her beautiful dress, I tried on 3 or 4 pieces and as soon as I put my dress on and stepped out from behind the curtain, all three of the girls, in unison, were just like “oh that’s so cool, that’s so you!” I stepped onto the pedestal, looked at myself in the mirror and I agreed. It was such a different style to everything else I had seen and all the little details were really me. I loved it, but it was way over my budget, so I had to sleep on it. I went back the next day with Mum and Sis in tow and once again got that feeling that it was something special!

It was made and designed in Australia, so that was a big drawcard for me. It’s not a traditional wedding gown, which suits me just fine as I’m not a really girly-girl. My favourite bits are the high neck, the beautiful graphic lace and having the short slip underneath – it was so breezy and comfortable on the day! I paired the dress with these amazing Rose Velvet Steve Madden pumps and some simple jewellery. I loved what I wore and I feel I really stayed true to my style and personality.”

In keeping their day low key and about their story, Nicole and David opted for no bridal party, but still made the most of their friends. Nicole explaining “Although I didn’t have bridesmaids, I still had all my main gals over for the getting ready. This was one of the best parts of the day for me because it was quality time with my mum, sister and my best girlfriends. We had champers, laughs and tunes. It really helped to keep me relaxed and carefree. One of the funniest bits was gathering around to do a cheeky shot of fireball just before heading to the ceremony. Classy!”

Nicole and David met before the ceremony for a first look, noting “The first look this was awesome as we could get excited and have a quiet moment together (because the rest of the day is full on). Plus it was really fun walking down the aisle together and seeing all those friendly faces beaming back at us!”

The couple chose city farm venue Collingwood Children’s Farm for both their ceremony and reception remarking “We were originally thinking somewhere out of town. The Mornington Peninsula or somewhere like that. We loved the idea of a farm, because it’s rustic and we love animals. But the more we looked into venues out of town, the more apparent it became that the logistics were going to be tricky. Being from Canberra originally, we knew a lot of friends/family would be travelling to attend our wedding, so we decided that keeping it within the city limits would be a great deal easier for both us and our guests. When we visited the Collingwood Children’s farm, we absolutely loved it. Having all the animals just cruising around was awesome, feeling like you’re in the middle of nowhere, but you’re really just a couple of Ks from Melbourne CBD was a novelty that we couldn’t get over and it just felt right!

It was to Sigur Ross’ “Inni mer syngur vitleysingur” that Nicole and David walked down the aisle, hand in hand together.

Robert Stock officiated proceedings, Nicole telling “We loved the ceremony – it was just perfect. It was super relaxed, personal and touching. We bounded in together across the paddock to a Sigur Ros song and from the very start, it was joyous and down to earth. A mutual friend of ours was the “faux celebrant”, meaning he welcomed everyone and told our story with some really personal anecdotes and funny quips that only he could bring to the table. His speech was a surprise to us, so it was really cool to hear it for the first time on the day. A few things he did made for a really funny and relaxed ceremony, like when he tried to give the actual celebrant the rings at the wrong time and he had to rescue a flower stand which was knocked over from the wind. It was little random things like this that made it really memorable and special to us!”

The couple wrote their own vows. “We loved having personal vows – these were so special and meant a lot to us. Hearing these for the first time at the ceremony was surprising and beautiful, we were both so touched by what each other said. And when you think about it, those few lines are really what the whole day is about.”

And once they were pronounced married? Another brilliant moment! Nicole shares “I loved Having “this must be the place” by Talking Heads as our recessional song, once we were announcing as husband and wife. This song makes me so happy and it’s something we always belt out on a road trip. It was just perfect!”

All of the floral arrangements were styled by the couple themselves. “We found a flower shop who sold direct from their farm to the customer, so their prices were great and we just picked all the ones we loved a few days prior to the wedding. We chose some natives and lots of other flowers that I don’t remember the names of. We kept to a simple palette – greens, whites, pinks & a lovely cranberry colour. It was really fun doing the flowers, but a little stressful on 30+ degree days.We arranged all our flowers ourselves, made our own signage, designed our stationery (including letterpress invites with a custom-made wax seal), made the photo guest book, organised decorations and mixed up our own confetti made from tea leaves.”

As big gin fans, the newlyweds treated their guests to a gin garnish bar inviting guests to sample and garnish their own gin cocktails. Nicole says “I loved our DIY Gin Garnish Bar. Our guests could pick their own gin garnishes (ie. cucumber, citrus, rose petals, peppercorns, cinnamon sticks etc. etc.) for their gin & tonic. Being such a hot day and well, just because gin is the best this was a huge hit. It was a good talking point and interesting seeing all the different combinations people made up.”

One of their favourite handmade details of the day was the signage, Nicole telling “Our signage was pretty cool, we got 600 x 900 mm plywood boards from Bunnings, whitewashed them in our courtyard and we had vinyl-cut black text which we stuck down ourselves. The style was in-line with our stationery and ended up being really striking! We worked on the catchy phrases together, which were meant to emphasise a particular element of the day, ie. “let’s get sweaty” was the sign we had on our dance floor and boy did we get sweaty!

I’m so glad we did all this – it made it so personal and it was fun getting creative with your partner!”

The speeches were a highlight for the bride – who did not expect her husband to reenact her childhood crush! Nicole explains “During my Mum’s speech, she thought she would embarrass me by bringing up some pretty weird crushes I had when I was a kid. The main one being Mick Hucknall, from Simply Red. This was a funny moment during the speeches but I thought that was that. However, during Dave’s speech he gave 3 reasons why he was lucky – the third reason was that I chose him because I could have ended up with a rockstar type, like old mate Mick Hucknall. Next thing I knew, he was in a curly orange wig and the lyrics to Simply Red’s “Stars” were being handed around, which he then proceeded to sing to me! He did so well, the crowd joined in for the choruses and it was a really entertaining performance! Everyone commented on how good a singer Dave was, but I’ve heard him sing in the car…

It was also funny because everyone thought my Mum planted the seed during her speech for Dave, but they both had no idea what the other one was doing – it was just a lucky coincidence, I guess. Or I was just that obsessed with Mick Hucknall that it had to come up a few times….!”

Of their photographer. Nicole shares “We felt like he was the right fit from the moment we saw his work/met with him. He was so professional & organised, that we felt confident that he would capture all the right moments during the day. He was really on top of things on the day and gave us so many amazing photos that represent the sunny, happy feel of the day.

Guests enjoyed a food truck feast catered by Fancy Hanks BBQ. Shares Nicole  ” Fancy Hanks were super easy to deal with, they just rocked up, and did their thing without any issues. The food was absolutely delicious and everyone was extremely well fed. We heard some people even went back for thirds or fourths!”

The newlyweds took to the dance floor to “Look At Where We Are” by Hot Chip”, performed by their band, Little Buster Brown, Nicole telling “Gosh they did a good job of it too. I kind of wish I could have just watched them perform it rather than have to slow-dance in front of everyone. It was really beautiful, I just felt a little awkward….”

The dance floor was packed thanks to live tunes from Little Buster Brown. Nicole noting”Simply amazing at what they do! Such a tight band with an amazing positive energy. Annabelle, the lead singer’s voice is stunning and timeless. To us, they felt like old friends who just so happened to be super talented musicians. They were great at bringing the party to the dance floor!”

Cake Inc whipped up a table full of decadent cakes. Nicole telling “My favourite part of wedding planning  – getting to eat a test run of the wedding cake, doing wine tastings and going to wedding fairs with my friend who was also getting married!”

A big congratulations to the newlyweds!  Big thanks for sharing your stories with us! Thank you also to Motta Weddings for sharing today’s celebration!