Emily & Lachy

If there is one thing we wanted to make sure we included in The Engagement Issue, it’s engagement parties! They’re one of the most fun parts of planning your wedding and have such a relaxed, fun vibe without the tradition or expectation of a wedding. So today? Let us introduce Emily & Lachy!

The pair chose to hold their engagement celebration’s on the bride’s family farm. Falling in love with the rustic, county charm of the property, they enlisted photographer Not Negative Photography to capture their fun. “The idea was to have a big engagement party with all of our family and friends to celebrate and then possibly have a more intimate wedding in future. We have plans to renovate and would like to travel more together as well as a wedding so we will just continue to work towards that and see how the future pans out,” tells Emily.

The two, who met at a mutual friend’s party, became engaged on a trip to Port Douglas. Emily fills us in.

“It was our first proper holiday together as our focus has always been on the house. Our first full day there Lachy suggested we have a picnic on the beach in the afternoon. As we were getting ready I noticed Lachy was putting a bit of effort into his appearance as there I am in bathers and a messy bun/ We went to the shops on our way and got drinks and everything for a platter. Lachy took me around to a secluded part of the beach that was picture perfect. He set up the camera for timer shots of us (even though he had it filming) and put music on while I set up the platter. I thought he was putting a lot of effort into this picnic and I asked him what was taking so long as I wanted to start eating. He then produced a photo book he had made for us of photos of us both at similar ages growing up and had made it into a love story. It was so beautiful and I cried saying it’s not even my birthday. He then got on one knee, told me he loved me and wanted to spend the rest of his life with me and open a ring box with a blue diamond ring! It was such an amazing time for us and we were on a high the entire holiday, so excited and full of love.”

The focal point for the party was a vintage lounge from One Big Day Event Hire with a fun neon sign from Little Pineapple Neon. Emily explained “I had really wanted to hire an old fashioned couch for photos as I thought it went perfectly with the style I was going for. Our amazing friends hired it for us as our present and I hired the neon sign to complete the look. I am so glad we had that couch as a photo area as it was a beautiful spot and really personalised the photos at our event. I also loved the family photos we took there!!”

Vintage, rustic pieces filled with lawn. “Lachy and I love an old school/country style. I think my parent’s place has an effortlessly country style and adding the country rock band I didn’t want to go any further than that. Everything else I wanted to have the old school character to it as well as creating an atmosphere with all of the lighting being warm white in colour and the two large fire pits. We added the old school touches with the old fashion champagne glasses and white doily tablecloths on the tables in the marquee. We also tried to get as many vintage chairs as possible for the tables in the marquee.”

 

“I think it’s really important to have different areas or sections to a party to accommodate everyone. We had a large space on the grass for those who wanted to dance in front of the band, a bar area with wine barrels for standing around, the marquee had a sit down area for food as well as a hay bale semi-circle for those wanting to sit and chat” shares Emily.

The decor was a true team effort, with help from Gypsyriver and Teagan & Hayley Preston tells the bride to be. “Many things at the party I had sourced myself as well as asked for help from friends. All of the candles were from Kmart and we had a welcome sign on the welcome drinks table in the same style as the invites. I had handwritten the sign with the help of my sister in law. My friend Ash put together the grazing platter and all of the amazing native and foliage arrangements were by my friends Teagan & Hayley Preston. Teagan runs her own gardening service and I was so impressed with the arrangements she made as she doesn’t usually do that sort of thing, although I think she should!”

Live music was a must for Emily and Lacy, who hired Long Gone Daddys to play the night away.”When planning the party we thought about what was important to us. Food, wine, and live music make a party, something that my Dad has always shown us from previous parties. We always want people to be fed and have a great time. The band, Long Gone Daddys we always get for parties at my parent’s home. They play all the nice acoustic stuff at the beginning of the night, continuing into the country rock that we all know and love once you’ve had a few drinks. They are also really into going with the crowd and are happy for people to get up and join in with them, this was a really nice aspect to have and everyone danced and sang all night!

 

Guests enjoyed speeches after dark, all captured by their photographer, who Emily couldn’t rate more highly. “Pete from Not Negative was amazing. As soon as he turned up to the party he was so excited about our set up and my parent’s property that he ensured us the photos would be great which was really exciting. We expressed to Pete that we had no experience in front of the camera and he was so great with us and put us at ease. It was really natural and we didn’t have to pose or do anything we didn’t want to as we were keen for more easy, candid photos.”