Laura & Coleby

If you’re happiest at home, if your favourite memories are under the trees, playing backyard cricket and dancing on the grass, then what venue could be better to tie the knot? For Laura and Coleby, they wanted a day free from stress, a day that was casual, love-filled and relaxed. And they chose Coleby’s parent’s house to do it. Add a marquee, a pizza truck, a grazing table and photographer Jake Hogan Photography and I’d say the result is pretty special.

It was a long time coming for these two, who actually met in high school! Laura shares the story “We went to high school together. We dated for a few months in high school, then went our separate ways for a few years (there is a bit of a debate about who broke up with who in high school..). We met up again when we were in our mid-twenties.”

Keeping with the “at home” theme, Coleby popped the question at the couple’s own home base. “Coleby proposed to me on my birthday at our home in Belmont” remembers Laura. “He said he thought about doing something fancy, but knows we both like things simple and casual, it was the perfect way to get engaged. We then went and celebrated together at our favourite restaurant in Geelong – The Hot Chicken Project.”

The bride opted to wear something a little casual, choosing a midi length Spell and the Gypsy Collective dress. She tells “I wore a dress from Spell and the Gypsy Collective. I knew I did not want a formal wedding gown, and I love the look of a shorter length.
I found this online and loved the look of it, so I decided to buy it. It fitted perfectly and was so comfortable to wear, I feel in love with it instantly and knew I did not need to go and look at any other dresses. I also borrowed my friend’s denim jacket for the day too, as it was so cold!”

A backyard wedding anyone? These two planned with relaxation and ease in mind, Laura explains “We got married in Coleby’s parent’s backyard. We knew we wanted something relaxed and casual, his parents have a large backyard in Geelong, with a great shed and decked area that we used for the reception. We did not want to have to travel or make our guests travel from ceremony to reception, so we had it all in the one place.”

Guests were welcomed to the wedding by a beautiful grazing table by Platter Co.

The groom finished his dapper look by Politix with a wooden Peggy & Finn bow tie.

Laura walked down the aisle with both her mother and father to a very favourite song. She remembers “We chose a song by a band we have seen a few times together, that I doubt no one else at our wedding would have known, but it is a song we both love and already had a special meaning to us. It was by a band called Antarctigo Vespucci, the song was called 100 years. Both my mum and dad walked me down the aisle.”

 Chris Johnson officiated the ceremony, the bride telling “We did not want the ceremony to go for too long, we both do not love being the centre of the attention. We had a nice celebrant – Chris Johnson who understood what we wanted well. He gave us the perfect ceremony. We only had one reading, it was the first verse of a song by our favourite Band who we have seen play all over the world. My brother read that out. It was the first verse of the song “With You Around” by Yellowcard.”

Keeping this casual and relaxed was the theme of everything Laura and Coleby did for their day, they tell “We just wanted to make sure we didn’t get carried away in the planning process, and just tried to keep it as simple as we could, and a true reflection of us as a couple.”

Laura and Coleby decorated their arch. “We used an arch that Coleby’s parents already had for the arbour – sprayed that white and used a sheer curtain from our home to hang behind it.”

Laura and Coleby were thrilled with their choice of photographer. “Jake Hogan was the perfect match for us. He captured our day perfectly. We had told him we did not want to be away from the reception for hours taking photos, we were only away for about 30mins and he managed to get so many amazing photos. He fitted in perfectly to our relaxed style wedding. I like that he took photos of our guests having a good time too, not just photos of us.
He was easy to deal with and got our photos back to us quickly. Highly recommend him!!”

The bride and bridesmaids carried bouquets of greenery, the bride sharing “Going with the casual theme I wanted foliage bouquets. We mainly used foliage again for the decorations, with some white flowers amongst the greenery. My sister in law Chelsea did the flowers, she did an amazing job.”

Laura & Coleby hired Meet Gertrude to keep their guests hydrated, a decision they not once regretted, Laura sharing  “We used a caravan bar for our drinks. They were amazing to deal with. The weather was not on our side, it was cold wet and windy (the week leading up to our day had been sunny and in the 20s, then it just turned on the Saturday). So we had to organise a marquee last minute that they would fit into. They were really nice and accommodating with all the phone calls/emails we had in the few days prior. Nothing was too hard or too much to ask of them, and they made sure the drinks were flowing all night.”

Guests enjoyed a feast of pizza from food truck Pizza Wagon. “We wanted our day to reflect us” tells Laura. “We had big grazing tables to start with from Platter Co, then we had Pizza from The Pizza Wagon and then doughnuts from Uncle Donut, we also had some slices and treats baked by family and friends. Simple, delicious and fun.”

A custom stamp featured throughout the day shares Laura “We had a stamp made up with the same design of Coleby & Laura that was on our invitations, and we used that to stamp on some paper coasters to put on the tables. We also stamped it on some paper cups that people used for water and cups of tea or coffee.”

The newlyweds fought the first dance but succumbed on the evening, remembers Laura “We initially did not want to do the first dance (you can see a theme of us not liking being the centre of attention). But as the night went on, we decided we would. So we didn’t have a song pre-planned, our singer for the night Andrew Loadsman suggested “Ho Hey” by the Lumineers, so we danced to that. It was fun the way it was more spontaneous then pre-planned out.”

The best rules? No rules at all! Laura and Coleby even ditched the “farewell song”. Laura explaining “We had always planned on not being the first to leave, we always wanted to stay around and enjoy every minute of the day. So we got our MC to say that we won’t be doing a goodbye song and that people can stay as long as they want (benefit of having it in a backyard). We ended up staying till 2 am dancing with a group of friends and family.”

A big congratulations to you both Laura and Coleby! Thank you for sharing your beautiful day! Thank you also to Jake Hogan Photography for sharing today’s celebration with us!