“Almost” high school sweethearts (the pair, in the same group of friends, only making their bond official two years later when Josh had graduated) it was another eleven years before Amanda and Josh decided to take the plunge and tie the knot.

Josh, aptly choosing the couple’s eleventh anniversary to invite his then-girlfriend to a celebratory dinner. His suggestion to stay in the city “due to the late dinner booking” giving nothing away. “He was acting a tad on edge as we arrived, and popped the question with the most beautiful ring after entrees” remembers Amanda. “Josh had organised for all of our family and close friends to celebrate with us back at the hotel the following night! It was nothing short of perfect, I think that we were both on cloud 9 for a few days after that!

And today, we get to share their wedding story. At the height of one of the most beautiful season of the year (and our favourite, as everyone knows) Autumn, in the beautiful Yarra Valley. The pair inviting Ashleigh Haase Photography along for their day to make the most of the stunning Autumn hues, as they said their vows surrounded by their very favourite people in the world.

Family is incredibly important to Amanda, so she made sure to include family heirlooms in her look. “My something borrowed was a ring that my mum wears every day. It was my great-great-grandma’s wedding ring, who I am named after as I was born on her birthday so that was very special! I also had a small photo of her tucked in my bouquet, along with some lace from my mum’s wedding dress (something old)!”

Amanda found her lace Made With Love gown at Bluebell Bridal. A task she found harder than she thought! “It was hard, a lot harder than I thought to settle on the one dress! After a couple of days of shopping, I kept coming back to the same style which wasn’t what I had originally planned.

I ended up choosing the Made With Love ‘Danni’ dress from Bluebell Bridal. I loved the low back, long train and the beautiful lace! I wore a long veil with the dress. I didn’t want anything too over the top but wanted something that was still bridal and like nothing else I have or ever will wear again. It was such a fun experience, I loved sharing it with my mum, nan and bridesmaids!”

Events By Hello Blooms created the incredible floral details for the day – these bouquets? Only the beginning! Says Amanda “Events by Hello Blooms were simply amazing! I had no idea what kind of flowers I wanted and I didn’t know where to start. Lauren from Events by Hello Blooms was so helpful in working through some styles and from there, I left it in her hands with a few pictures we liked and a list of colours we wanted; burgundy, white, some pale pinks and green foliage.

On the day, the flowers were incredible and better than anything I could have imagined! The flowers received many compliments on the day! I had no idea what kind of flowers I wanted, only the colours and they managed to pull together not only amazing bouquets but an awesome floral arrangement for the ceremony that blew us away and hanging installation for the reception that we couldn’t stop complimenting!

Josh chose his look from MJ Bale. “Josh wore a dark navy suit from M.J Bale with brown shoes. He wore a burgundy tie that matched the bouquet and setting for the day. He added a waistcoat to differentiate his outfit from the groomsmen and a white pocket square. He looked very handsome!”

Amanda and Josh were married at Stones of the Yarra Valley. “We knew that we wanted our wedding at a winery and definitely wanted both ceremony and reception at the same location. After checking out a few venues, nothing compared to Stones. It was an easy decision, it is just beautiful there!”

The bride’s walk down the aisle? A team effort. “My mum and dad both walked me down the aisle together to John Legend ‘All of Me’.

“We wanted a relatively short ceremony that captured our adventure to date with personalised vows” tells Amanda of the couple’s ceremony, the pair choosing to hire Erica The Celebrant to make it official. “Our celebrant Erica did a fantastic job and with a great balance between personal and fun stories of our relationship and the formalities. My 2 brothers, Adam and Bradley and Josh’s sister Katie read 2 readings. Big shout out to our celebrant Erica who couldn’t have been more friendly, easy-going and helpful!”

Amanda and Josh have nothing but praise for their photographer. “Ashleigh was great. Very easy to get along with yet also very professional. On the day, Ashleigh made us feel comfortable and was really good at getting everyone to laugh and look natural in photos. Ashleigh captured the day perfectly, from start to end and many of the guests commented on how great, organised and fun she was!”

The couple gifted guests test tubes of tea leaves.

The choice of song for the newlywed’s dancefloor debut was all Josh. “Out first dance was to ‘Say you won’t let go’ by James Arthur” remembers Amanda, “Josh actually chose this as he wanted something different to Ed Sheeran’s “Perfect” which was all I could come up with and what we continued to hear at all the weddings we attended.”

Want more of these two? Luckily for us they chose Popcorn Films to capture their day!

Amanda and Josh, thank you so much for allowing us to share the story of your day! Thank you both and thank you to Ashleigh Haase Photography for sharing today’s beautiful celebration!