Amy & Brandon’s Dreamy Happily Ever After at The Olivehouse

Like many couples recently, Amy & Brandon planned their dream wedding… and then, of course, COVID hit. Said plans of dream wedding were put on hold, and because this couple is so very optimistic and fun, they decided to create a DIY COVID themed wedding photoshoot (which you can check out here!). And finally, after much replanning and waiting, their dreamy happily ever after at The Olivehouse was a reality, and captured so beautifully by Veri Photography! Amy remembers their day…

We *technically* met back when we were in high school – not that either of us really remember it! We went to different high schools but participated in the same Debutante Ball. Our group deb photo features us standing side by side even though we were not partners. After that, I guess it was several years of being “aware” of each other but going on to have a few relationships until eventually, we reconnected online in 2016. I lived about an hour away from Brandon at that time, but things started to move pretty quickly, and we moved in together about 4 months later.

I chose the Madi Lane Bridal ‘Meadow’ gown – the second I saw this dress I knew it was perfect for a garden wedding. I always knew I wanted a dress with sleeves, but with the wedding being in summer I needed a very specific type of sleeve and the Meadow was exactly that. I absolutely loved the keyhole back detail too.

The first look was definitely one of my favourite details of the day! We agonised over this! Do we want the first time we see each other to be in private, or while walking down the aisle? I’m a super introvert and was really nervous about the entire day so we ultimately decided on the first look. This was our favourite part of the day and instantly took away all our nerves. It’s really the only private moment you have with your partner for the entire day, and it was so worth it. We went into the rest of the wedding feeling totally relaxed.

A particularly special detail from the day was my bouquet which included a photo of my younger brother who could not be at the wedding in person, as he sadly passed away. It was incredibly important to me to have him there in some special way.

I walked down the aisle to an acoustic version of “From This Moment” by Shania Twain. I knew early on I wanted to include my mum as well as my dad for the aisle walk. I decided not to ask her until the very last minute – the morning of the wedding. I wrote her a card and asked! It was so hard to keep the secret for 18 months but the moment was worth it. No way I was walking down without her!

It was important to us that the ceremony did not feel “cookie cutter”. Our celebrant Katrina The Celebrant wrote us a ceremony that perfectly reflected us and told our story in such a beautiful way. I had to fight to overcome the urge to have a ‘short and sweet’ ceremony for the benefit of the guests. I was feeling bad about adding another reading or poem – but you have to remember the ceremony is the most important part of the day!

Writing our own vows was certainly one of the most anxiety inducing parts of the day. It’s one thing to sit down and pour your heart out into the notes app of your phone, it’s quite another to read those words allowed in front of all your family and friends! Hearing Brandon’s vows was so special, I knew we would have regretted not writing them.

The shot of us coming back down the aisle, me in my new husband’s arms, is my favourite photo of the day. It was a last minute decision (we literally spoke about it for the first time while sitting at the signing table) but I think it perfectly reflects how happy we both felt at that moment!

We chose Olivehouse in Kialla for both our ceremony and reception – the venue fit perfectly with our theme and looked absolutely stunning in photos. Our ceremony was set up in a beautiful white Grecian style arbour, with our guests seated under the trees in the olive grove, which was perfect on the day as it was almost 40 degrees without a cloud in sight.

The owners of the venue couldn’t have been more helpful and accommodating in the lead up to the day. They both went above and beyond to ensure everything looked perfect. And the food was amazing – we got a lot of comments in the weeks after the wedding about how delicious it was!

Cheng from Veri Photography was amazing. He was so energetic the entire day, to the point where he was running backwards at some moments with two cameras. I was nervous about wedding photos as I don’t see myself as a very photogenic person and I am incredibly introverted but Cheng was a true professional with amazing talent. He made us look so good! He also got so many snaps of all our guests enjoying themselves, it’s nice to look back and see them all with smiles on their faces.

A special detail we loved was we had a personalised wine box made up and inside we both sealed letters to each other to be read on our anniversary in 2022. We intend to write new letters to place in the box every year to read on the following anniversary.

As many recent brides know, 2020 provided a truly unique experience in wedding planning! I love being organised and planning things, but COVID made it so hard and at times we had no idea if our wedding would go ahead or not.

We wanted a wedding that reflected us and I think we achieved that. It was a simple garden wedding with touches of black – our favourite colour. Mid year I started working with Mel from Mellyrain. I had a vision for our wedding and how I wanted it to look, and needed someone to help bring it to life which is exactly what she did. She made sure everyone was where they needed to be, that we were all comfortable and had everything we needed. I was able to put my control freak side away for the night and enjoy myself knowing that Mel was making sure everything was perfect.

We chose an acoustic version of James Arthur “Say You Won’t Let Go” for our first dance. Early on in our relationship Brandon heard this song and thought it perfectly described us, so it’s always been on the shortlist for wedding songs.

At our reception the aim was for everyone to have as much fun as possible. For a lot of people, this was the first event in a really long time so we wanted to make sure it was one to remember. Our DJ/MC DJ Masters was amazing at selecting songs that had people on the dance floor constantly. So many people completely missed their dessert because they were so busy dancing – it was exactly how we imagined it.

Advice for other couples planning their day… Don’t let people downplay the importance of your wedding. We all get married because we want to spend our lives with this one person. The size and grandeur of your wedding in no way diminishes your intention to have an amazing marriage from that day on. It’s incredibly easy to get caught up in the details and get stressed out – I spent a lot of time worrying about everyone else’s expectations of what the day should look like. Once you let go of that and plan the day with only things important to you and your partner, a lot of stress goes away.