Dreaming of a day that was “relaxed country”, Chelsea and Gary’s elegant rustic country celebration was family-filled, sentimental, and perfectly them says, Chelsea.  “We wanted our wedding to be very simple no-fuss that made everyone feel comfortable and happy.”

At the beautiful country venue of Roomba’s Mount Aitken, photographer Lavan Photography joined the happy couple, along with their two children, for the day, that after being postponed three times was so well overdue!

Chelsea and Gary first laid eyes on one another while working on the mine in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Remembers  Chelsea “I worked in the office and Gary was one of our trades, he seemed to spend an awful amount of time coming in and out of our office though.
Eventually, his persistence paid off when he offered to wait to go to the local swimming hole at Hamersley Gorge after work with me instead of his work crew so I was able to go. We were able to spend some time together and get to know each other and he made me laugh so that was a pretty good start.”

The question was popped unexpectedly at Christmas; Chelsea tells the story. “Gary proposed on Christmas morning. I had no idea. Our friend had made the ring for him in Melbourne (Amillion Designs) and posted it addressed to my friend Kim who was living with us at the time. I always open mine and Gary’s mail. He had told me my Christmas present hadn’t arrived.

He bought presents that thought would annoy me but I loved them all. Chocolates, body lotion and bathroom scales. We were off to Japan on boxing day. I figured they would all come in handy. Then I unwrapped the last present and a box dropped out, he dropped to one knee and I started crying – I asked if he was serious and then said yes.”

“I wore a lace and beaded fit and flare style dress, it was a vintage rose colour,” tells Chelsea of her Mia Solano lace gown found at Luv Bridal & Formal. “I always wanted a low back and when I tried it on I loved it. I ended up buying it off the rack. I wore blue satin shoes that had diamante flower detail on them, they matched the lace of my dress perfectly.” She added special pieces to finish the look. “For my something old and borrowed I wore my great grandmother’s brooch and my wedding bands are actually my great grandmother’s wedding ring remodelled to fit me.

The couple made sure to include their two daughters throughout their day.

Chelsea and Gary chose the beautiful country venue Roomba’s Mount Aitken for their wedding, says the bride “It was perfect for us, we could have the ceremony and reception at the same place. It was close to my parent’s place, absolutely beautiful and exactly what we were looking for. An old bluestone style building with plenty of character and country charm.”

Chelsea chose “Clancy’s Theme” from The Man From Snowy River to play as she walked down the aisle with her father. “I loved that movie as a little girl” she remembers.

“When my wife walked in the door, nothing else mattered” remembers Gary. “I was there for her and it was the first time of the day that I started to get nervous. She looked amazing.”

Lynton Round officiated proceedings. “Our ceremony was short and sweet. We just wanted a very relaxed and quick ceremony so people could enjoy the day and the venue. Our celebrant was a family friend and had made us feel very comfortable. We were able to personalise our music and whatever we wanted to say. We stuck with pretty traditional vows as both Gary and I were super nervous we didn’t want anything too complicated.”

Advice from Chelsea to you? “Try to take time for yourselves, the day actually goes by so quickly. Just relax and let the day go along, if anything does go wrong you’re probably the only one to notice. Also, I wouldn’t waste money on RSVP cards, most people don’t use them and just contact you via phone.”

These two could not rave enough about their venue team. “Vicki and her team at Roomba’s were absolutely amazing” remarks the bride. “She really made us feel so welcomed and relaxed. All the staff on the night were so great and in all honesty, I didn’t even notice them there. Everything ran so smoothly that it was as though they were little reception fairies. We actually had booked our wedding three times and had to postpone twice due to falling pregnant and having our girls and Vicki was so accommodating through it all.”

Chelsea styled the floral centrepieces herself. “I did the jars for the table centre floral arrangements and we then did the floral arrangements ourselves. Paula, our florist,  supplied the flowers and foliage and I attempted to do them, thankfully my girlfriend Elisha was on hand and took over, her talent had them looking amazing.”

Chelsea’s favourite part of wedding planning? “It was probably setting the date and finding the venue, we had looked at a few venues but when we walked into Roomba’s it just felt perfect for us, Vickie was just such a wonderful lady and really knows her business. Any questions or queries we had she was so helpful with us especially since we were living in Perth at first and then had moved to New Zealand so it was very relaxing to know she had everything under control.”

Chelsea and Gary were thrilled with their choice of photographer. “Winny from Lavan photography was our main photographer she was so lovely and took some really great candid shots. We only met on the day as we live in New Zealand and she was just so friendly that it was as though we had known each other for a while. She really knew what she was doing and most of the time I didn’t even notice her there which I thought was wonderful.”

“I went with Australian natives, I didn’t have much idea about names but Paula was amazing,” tells Chelsea of the floral details styled by Wildflower + Twig. “When she arrived with my bouquet I was blown away, they were amazing.”

Even the first dance song had special meaning says Chelsea.  “Our first dance was to “Cowboy take me away”  by the Dixie Chicks. We both love them and Gary’s nickname at work was “Cowboy”. When we first got together someone commented that we should have it as our wedding song – it was pretty much decided seven years ago.” It was, of course just the beginning of a dance floor of fun. “Our ceremony music was so personal and different. We tried to include all the guests in the reception by having them pick a favourite song to dance to. Our DJ was so great at getting this sorted and reading the room, there really wasn’t a time (besides food time) that our dance floor was empty.”

The biggest of congratulations to you both Chelsea and Gary! Thank you for sharing the stories of your day with us and thank you to Lavan Photography and Roomba’s @Mount Aitken for collaborating with us on this feature!