South Australia, as it turns out, has a special talent for wineries with amazing views, and beautiful settings. Wineries that make for amazing wedding venues (if you ask us!) and for Rosie & Anton, there was no better setting for their intimate, Autumnal wedding. It was a day that embraced not just their love of the Autumn season, but their love for South Australia and its treasure trove of talented vendors (which as it turns out, included their chosen photographer Tim Day Photography who captured the day!). Says Rosie “Meeting all the vendors was our favourite part of the planning. There are some amazing, passionate and talented people in the wedding industry in South Australia. Everyone was so friendly and enthusiastic about our vision for the day and so passionate about what they do, offering suggestions and advice about how to organise different elements and making the planning process so stress-free. We had the best experience with working with every one of our vendors and are so grateful they were a part of our day.”

The pair, who chose  Friday for their big day “We wanted a more casual vibe, but also – who doesn’t love a three day weekend!” planned for a day that honoured their love of the Autumn season. Says Rosie “We wanted to embrace the Autumn vibe and we chose our colour scheme and design elements to match the rich emerald, burgundy, rust and gold tones of the season.

During the planning, we made a conscious effort to look into the meaning behind wedding traditions and choose those that aligned with us and ditched those that didn’t. It was important for us to have a celebration that reflected who we are as a couple and not feel that we had to include things just because they are tradition. We aimed to create an intimate, casual, and heartfelt celebration with our favourite people. We wanted every one of our 30 guests to feel included in the celebrations and for them to come along, have a relaxed time and enjoy some good food, wine and music with us. Having a small group of our friends, family and chosen family made the day so special and we were able to spend quality time with everyone without feeling stretched.”

The pair’s romance first blossomed at high school explains the bride. “Anton and I met in high school when we first started dating. We went our separate ways for a while after he moved to a different school just before graduating, but then we met up again in 2011 over social media, met for coffee and have been together ever since. It will be 10 years together this year.”

The proposal, which came from Rosie, involved food and impatience! “We had talked about our future and our shared goals and we both wanted to get married, it was just a matter of timing. During one of these conversations about our future I (Rosie) jokingly said, “so when are we going to get married?” and Anton jokingly replied, “when you ask me”. Well, the challenge was accepted. I was going to plan for a leap year (like the Irish tradition) but I can be impatient and didn’t want to wait. There was also a meaningful date coming up in 2018 which would be perfect – 20 years since we first met in high school, so I started planning. I made Anton’s favourite food (messed up the cheesecake) and set up our kitchen with twinkle lights and candles. After dinner I gave Anton a paper fortune teller and asked him if he wanted his fortune read, when he opened it up it read ‘Will you Marry Me?’. He said, “of course”.

If you have fallen head over heels in love with Rosie’s emerald green wedding gown like us, then you need to know the story behind it. The gown was designed by Jaimie Sortino found at  After Dark Boutique. She tells  “I knew from the start that a traditional white or ivory dress didn’t feel right for me, and I wanted something that was a little different. Green is my favourite colour, my engagement ring is an emerald, and I knew that a deep, rich emerald would be a nice contrast to my red hair.

My only hesitation was my internal pressure to fit into what I thought a bride should look like, but when I tried the gown on those worries melted away. The veil was a last-minute decision, but I am really glad I went with the floor-length ivory veil with gold glitter because it pulled the whole look together and I loved the colour contrast. When I started looking for dress inspiration it was really hard to find examples of brides wearing colour, but I have noticed that this has started to change and I am seeing more and more couples choosing to wear something different to reflect their personality, and I’m honestly living for it. It’s so nice to see.”

The couple started by ditching the “not seeing one another on the day” tradition, says Rosie. “Instead of the traditional night apart, we chose to stay at the same location and get ready together in the morning with our wedding party and Rosie’s parents Richard and Lyn. We all got ready at the gorgeous cottage ‘Lost in the Vines’ in Blewitt Springs. We popped a bottle of Mumm, had some laughs and had photos in the gardens and vines. It was so lovely to spend that time with them, and the photos in the surrounding gardens and vineyards were gorgeous.

The morning of the wedding had a magic feel to it when we woke up, looked over at each other and laughed in disbelief that it was our wedding day.”

Anton dressed in a stunning three-piece suit of tweed. The groom explaining “When we were thinking about our outfits for the day we both wanted to choose something that reflected us as individuals but also be cohesive as a couple. I enjoyed being involved in creating my bespoke three-piece tweed suit from Knightsman Bespoke Tailors. They worked with me to design every detail from the buttons, to the fabric and included personal touches like embroidering my name and our wedding date on the suit.

I chose the three-piece suit to create an old-timey, gentleman look and chose the colour of the tweed fabric and the blue-green inner lining of my jacket to match Rosie’s colour choices. I’m really happy with the way it turned out. I have always liked the look of pocket watches and that was a cool extra detail.”

The couple chose  Beach Road Wines for their venue. “Beach Road Wines in McLaren Vale is a stunning location and was one of three wineries in the area we had our eye on when planning” explains Rosie. “We always envisioned holding our celebration at a winery, and within the first few minutes of our tour of Beach Road we knew that we wanted to hold our wedding there.”

The views were a standout to the couple, but the relaxed vibes of the country setting were exactly what Rosie and Anton dreamt of for their day. “There were a couple of options for the ceremony location, and we were instantly drawn to the feature London Plane Tree. It provided the perfect backdrop to our vows without needing any additional decoration other than some twinkle lights draped through the branches. Rosie walked up the aisle in between the vines for the 5 pm ceremony which was held underneath the beautiful London Plane Tree where our guests were treated to the spectacular view of the vines and the rolling hills of McLaren Vale.

The light underneath the tree during the ceremony was so beautiful, just as the sun was setting, the golden light twinkled through the leaves and was pure magic. Cocktail hour was in the garden at the back of the winery, and the reception followed back on the decking at the front of the winery with views out over the vines and out towards the sea. It was a really beautiful location. The decking area for our cocktail style reception was also perfect, with a large area for dancing and room for guests to chill out and just enjoy the night. We wanted the day to be a chilled Friday night celebration with good pizza and wine and a whole lot of laughs, and that is exactly what we got.”

“One of the few traditions we kept was having my dad (Richard) walk with me down the aisle, which was the gorgeous vines at Beach Road. It was a special moment for me to have my Dad by my side. I chose to walk down to The Neapolitans performing their version of the song ‘Home’ by Phillip Phillips. I will always remember how beautiful and emotional it was to walk up between the lush green vines and see all of our family and friends, and especially Anton, waiting at the top.”

Rosie and Anton hired Lauren the Celebrant to perform their ceremony, which they focussed on as the most crucial part of the day. Says Rosie “For us, the wedding day was all about the ceremony, the vows we said to each other and the meaning of the day. We wanted the ceremony to tell our story, and bring a lot of humour and emotion to the day. Our Celebrant Lauren (Lauren the Celebrant) was one of the first vendors we booked. I met her at a wedding fair early on in the planning and felt an instant connection with her. Lauren is a ray of sunshine, she radiates so much enthusiasm and warmth, and she instantly engaged with our guests, built up the energy and everyone loved her.

Lauren was so lovely and supportive throughout the planning and helped us to create a ceremony that reflected what was important to us, incorporated our ideas and made it unique, funny and full of heart. Lauren was so thoughtful and made sure to accommodate my (Rosie) hearing needs, and even made up printed copies of the ceremony for members of my family who are deaf and hard of hearing. She made the ceremony everything we had hoped for and more.”

“Our Maid of Honour Cindy delivered a beautiful reading of a quote from Captain Corelli’s Mandolin by Louis De Bernieres and our Best Man Chris gave a heartfelt reading of a quote by N’Tima. One of our favourite moments from the ceremony was when our guests all closed their eyes, thought of wishes for us and then erupted into a cheer of Huzzah!”

Says Anton “What I remember most about the day was how everything we had imagined our wedding would be like was completely surpassed by the reality of it. I was completely blown away by seeing everything come together.”

“The ceremony was the highlight of our day because it was so meaningful for us. After knowing each other for 20 years and being together for 10 years it was really special to have the opportunity to celebrate our love and confirm our ongoing commitment to each other in front of our chosen people.”

“We opted not to have the first dance and instead included songs in the ceremony that were meaningful to us. The Neapolitans performed an amazing cover of Regurgitator’s ‘Song Formally Known As’, and it was such a fun song to have while we were signing the paperwork as well as having special meaning for us. The band also played a killer version of Hall and Oates “You make my dreams”.

 

The blooms, I am sure you will agree was incredible against Rosie’s green gown; they were the work of floral designer  Bonnie Blooms. “I am so in love with the flowers! Bonnie was a dream to work with” claims Rosie. “I came across Bonnie (Bonnie Blooms) while searching on Instagram for wildflowers and instantly fell in love with her style and eco-friendly philosophy. I wanted the flowers to be more unstructured and wild and to have that fresh-picked from the garden look. The shapes Bonnie created are so interesting and her style is so romantic and playful. I liked that she worked off our colour theme and sourced local and in-season flowers. I love how the flowers turned out, the variety of flowers and the mix of pinks, rusts, reds and whites Bonnie chose were stunning and blew me away.

Flowers were our main decorative element and we had flowers on top of our welcome sign, in a vase on the signing table, a large rambling display on our white mesh backdrop featuring the Huzzah sign, small bud vases on the tables and bouquets and buttons holes for the bridal party. One of my favourite photos is the close-up shot of my sister holding my bouquet, the colours are so gorgeous.”

Rosie and Anton were thrilled with their choice of photographer, Tim. “From the very start of planning the wedding, we wanted to focus on quality photography for the day and finding someone whose style we loved and who we felt comfortable with. Tim’s photos stood out to us right away when we were searching on social media because of his candid style, the way he captures emotions, the rich colours and moodiness of his images, and the romance of his black and white shots. Tim is such a lovely guy, he is funny, relaxed, easy to communicate with and made the whole process so comfortable and fun for us. He was such a good fit with our crowd and he blew us away with the photos.

Every single one is stunning and they are beyond what we had hoped for. We love the way Tim focused on candid moments during the day and highlighted the little details. There are so many beautiful images of our family and friends interacting, laughing and being so full of joy that we will always cherish, and the photos capture the mood of the day so perfectly. There is an image that Tim took of our beautiful friend watching the ceremony, she is holding a leaf that had fallen from the tree and it is one of my favourite little moments that he noticed and captured. It is so sweet and it just speaks to Tim’s eye for detail. Tim is a champion and an amazing photographer, and we are so so glad we chose him to be part of our day.”

Rosie’s best advice to you? Ditch the fear! “Don’t be afraid to do things a little differently. Decide what will work for you as a couple and what won’t, keep what feels right for you and throw out what doesn’t. The day is about you as a couple and should be a celebration that reflects who you are. If that means wearing something non-traditional or shaking things up for the ceremony or reception then do it! Be true to yourself.”

“One of the portrait shots we had right after the ceremony is one of our favourites, where we are facing each other embraced in a hug. We both love this shot so much because of how intimate it is, and how it captures so much joy and happiness and how gorgeous the colours all look together. We have a large framed print of it on display in our home.”

The beautiful moody tones were such a highlight of this day. “I spent a lot of time putting together mood and colour boards during the planning so the way the colours all worked out was one of our favourite details. We love how the dress, the suit and all of the colours and accessories all came together so perfectly. All the colours are so harmonious, and I love how Anton’s floral pocket square and emerald velvet bow tie (from OTAA) matched my emerald dress and the colours of the bouquet so well.

We love how the colours worked with the venue as well, the tweed suit matching the branches of the ceremony tree, the green working with the vines and surrounding hills and the rust and burgundy tones of our bridal party matching the flowers. Even Lauren’s fun orange heart earrings complimented the theme.”

“We had a large acrylic sign made by The Little Laser Co as part of the backdrop on the dance floor. The ‘Huzzah’ sign is a bit of an in-joke between us and something that we started saying as an exclamation of joy and in place of ‘cheers’ so it was one of the details we were excited about. It turned out beautifully with the gold acrylic lettering on a black backing and was such a conversation starter. It also became a running theme and was even included as part of our ceremony which we loved. It was so fun to have little touches like the sign be a part of the wedding and made the celebration feel more personalised.”

The beautiful cake, designed by Sugar and Spice Cakes was a complete surprise to Anton and Rosie. “One of the details that surprised us on the day was the cake. We hadn’t seen the final cake design leading up to the wedding, we just provided our colour theme to Sugar and Spice Cakes and let them design the rest. When we saw the cake being brought out for the reception we were so excited because the cake was gorgeous and the colours and shape of the sugar flowers matched my bouquet perfectly. It was a nice surprise.”

 

“The team at Beach Road Wines were so lovely and made our day so special. Adrianne and Briony took care of every detail on the lead-up and the day and were so easy to communicate with. We felt very well looked after and they made sure that we had something to eat and drink all night and that everything ran smoothly. Our guests raved about the wine and wood-oven pizza and the team helped to make the night so relaxed and fun. It was such a stress-free experience working with Beach Road wines and we appreciate everything they did for us.”

Says Rosie “My dad Richard’s speech was also a special part of the day as he managed to cram in several drift (motorsport) related puns in true dad joke style and reference to Anton’s passion for drift photography and drifting. When imparting advice he stated, “The best things in life take time. They should not be rushed. I’m not saying you should just “drift” through life…but take every corner as it comes with style and grace. Just graze the wall, don’t spin out and watch out for the clipping points. Remember, today is the transition to married life, which from now on is a tandem drive.”

Live music by The Neapolitans remains one of Rosie’s favourite memories of the day. “We feel incredibly lucky to have found the most amazing wedding vendors. They were a dream team. The Neapolitans were so cool and rocked all night. They set the tone for the evening and were so much fun, bringing out the saxophone and creating the best vibe. Having live music was such a good choice and we loved them.”

“We loved doing things our way. Making the choice to follow our hearts and avoid decisions based on perceived obligation and creating a celebration that reflected our personalities made everything less stressful and we got to enjoy the planning process and the day. We had little bits of everything we love and it made the day so personal and special for us.”

Congratulations on your marriage Rosie and Anton! What a stunning, magical day that begins your story together. Thank you both and thank you to Tim Day Photography for sharing today’s celebration with us.