South Australia, we’re embracing all the rustic vibes you have on offer today for the delightful rustic Adelaide wedding of Eamon & Ellaine.
Captured by Davish Photography, Ellaine and Eamon embraced the country style and even the rain of their wedding day. The pair adding rustic touches throughout their day (and a wedding cake that is both made of cake AND macarons, so you’ll want to make sure you catch that one) that added all the warmth needed for the blustery season of winter.
It was over coffee that Eamon and Ellaine met, says the groom “We met at Gloria Jeans where I was working at the time. I always made her drink when she came in, and apparently, I made it the best, according to her. One day she rocked up while I was wearing my name tag and she found me on Facebook.
Eamon popped the question on a weekend away. “I bought the ring while we were shopping together, not to her knowledge at the time – I was racing through the shopping centre to avoid any suspicions on her part.
I booked a nice, cozy house for us to stay in. It was a beautiful place, almost surrounded by trees and nature, and while we were there, I planned a dinner at Windy Point restaurant, where we’d shared our first kiss on our third date. We watched the sun setting over the horizon; the sky was a beautiful mix of orange and pink. I got down on one knee and asked Ellaine if she would marry me. She started crying, and I did too. It was one of the most beautiful moments of my life.”
The couple fell in love with the rustic country vibes of Sunnybrae Estate. “We chose Sunnybrae because – first of all, it’s an absolutely beautiful estate – lots of greenery, the brickwork suited our rustic theme too, but most importantly, they really made us feel like we were important to them.
We visited another venue that appealed to us, but they were actually going to charge us for having dry ice during our dance – the same for rose petals on the wedding aisle. Sunnybrae thought that was ridiculous when we told them. “It’s your day,” they told us. Jimmy was so great to talk to; very understanding and kind, as was everyone else who we talked to there. They went above and beyond to make sure we had an amazing day.”
The couple honoured guests past and present explains Eamon. “Unfortunately one of Ellaine’s closest family friends passed away. ‘Boss’ Geoff Monteleone. He was the person who brought Ellaine’s family over from the Philippines and gave her dad his first job.
Geoff and his wife ‘Ma’am’ Chris made them feel like family, taking them out on trips to all kinds of places, taking them to footy games. They were practically her Aussie-Grandparents. When we found out he had cancer, we rushed our wedding planning, but unfortunately, it wasn’t soon enough.
We set up a little seat for him, next to Ma’am Chris where we placed a nice photo of him and a Port Power teddy bear that Erika (sister) had given him while he was battling cancer. We also made special mention of him during our ceremony.”
“We chose “You are the Reason” by Calum Scott for Ellaine to walk the aisle to. It was a soft song with a beautiful chorus. We felt like it fit with us.”
Remembers Eamon “My favourite detail of the day was the ceremony. Seeing Ellaine walking down the aisle was so emotional. I was shaking, my mouth was trembling and I was so emotional. It was the most beautiful and meaningful moment of my life.
It was a gloomy and cloudy day too, but just as we were about to speak our vows to one another, the sun came out, shining on us both and we both felt like everything was right – like it was meant to be.”
Eamon and Ellaine were married by Mark Bassett Marriage Celebrant who helped the ceremony have just the right vibe, says Eamon. “The ceremony itself, we wanted to keep simple, but still personal. We went to so much trouble organising everything else, that I think we just went with something easy.
We had a great guy by the name of Mark Bassett do our ceremony – the preparation for which, he made very easy for us. He did an amazing job on the day; he was warm, friendly and funny as well. We had a family friend do a reading from 1 Corinthians 13 which was meaningful to both of us. We spoke our vows to one another, both of us putting our personal touch into them, and both making the other laugh, smile and cry.”
Says Ellaine “My favourite moment of the day was just after we said our vows and sealed it with a kiss. We walked down the aisle together as husband and wife as all of our relatives and friends showered us in white rose petals.
Afterwards, we quietly slipped away just so we could practise our dance. It wasn’t on our schedule – we just quietly agreed to it. We went behind all of the curtains into a part of the room that hadn’t even been decorated. It was a nice uninterrupted moment between the two of us where we could just enjoy each other’s company among all the chaos of the day.”
Ellaine was lucky enough to have not one, but two beautiful wedding gowns from Brides & Bloom. “The first wedding dress; I guess it made me feel like the princess in a fairy tale we both made” she tells. “As a kid, I always watched Disney princesses and growing into an adult the idea of having my fairy tale and finding my soulmate, prince charming was a dream, I didn’t think would come true. But it did, and I wanted a dress perfect for that dream.”
“I wore a nice sandy-coloured suit with a white shirt and red tie,” tells Eamon of his wedding day attire by Connor. “I’ve never liked the typical black and white look, so I went for something that stood out to me – that I liked the look of.”
Eamon shares this advice for wedding planning. “Help each other out. Communicate with one another. If you have the money, get a wedding planner! That’s one thing we would have done differently, had we known what we were getting ourselves into!”
The flowers on the day were styled by In Style Co. says Ellaine. “We opted to have neutral colours and combined my favourite flowers in the bouquets such as the classic – rose, baby’s breath, pom-poms and phalaenopsis orchid. My now-husband, always got me “pom-pom” bouquets to celebrate or to simply gift to me, and it’s always brought pleasant memories. I had specified for baby’s breath and the orchid to add texture and flow to the bouquet as I didn’t want the classic circular set.”
“On the morning, we did things traditionally where the husband and wife don’t see each other. We felt like that was important. But in the morning, Ellaine used Aubrey to come over to my room to tell me she loved me. Given the night we’d had before, and all the stress that came before the wedding, that – to me – was so meaningful” tells Eamon.
“For the photographer, we used the same person that did our engagement shoot. Elanie from Davish Photography. She was funny, caring and good to complain to about all the stresses of wedding planning.
We loved her engagement shots of us and we wanted the same for our wedding, so she was the obvious choice, and we ended up with some nice shots of the day.”
Ellaine and Eamon chose a rustic vibe for their wedding to embrace the cosiness of the season. “As far as appearance goes, we wanted it to have the rustic feel. We had wooden chairs arranged for everyone, as well as some big wine barrels at the front of the aisle. It was beautiful.
As it was the middle of Winter, we wanted it to feel warm and cozy, and we made a last-minute change due to the rain to have it inside, which Sunnybrae went above and beyond for.”
For the reception, Ellaine changed into another strapless gown, also from Brides & Bloom. “I wanted something that displayed my traits as a woman. Getting married in your early twenty’s, all that people had to say was “you’re too young”. Part of the reason I wore the second dress was to show people that I am a grown woman. PLUS it helped extremely with the dance that was choreographed.”
Ellaine and Eamon’s favourite part of planning their wedding? The dancing! “For our first dance, we chose the song “Rewrite the Stars” by Zac Efron & Zendaya. It’s a beautiful song that we both thought felt romantic. It gave us a bit of enjoyment amongst all the chaos of everything else, and it was such an awesome pay-off!” remarks the groom. “It was a part of the night that we really could own and feel like we did a great job of it too.
The pace was tough to get used to, but the payoff was incredible. It made for some big moments in the dance, which were all a lot of fun! It kept a smile on our faces, especially when we heard the crowd screaming out. Storm at Dance Amor was an incredible teacher – hilarious and fun while still being very helpful, and even caring for us when we came in a bit stressed.”
The couple wanted d a night full of fun, so they highly recommend to you their DJ from Platinum DJs. “Our DJ Thomas McNally was great as well! He had a very professional manner and was also really funny and charismatic with the crowd. He supplied us with music while being the MC, and he also had his photobooth and dry ice, which he chucked in for free.”
Eamon and Ellaine chose Josh Huggett Media to capture their fay on film, the groom noting “We wanted a video of the day, and that’s what we hired him for, but he ended up taking some nice shots of the ‘before-the-wedding’ prep for us too, even delivering it all in this beautiful little box with a USB and wooden shavings. He also was an incredible help during the preparation phase when he did my tie for me, way better than I could have! Josh Huggett, for the above definitely stood out for going above and beyond!”
A big congratulations to you both Ellaine and Eamon! Thank you for sharing the story of your day with us. Thank you also to Davish Photography for today’s beautiful images!
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