As we come to the finale of The Gold Issue, we have one more beautiful day that glittered and glimmered that we could not resist squeezing in. Today, we introduce you to the story of Ashley & Tanée. A day full of whimsy, full of laughter, full of colour- and full of gold (in the form of Tanée’s incredible gold vintage wedding dress!)
There is also something super special about this day because the groom? he happens to be the sister of wedding photographer Alyce of Cloud Catcher Studio the couple leaning heavily on Alyce’s expertise and industry colleagues, putting their faith in them to bring their day to life. And with all the detail, all the beauty, you cannot deny how well they pulled it off.
It was a house party that eld these two together, remembers Tanée “We met at a friend’s house party when we were just little babies (19 & 20 years old). We had the same weird sense of humour and hit it off immediately!” Ashley popping the big question ten years later on a road trio throguyVictoiria “We spent a few days driving around the Great Ocean Road and Ashley proposed during a hike to a waterfall in the Otway Ranges. We’d been together for over a decade so we both knew we’d get married eventually, so obviously, it wasn’t a huge surprise. Ashley knows how much I love being out in nature so it was a really lovely and thoughtful moment. We celebrated by getting a bottle of bubbly and going on a midnight adventure to explore the glow worms cave nearby that night.”
Ashley donned a classic black suit from Black Jacket Suiting. Tanée explaining “Ashley wore a suit from Black Jacket Suiting. It was tailor-made for him and he’s already worn it to several other weddings and events (an investment!)”
The bride donned an incredible gold vintage wedding gown, in keeping with her adoration of all things vintage. “I wore a vintage 50s-style gold lamé party dress and an antique gold floral headpiece. Also a 1960s floral tapestry coat to the reception. All were found through vintage/antique sellers online. I have a love of vintage clothing and wanted to wear something comfortable, fun and easy to dance in”
Bright and beautiful blooms were the work of Pollen Weddings. “We asked for pops of soft colour with natives and loved them so much. They did an amazing installation that wrapped around the tree in the ceremony space, which really took the styling to the next level”
The couple walked down the aisle together, hand in hand, to David Bowie’s “Modern Love”.
The atmosphere of the ceremony was lighthearted and fun, just like the rest of the day “We wanted the ceremony to be short and sweet. ” says Tanée, “We wrote vows to each other which were heartfelt but also pretty silly and laidback, like us. Our celebrant Les is an old family friend (father of the groom’s best friend), who has now married all of the siblings in Ashley’s family”
The couple made sure to include their favourites in the ceremony “I have a lot of nieces and nephews, so really wanted to involve them in the day. ” explains Tanée. “We had plenty of flower boys & flower girls and it was so adorable. The oldest nephew Oli delivered the ring while wearing a Storm Trooper helmet, as a cute surprise for Ashley (a huge Star Wars nerd)”
The couple were married at the beautiful hinterland venue Fins Plantation House. Tanée explaining “We chose Fins because we wanted to have the ceremony, portraits and reception all in one place. There’s an incredible view looking over Tweed and the cactus garden makes for really interesting photos. The staff are so great and are so used to doing weddings, we didn’t have to think about anything. Oh, and the food is incredible.”
These two are particularly lucky, with Ashley’s sister being a wedding photographer! They chose her and her colleagues to capture their day, but of course! Tanée explains “Ashley’s sister Alyce is a photographer and runs Cloud Catcher Studio, so recruited some of her best friends/photographers to capture the day. We’re biased but we’d recommend them to everybody – they are all such a bunch of lovely, laid back and creative people and will put you at ease in front of the camera. And will not shy away from a dance floor!”
Tanée & Ashley’s favourite detail of the day? “The Cake! Bree from The Cake That Ate Paris is a genius. It was covered in all of these little gold leaves and must have taken forever. Our favourite part of planning was Cake tasting… NOT spreadsheets.”
Ashley and Tanée’s day is as much about the, as it is proof that trusting your wedding team to do what they’re good at, is so very golden, The pair choosing wedding stylist Event Stylist & Co to bring it all together. “Ashley’s family work in the wedding industry, so we had heaps of guidance and knew of a bunch of awesome vendors that we wanted to work with. Ngaire and her team at Events Stylist & Co brought it all together for us so seamlessly and made sure everything ran smoothly on the day. ”
The couple’s dance floor debut was to “See You Again” by Tyler the Creator. Says Tanée, “It wasn’t so much the first dance as it was a chance for Ashley to put on a show with a smoke gun, to get the party started” The dance floor continued in true celebratory style, thanks to Cut A Rug DJ “If partying hard is a high priority, you need to book Cut a Rug DJ.”
The couple chose Fable House to capture their day on film. “They captured the fun vibe of the day,” says the bride.
The biggest of congratulations to you both Tanée and Ashley! Thank you for taking the time to share your wedding day with us, Thank you also go to Cloud Catcher Studio for sharing today’s story and beautiful photographs!
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