There is a special kind of charm when it comes to a country wedding, and when Vidi and Matthew tied the knot, they not only embraced it, but they celebrated it. The pair planned a wedding which not only celebrated every bit of its country location, but also every bit of their heritage, Mauritian Hindu, Catholic and of course, plenty of community support, and beautiful photography by Christopher Winship Photography, making this day every bit as special as it deserved to be.

It wasn’t a typical meeting for the couple who were both graduates, fighting for the same position at a company. Vidi got the job, with Matthew being hired just a few months later, two decisions that led to a friendship forming.  Says Vidi  “We didn’t speak to each other at all as we didn’t have eyes for each other but had eyes for the job only. We first spoke when Matt got the job and the partner took him around to meet everyone. Vidi distinctively remembers she had a massive piece of gum in her mouth and couldn’t talk much in case she accidentally spat it out.

As graduates, we took the same study course together and Vidi was competing (usual nature) to get the best grade. Matt won by 1 mark without trying which annoyed Vidi. She made sure every other subject they ever studied together, she got higher marks.”

Vidi had quickly cottoned on to Matthew’s plan to propose on a weekend away. “Matt had been planning on asking Vidi for several months, however, he was not sure where he should do it. It was the start of the week in which he intended to ask her when the weather was lovely and it seemed like summer was just starting. Fast forward to the Friday night when Matt surprised Vidi by telling her of his plan to take her down to the Mornington Peninsula. At this stage, the weather had changed drastically. Not only was it cold and potentially wet, but Matt was also asking Vidi to get out of bed at 8 am on a Saturday which was a far cry from her normal 11 am Saturday surfacing time! Matt had planned to go on a short walk; short was not the term Vidi would use for it.

On the way down, Vidi had some butterflies, thinking “maybe this will be the time…FINALLY” only for this to be squashed when Matt started talking about the strategical significance of the location during WWII. Whereas in Matt’s head, he was trying to practice his short speech (only to get it wrong later on).

As we embarked upon what were some of Vidi’s worst nightmares, being woken up early, cold weather, windy and of course walking, she was only beginning to express her emotions by complaining the WHOLE way even though it was only 1km in! Matt had to think quick! “Would she even say yes if he waited until the end, would her mood be so bad even a proposal could not do enough to change the mood” when he saw a sign saying 350m to Cheviot Hill lookout. Matt decided to go here, using the cover of “it being a nice rest point”. Thereafter talking about the War once again Matt mustered the courage to ask Vidi for her hand in marriage, with which Matt was met with a swift and sharp response of “are you joking?”. After a short conversation, in stating it was for real, Vidi had the most beautiful smile along with the “Yes” Matt was after.”

Kicking it off with a film of this wedding day, captured by Adam Joseph Films.

Matthew donned a classic dark blue suit with a navy lapel from Institchu.

Vidi honoured her Mauritian heritage with a sparkling champagne beaded lehenga, she explains”I wore a traditional lehenga (Mauritian bridal wear). Traditionally the bride wears red in Mauritius however because Matt is Australian and we wanted our wedding to represent us and therefore we blended our traditions. I opted for a nude lehenga instead of red for more of a fusion look. The lehenga consists of a top, skirt (which weighed kilos) and a scarf. I loved my outfit as it represented me and my culture. My jewellery also included Mauritian jewellery where I wore multiple bangles, headpiece, necklace and earrings. I got my henna done as well which is a large part of my tradition.

The lehenga was hand-made in India by a company called Panache Haute Couture. The company is based in Sydney where I had multiple calls with them to design what I wanted. Due to covid I only saw the final product when it was posted to me instead of being able to do a fitting as I had planned.”

The couple worked with Basia Puchalski Floral Design on classic, beautiful wedding florals.  “Our brief was ivory, dusty pink and greenery, seasonal flowers and locally sourced. It’s hard to pick our favourite vendors but it would have to be the photographer, the hair and make-up artist, the florist and my wedding coordinator.”

Matt and Vidi met before their ceremony for a first look, a moment they both count as their absolute favourite.

Vidi and Matthew hired Christopher Winship to photograph their wedding, saying “He is the most relaxed yet talented person. He made Matt and I feel easy and comfortable since our first meeting. Chris was the first photographer we met with. After we met with him, we didn’t bother interviewing anyone else. He was so easy to communicate with and on the day, the pictures he took were so beautiful!! I can’t recommend him enough.”

Vidi and Matthew held their wedding at Yarra Valley country venue Wandin Park Estate. Says Vidi  “It was a gorgeous rustic venue. We had an outdoor ceremony under a large gumtree and the reception was in the woodshed. Wandin Park Estate was a DIY venue so we had the opportunity to pick everything we wanted such as catering, linen used, and furniture used. It was quite tiring, however it all came together in the exact way I wanted. I think all the suppliers did an amazing job in bringing the look I had in mind.”

The wedding ceremony, officiated by Jessica Hughes,  was where the fusion of Catholic and Hindu traditions really shone. “We combined our wedding ceremony to be a fusion between a Hindu wedding and a Catholic wedding. For the Hindu part, we had a mandap (instead of an arch) and did the Hindu wedding ceremony. Then Matt’s mum did a reading from the Bible and his dad and my mum lit a candle together to represent our families coming together.”

The couple chose two readings for the day.  Joan (Matt’s mum) read “Be ambitious for the higher gifts. And I am going to show you a way that is better than any of them. If I have all the eloquence of men or of angels, but speak without love, I am simply a gong booming or a cymbal clashing. If I have the gift of prophecy, understanding all the mysteries there are, and knowing everything, and if I have faith in all its fullness, to move mountains, but without love, then I am nothing at all. If I give away all that I possess, piece by piece, and if I even let them take my body to burn it, but I am without love, it will do me no good whatever. Love is always patient and kind; it is never jealous; love is never boastful or conceited; it is never rude or selfish; it does not take offence, and is not resentful. Love takes no pleasure in other people’s sins but delights in the truth; it is always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope, and to endure whatever comes. Love does not come to an end.”

Wording for Candle – lit by Nundinee (Vidi’s mum) and David (Matt’s dad) – “The two separate candles symbolize Vidi’s and Matt’s separate lives, separate families and separate sets of friends, in other words, their lives before today. Lighting the centre candle represents that their two lives are now being joined together as one. Please pick up the lighted candles and together light the centre candle.”

For their first dance, the newlyweds chose Eric Clapton’s classic “Wonderful Tonight”, kicking off an utterly packed dance floor.

Congratulations to you both Vidi and Matthew! Thank you for sharing your beautiful wedding with us and thank you to Christopher Winship Photography for sharing today’s beautiful images.