Whimsical Wedding at Werribee Mansion

Madi and Josh’s whimsical wedding at Lancemore Mansion Hotel and Spa at Werribee Park embodies perfection in every way. Surrounded by their loved ones, Madi wore her mother’s very own wedding dress, the perfect sentimental touch to this love-filled day.

Captured by photographer Dave LePage, Madi describes the day simply as “romantic, classic, and love”.

Madi and Josh’s love story unfolded in the most serendipitous of ways. Imagine this: back in 2015, their friends played matchmakers and set them up on a blind dinner date in Melbourne. And guess what? Worlds collided, sparks flew, and they’ve been inseparable ever since.

On a rainy day tucked away on a secluded beach, Madi recalls the day Josh dropped to one knee to pop the question. “We were spending the weekend at our favourite spot in Grey River, along the Great Ocean Road. Before going out for dinner we went across to the secluded beach (which wasn’t out of the norm as we’d spent most of the day there. Josh is a keen fisherman),” Madi said.

“It was starting to rain and I didn’t want to get my hair wet so got up to head back to the house, when Josh told me to wait and close my eyes. He got down on one knee, pulled a ring box out of his sock, and asked me to marry him with the most beautiful pear-shaped diamond ring from White November. Naturally, I laughed; then said a very energetic yes!”

The incredible Dave LePage captured this stunning video of Madi and Josh’s day.

Madi, a professional makeup artist herself, enlisted the help of Cherie Green to do the makeup for her bridal party. “I was so grateful to have my best friend Cherie do makeup for my sisters, mother-in-law, and best friend – meaning I was lucky enough to have a day off!!”

Describing her favourite detail of the day, Madi said “Our day overall was just incredibly calm, fun, and stress-free. Josh and I woke up together with Sonny, which was the best, then spent the day with our nearest and dearest getting ready in our bridal suite at the Mansion Hotel.”

Madi and Josh chose Dave Le Page to capture their special day. “Our photographer Dave has captured some truly special moments for us prior to our wedding day, which meant of course he was always going to be our photographer and videographer for our day! We’ve always flowed in a similar circle with music and people, so it was also like catching up with a friend who happened to be snapping some gorgeous photos!,” Madi said.

“Dave captured our engagement party back in pre-pandemic 2020, and took a breathtaking photo of me pregnant with Sonny, so it was so lovely to get to create with him again for something so special.”

A vision in lace, Madi chose to wear a family heirloom. “I wore my mum’s wedding dress! I’d always dreamed of wearing it after trying it on years earlier (prematurely before marriage was on the cards for Josh and I – although deep down I knew). It amazingly fit perfectly and my Mum had kept in it incredible condition after 40 years, so thankfully no major alterations were required; however, I decided to slightly change the lining in the bodice to a sweetheart neckline, but still keeping the external lace.”

The epitome of sophistication, Josh wore a tailored black suit, bow tie, and white shirt with black buttons from YD Geelong, and as an ode to his late Papou, Josh wore his cufflinks.

On the romantic balcony of Werribee Mansion, Madi and Josh had their first look, and decided to do the majority of the wedding photos before the ceremony. “We decided to do a first look and majority of our couple photos with Dave LePage before our ceremony, which took so much pressure off and allowed Josh and I to enjoy ourselves without missing out on the festivities of our reception or keeping people waiting!”

It is impossible for Madi and Josh to choose a favourite photo “Oh there are FAR too many amazing photos to choose from. Dave is absolutely insane at what he does and created so many beautiful moments and memories for us! Not only incredible images, our videos are also MINDBLOWING!”

“We chose the gorgeous Werribee Mansion. I’m originally from country Victoria, and we now live in Geelong where Josh is from – so wanted somewhere that our guests could also stay, as many would be travelling,” Madi explains. “Our ceremony took place on ‘the laundry lawn’, within the hotel grounds and our reception was at ‘the theatre’.”

Madi gushes over her florals by Botanics Of Melbourne. Full of lush camomile daisies, and including a nod to Josh’s heritage, these flowers are a feast for the eyes. “Our beautiful blooms and styling were by Botanics of Melbourne!!! Outstanding work by the incredible Shane & Ben, who we adore,” Madi said. “I’m a huge flower lover and our blooms had everything I wanted completely – neutrals, with camomile daisies, and including olive leaves which was a nod to Josh’s Greek heritage.”

Included in any wedding, are special moments of remembrance. Madi said it was important to include friends and family who have passed away. “We had an acknowledgement at the start of our ceremony to our special grandparents who are no longer with us, and my best friend, which was beautiful to include them in such an important part of our life.”

Through teary eyes, Madi tells us that her late Poppa paid her and her sisters a visit. “As my sisters and I were waiting to head down the aisle, we were joined by a magpie which was walking so close to us and not phased by the little people chasing it!

“Our Poppa always comes to us when we need guidance most as a magpie (significant to us, as he and Nan used to always feed magpies at their house). We all had to stop ourselves from crying at that moment, but golly the goosebumps and love was real!”

Madi walked down the aisle to Lana Del Rey’s “Young and Beautiful”, where she was met by her Dad. “I walked myself down the aisle (originally hoping Sonny would venture down with me, but two-year-olds don’t tend to like organised plans), I met my dad at the end of the aisle.”

No wedding is complete without personalised touches during the ceremony and Madi and Josh made a point of making their ceremony as personal as they could. “Our ceremony was completely us. We were married by the incredible Sarah Davoli, who is also a close friend of mine,” Madi said.

“She made our ceremony so intimate and beautiful, but also straightforward and to the point. There was a lot of laughter and just overwhelming love.”

“My sisters Paige & Freya wore black dresses which they chose themselves and weren’t matching, along with our nieces as flower girls, Emelia and Estelle – I purchased the most adorable dresses and tights from Next. Josh’s brothers Daniel & Nathan, both wore similar suits to Josh – black with bow ties from YD Geelong”

Madi and Josh’s son dazzled the crowd, proudly wearing a suit that matched his dad’s. “Our son Sonny stole the show of course, we purchased his suit online (which perfectly matched Josh’s) from Suit Lab.”

Madi and Josh chose Hello Petal Cards to supply wedding favours to their guests. “Almost all of our suppliers were actually friends and people significant to us, which made it all so much more sentimental. They all went above and beyond for us and made sure everything was absolutely perfect and we weren’t aware if there were any hiccups (we still don’t know if there was haha), so, so lucky to have the people we did take part in our wedding day” Madi said.

Madi recalls her favourite part of wedding planning. “Seeing it all come together and getting excited for what was to come. We gave all our suppliers complete creative control, therefore we had a fairly big element of surprise which was so great to have that anticipation!”

Madi surprised her guests with an outfit change, choosing an elegant, sleek ivory gown from Dissh.

Madi and Josh chose the talented Georgia Stergiopolous to create their dreamy wedding cake, with fresh blooms from Botanics Of Melbourne.

No wedding is complete without a moment for the newlyweds on the dance floor. “Our first dance was to ‘The Girl – by City and Colour’ which is another of our favourite artists and perfectly allowed us to have an intimate, slow moment followed by all our favourite people joining us on the dance floor. Baker Boys Band perfectly provided our music, nailed our first dance and MC’d our reception.”

Madi’s advice to couples getting married? “Do not sweat the small stuff. At the end of the day, your guests are not going to care (or remember) what napkins they use. Unless your wedding venue is completely weather dependent, try to not let the weather consume you in the lead-up. At the end of the day, there is absolutely nothing you can do to control that – it is what it is. Try your hardest to enjoy the entire process, you only get to plan and celebrate your wedding day once (hopefully!),” Madi said. “Take a moment during the night to stop, look around and take in everything!”

Choosing her favourite moments of this stunning day, Madi tells us “The five best things.. Securing our love “officially”. Our beautiful Sonny being able to see his parents get married. How much fun we – and everyone had – and our guests are continuing to tell us. Wearing my mother’s dress and giving it new memories. The people surrounding us in the lead-up, helping make our day and enjoying our day with us.”