Emma & Will's Romantic Mornington Peninsula Wedding

Emma and Will’s Romantic Mornington Peninsula wedding is the perfect example of traditional meets modern.

On a crisp Spring day, amongst lush roses, these two love birds stood on the stunning grounds of Lancemore Lindenderry Red Hill to say “I do”. Creating a day with the perfect mix of tradition and modern, Emma and Will wanted their guests to have a day with plenty of drinks, delicious food, good music and lots of dancing! Capturing every love-filled moment, Chamore Creations reminds us that true love exists.

Emma and Will’s love story began by chance. Whilst visiting a friend at work, Emma met Will. Still on her mind the next day, and deciding he was worth another visit, Emma returned to the store… and the rest, as they say, is history.

Emma and Will had been together for 9 years before Will summoned the courage to propose (despite Emma dropping hints for years!) “Will surprised me by taking me to Polperro Winery in the Mornington Peninsula (one of my favourite places). We had a drink looking out at the incredible view. We went for a walk in the vineyards and he got down on one knee! I couldn’t stop crying I was so happy! He then surprised me with a special lunch and accommodation for the weekend. I was very spoilt”

Emma and Will ensured that their day celebrated the love they have for each other, and the love they have for their family. With French Champagne flowing, and Abba and The Rolling Stones playing on the dancefloor, (and of course the Geelong AFL theme song), Emma and Will sealed their love with a kiss and decided that forever, was indeed for them.

Describing what her dashing husband was wearing, Emma tells us “Will wore a custom formal tuxedo from P Johnson Tailors in Windsor. He loved the extra details of the satin lapel, cummerbund and stripe down his pants,” Emma said. “Will had a great experience with the guys at P Johnson! They always looked after him and enjoyed many glasses of whisky.

“Will wore patent leather dress shoes from Bared Footwear. His sister works for this company and they do amazing shoes! Again we were very well looked after.”

Keeping the theme of sleek and sophistication, Will’s five groomsmen also wore custom-made suits from P Johnson Tailors and shoes from Bared Footwear.

Emma’s favourite part of wedding planning? All of it! “I loved wedding planning! I am very organised and usually know what I want. It was definitely stressful at times but the end product made it all worth it! I loved the pre-wedding research, inspiration on Instagram/Pinterest, being creative, being organized and watching all our plans come together!”

Emma had her nearest and dearest standing by her side, in matching Bec and Bridge gowns. “I had 5 bridesmaids (my sister as maid of Honour, and 4 friends). They wore sage green Bec and Bridge dresses and gold heels from Bared Footwear.”

Exuding an aura of elegance and grace, Emma chose Sophie Knox Makeup Artist and Ashlea Aitken hairstyling to ensure she looked stunning on her wedding day.

No wedding is complete without a dream-come-true wedding dress, and Emma’s Mariana Hardwick dress was no expectation. “My favourite detail of the day was my dress! I felt so beautiful in it, I didn’t want to take it off!”

“I wore a custom-made dress and long veil from Mariana Hardwick. I was initially nervous to find the perfect dress but I had such a great experience at Marianna Hardwick. I took my mum, sister and one of my bridesmaids. They were so supportive! My dress was a strapless fitted top with a big skirt. I knew as soon as I tried on the dress that it was meant for me! I had always imagined myself feeling like a princess on my wedding day. I did a lot of ballet growing up and this dress had a very interesting skirt that reminded me of the underside of a tutu. It was perfect! My shoes were from Harlo Shoes and I loved the pearl details.”

Emma paired this gorgeous dress with jewels from Pilkington Jewellers.

Remembering her favourite details about the day, Emma tells us, “I loved the flowers! I remember walking down the aisle and saying, “Aww there is Will! And omg look at the flowers! haha.”

Will said his favourite part of the day was watching his beautiful bride walk down the aisle in that showstopping dress, which bought him to tears.

Walking her down the aisle, Emma tells us about the support she got from her Dad. “My dad walked me down the aisle in a custom tailor-made suit from P Johnson Tailors. I had always dreamed of having my dad walk me down the aisle. It was so comforting to have him by my side. It was a very long aisle!”

Emma and Will chose Natalie Drum Celebrant to officiate their nuptials. “We had the AMAZING Natalie Drum perform our ceremony. She is such a pro, so calm and professional, and she delivered our story beautifully. We wanted our ceremony to have a balanced mix of modern and traditional but no religion involved. Funny but not a comedy show. And to tell our love story. We wanted our audience to be engaged and for it to set the scene for the rest of the day,” Emma said. “We had my aunty do a reading for us – she read from a book about love.
We had both our mums sign our marriage certificate.”

While Emma gushes about all of her incredible suppliers, she was particularly blown away by Millicent Green. “All of our suppliers were amazing! But the one that stands out the most is Kate from Milicent Green Florist. I can’t even put into words how amazing she was! We had so much trust in her, she understood our vision and she delivered so much more than I could have imagined. She really went above and beyond!

“She is a local wedding florist and is just AMAZING! We chose mostly classic garden flowers (I love roses, hydrangeas). We stuck to the white and green theme and used large French pots for our ceremony flowers. We used small white pots to have cute arrangements on the table, mixed with tall white/green candles.”

With its perfectly manicured gardens and lush trees, Emma and Will tell us what made them choose their wedding location. “We chose Lancemore Lindenderry Winery Red Hill because of the beautiful white and green gardens and vineyards. The ceremony location with the long aisle, tall trees and white roses really added to the wow factor! It felt like the perfect mix of romantic, classic and modern. And we knew it would be perfect for our photos! The staff (especially Serena) were so helpful, and organised and made our day perfect!” Emma said.

“The Mornington Peninsula area is special to both Will and I. I grew up in a beach house at Mt Martha and would spend every summer down there. Will has loved the location since he met me all those years ago.”

An almost impossible task for many married couples, Emma shares with us her favourite photo. “Omg so many! But there is one photo where Will picked me up and spun me around in the driveway entrance to the property and the beautiful green trees in the background. I also love the photo of us waking back down the aisle and stopping for a kiss.”

Passing on wisdom and advice for couples planning a wedding, Emma said, “Make sure you are both on the same page and clear about what you want for the day. Make a list of the top 3 important aspects of your day and stick to them. Don’t compare your day to others. Your wedding day is special to the two of you! Make sure you have small breaks from wedding planning e.g. go away for the weekend and wedding talk us off limits. It will really help with managing any stress from planning.

“On the day, make sure you take a moment just the two of you to soak everything in! The day goes so quickly! Take a mental picture so you remember it forever.”

Emma and Will chose Chamore Creations photography to capture their gorgeous day. “We had Chamore Creations as our photographer. Morgan was such a dream to work with! We had full trust in her that she would capture our day beautifully. She was great at organising everyone, capturing all the special candid moments and directing us when we were unsure of what position we should stand in haha.”

DIY details are what often make weddings sentimental and personal, and Emma and Will tell us, “Will’s brother is a graphic designer so we had him do most of our stationery for the wedding including save the dates, invites, place settings, menus etc. We also hired styling items such as candles and linen from Table Art event hire. I also got a few items off Etsy such as our guestbook and wishing well box.”

Describing the style and atmosphere of their wedding, Emma said. “We were aiming for a modern/classic style for our wedding. White and sage green colour theme. We wanted a good mix of tradition but also modern and fun! We wanted everyone to have a good time, lots of drinks, good food, good music and lots of dancing!”

This stunning and elegant cake was created by The Cake Club.

The top five things that made Emma and Will’s day special? “Having all our favourite people to celebrate with us. Being on the Mornington Peninsula where we have spent so much time and where we got engaged. The perfect weather on the day. Having our special songs played on the dancefloor. Knowing that this was the beginning of us spending the rest of our lives together” Emma said.

“Will and I found it really hard to pick a song for our first dance! We were torn between traditional songs like Frank Sinatra and modern songs such as Vance Joy. We ended up picking Dream a Little Dream of Me by the Mamas and the Papas. We had our first dance choreographed by The Next Step Co. They were fantastic! They came to our house to teach us the dance.”

Emma and Will danced all night long to the incredible beats of Baker Boys Band.