When the dress and sunset shoot are THIS good, you know the PDW team is going to slowly scroll through Ana & Dylan’s Ethereal Sunlit Blue Mountains Wedding, captured by Bryce Noone, over and over again! We love a wedding that blends nature into a wedding so seamlessly. As Ana explains, ” The Blue Mountains was a must. We are both pretty introverted so wanted to have it be as chill and relaxed as possible. Rustic was always the keyword for us, preferably in one location with a focus on flowers/greenery as much as possible to really connect with nature and not have everything super polished.” She tells us about how she and Dylan came to be, and about their glorious wedding day…

Funnily enough, we went to the same high school (I was the year above) but I never knew Dylan existed until after I graduated! Dylan, however, was well aware of my existence – a fact which he holds against me to this day. In my world, I officially encountered Dylan via my best friend’s invitation to hang out with her and her boyfriend’s friends. Beautiful dorky souls who I now call my family. Dylan hooked me with this witty humour and absolute charm. After being together for 12 years we decided we may as well give this marriage thing a go.

After being together for 12 years and travelling the world a bit we started to think about having kids and thought the time was right to have a wedding to nicely close this chapter of our lives together in the best way. Not an ending but a celebration.

We have always loved the Blue Mountains for many reasons. We love hiking, and the changing seasons. Our first fur baby came from there and it always calls to us as a close place of reprieve from city life. We decided to go for a hike at Lockleys Pylon for our 12th year anniversary and the jokes I was bombarding him with leading up to this hike of, “Haha, imagine if you proposed to me on such a predictable day like today? That would be so obvious.”

I laughed. Dylan laughed. My parents laughed. My friends laughed.

Guess who was suddenly not laughing when Dylan dropped to one knee as we were taking a victory photo at the end of our hike? Me. The son of gun still TOTALLY surprised me as I was adamant there was no way he would play this card. But play he did and it was the best. Time both slowed down and went too fast, I think I threw my hat at him & he dodged it like a champ. My heart was beating a mile a minute, cliché but oh so true. Like a true nerd, I referenced a Rick & Morty meme (“You son of a b*tch, I’m in”) but eventually graced him with a heartfelt response and many kisses once I calmed down. We thought being together for such a long time would dull this moment but we were both giggling messes.

(To the Polka Dot Team: The truth had to be said but I understand if you need to keep it PG!) Note from PDW: we kept it in! 

Dylan wore a custom green velvet blazer, black shirt, black pants from InStitchu & brown leather boots. He also decided to go tie-less, as well as his groomsmen, for a more relaxed feel. A little secret between the groom & best man was their mismatched socks they decided to exchange just before the wedding. All groomsmen chose each other’s monograms to reflect how the rest of the group saw them however we cannot disclose them as they were slightly inappropriate! Haha!

 

I love all things baroque and had a vision of a dress with lace & sleeves. Open-minded about other options but that was always lingering in the back of my mind. I went to Luv Bridal Sydney and was taken care of by the loveliest, bubbliest human who made the journey such a treat! She could see my original vision and found me my dream dress with fun-as-hell balloon sleeves, a beautiful lace design, and an open-back feature I didn’t know I wanted.

Our love for the changing seasons of the Blue Mountains meant we were happy with whatever florals were seasonal at the time with the request of greenery more than flowers i.e. eucalyptus leaves etc. with a pop of colour from the flowers, which were created by Fine Flowers Katoomba.

Collits’ Inn was the one venue used for both the ceremony and reception. The Collits’ Inn crew are actually angels sent from the heavens. Caitlin, Steve, Chris & Cheryl all make you feel like you are part of a big family. They were so kind, patient, and supportive that we really count our lucky stars to have had our wedding with them. Everything they do and the way they manage Collits’ Inn is just so thoughtful for a bride-to-be with so much planning involved that they just made so many things so much easier. Love love love!

I walked down the aisle to “Granada” by Emilio de Benito – a little Spanish guitar number that warms the soul.

Rebecca George, our celebrant & MC, was like my wedding mum, holding my hand every step of the way with such calm assuredness that it really eased my nerves on the day.

We picked a specific spot at the venue that I instantly fell in love with. It created a little intimate forest vibe where our guests were hugged by tall fully leafed trees. The weather was an insane 30+ degrees so you could see the sun peeking through the trees but still in the shade with a warm breeze. Unluckily for Dylan and me – we were at center stage without this cover, so we were melting! Haha!

It is such a cliché but time really does fly on your wedding day. Memories kind of come and go as we think back on it, or Dylan will start reminiscing about something I totally missed and then we are chatting about two different perspectives of the day. So it’s like the memory is always unraveling and changing as time goes on. One thing Dylan & I always giggle at is when we were getting the sunset photos strolling around a paddock and trying to make it look all-natural and effortless but in reality, we were trying not to laugh as we were tumbling into holes and avoiding cow poop (which was the size of a small child) and had a death grip on each other so we didn’t stack it. It was so funny!

Good Lord, our photographer Bryce Noone – the man, the legend. We cannot express how grateful we were to have him as our photographer. He has a chill and professional vibe, is always available (if not two steps ahead), and the confidence in his skill that just puts you at ease on such a highly emotional day. We could feel how passionate he was about his work and when we saw the end result our minds were just blown away. It was exactly what we were looking for if not beyond our expectations. We could praise him forever.

We were definitely blessed with the best ethereal sunset a couple could ask for.

We loved the greenery on the day! We wanted to have as much of a connection to nature as our budget allowed and combined with the aesthetic of Collits’ Inn we felt like it was a wonderful foundation.

I actually made the cake topper of our fur baby cat, Drogo, from scratch with the help of Youtube once again. It was definitely something. Jamie’s Cake Decorating was such a sweetheart & provided excellent correspondence with the design process. Her helping hand with decorating on-site & the Polaroid photo cards –  with the end result with the sweetest message was such a cherry on top!

Some of the flowers we supplied ourselves such as the tree aisle for the ceremony, vases splashed around reception tables, greenery hung on the supporting beams in reception & a few other miscellaneous details. Then the usual thing with signage and providing bits and pieces for our Polaroid guestbook, kids’ entertainment & heavy Etsy use. My amazing dad made the wishing well – I was BEYOND happy with the whole gothic black forest moss vibe. Mum was adamant a functioning bell was included. Also had a beautiful friend design the welcome board and the place cards with her superb calligraphy!

We danced to “No Teu Pescoҫo” by Bruna Magalhães & Rubel with Youtube-inspired moves that we blundered through on the day and just kept rolling with it. Nothing like our planned choreo but we were told “we looked very natural” so we will take this as a success!

Another special little moment was seeing different guests’ eyes pop when their chosen song started playing on the dancefloor (as we had asked for requests on our RSVP) so that was always fun. Musiq Entertainment, was professional & beyond helpful with our requests, helping us figure out the best plan of attack for all the Excel sheets we sent them with song requests! We loved letting loose & hitting the dancefloor to some of the most random tunes – ‘I’ll Make a Man Out of You’ from Mulan was a special one.

Our favourite moment? Impossible to choose but if we had to, we really had a connection to the intimacy of the reception area having all our loved ones under one roof and just having a good time. Also, once the night came to a close, sprinting through the sparkler tunnel into the night together was great fun (& challenging in heels & a dress!).

Dan Will Media, our videographer, had such a relaxed presence that he made you feel like you were mates from the get-go which made things flow so easily.

Our advice is to surround yourself with the people that you love and not be afraid to ask for help from these special humans. Time goes so fast & so slow, cherish that epic singular day, especially when you have been working so hard towards it. At the end of the day, your wedding will be amazing no matter how it goes, so go with the flow as it cannot go wrong with your loved one by your side.

Thank you to Ana & Dylan for sharing their stunning day with us. And to Bryce Noone for their beautiful photos!