As the winter/wet wedding season is upon us, we’re (thankfully) going to be seeing more statement sleeves and cosy couples. Even as the rainy weather rolled in, Abbie and Ben didn’t let a bit of water dampen their moods. The colour palette for this wedding was gorgeous, and with a reception made for dancing – this pastel party wedding was full of laughter and love.
With the team from Wilde Visual on photography and Rosie Van Films on videography, Abbie and Ben have plenty of visuals to look back on with heart-shaped eyes.
Abbie and Ben are a perfect example of a classic modern-day love story. Both grew up together in the small town of Toowoomba, where everyone knows everyone. While they knew of each other, it wasn’t until Abbie added Ben on social media, and he sent the first message – and the rest led them to this enchanting pastel party wedding!
For Abbie’s birthday, the couple booked a trip to the beautiful hills of Victoria’s Yarra Valley. “Ben had planned to propose to me on the second day over a special lunch, although when we arrived, we found a beautiful winery near our Airbnb. We had a few too many wines when Ben realised the vibe was perfect, and he had to do it on the first day. We got back to our Airbnb, which was overlooking another winery. Ben asked me to stay on the deck & when I turned around, he was on one knee. Absolute bliss!”
Abbie wore this stunning gown from The Veil Collective, which had incredible sleeves and a fitted bodice and skirt. “I had the pleasure of trying on dresses at The Veil Collective with Savannah. I initially walked in with my mind made up, thinking I wanted the Armeria dress (without trying it on, of course!). I knew that I wanted sleeves and to be able to change certain aspects of my dress so that I could have a ‘second dress’ for the reception. I ended up falling in love with Alena Leena’s Freesia dress. I decided to add a custom tulle overskirt to add even more elegance to the dress for the ceremony. I then was able to remove the skirt for the reception as my ‘second dress’,” she explained. “I had an amazing experience at The Veil Collective. It was the first and only wedding dress shop I looked at, and I wouldn’t have changed anything about it.”
In her wedding party, Abbie had her Maid of Honour and sister Ellie, and Taylor, Hollie and Chelsea. Each wore a beautiful Ashton dress from Hexie Studios in this classic oyster colour wave.
One of her favourite moments from the whole day was the first look with her grandmother and father before the ceremony. “This was undoubtedly the most special moment that I will cherish forever.”
All of these stunning florals were lovingly created by Riley from Posy Lane. Abbie’s bouquet was made of long-stemmed white roses, and her wedding party carried small daisy bouquets. “I requested all white with a hint of greenery and allowed Riley to work her magic with whatever she thought would fit. I wanted a flower arbour for the ceremony with flower clouds lining the aisle. I also wanted to repurpose the flowers from the ceremony to the reception, which was perfect.”
According to Abbie, Ben is quite the fashionista and wanted to make a statement with his wedding attire. He picked out a custom-made suit from Norfords in this soft sage green, which perfectly matched the pastel party vibes of the day.
His wedding party included Jake, his Best Man and brother, and Tom, Luke and Sam. The party also wore sage-coloured suits to match Ben.
Their venue of choice was the gorgeous Bower Estate on the Gold Coast. “It was the first and only venue we looked at – we fell in love as soon as we drove in the gates. Its picture-perfect grounds were everything we dreamed of, a classic hinterland oasis!”
To kick off the ceremony, their musician, Michael Vos Music, strummed the notes to Florence & The Machine’s “Stand by Me” for Abbie and her father to walk to.
The ceremony was led by Steve Whitehouse from Celebrations by Steve, someone Abbie and Ben had picked from their hometown of Toowoomba. “We wanted our ceremony to be short and sweet but filled with all the love. We decided to write personal vows, which allowed our guests to see the love we have for each other through our own eyes.”
Even as the rain continued to trickle down around them, it was time for the cocktail hour – Abbie’s favourite part of the wedding. “It was the most special time spent with our guests directly after the ceremony before we had to run away and do photos.”
After enjoying a few yummy cocktails and amazing company, the couple and their wedding party stepped aside with their photographers from Wilde Visual to grab some portraits. “We had two photographers from Wilde Visual—Ross and Camilla on the day. Both were absolutely amazing. We wanted plenty of candid photos, which they definitely achieved. Both Ben and I aren’t lovers of posing for photos, so they were great at making them quick but capturing all the moments.”
One of Abbie’s favourite photos, captured by the dream team from Wilde Visual, shows her and Ben looking into each other’s eyes with the picture-perfect hinterlands behind them.
Her favourite part of the wedding planning process was simply seeing it all come together before her eyes. “I was extremely proud of everything achieved as I planned the whole day on my own (of course with the guidance of vendors) without using a wedding planner,” Abbie described. “I am a paramedic with minimal creative eye so it was such a beautiful thing seeing all the hard work come together.”
Their reception kept the same pastel party vibes as the rest of the day, with lots of wood, white linens and re-used flowers from the ceremony. With a sweet love-heart-themed cake from Hello Little Crumb, a photo guestbook, and custom can coolers for guests to enjoy, the space was set up for a love-fuelled night (and plenty of room on the dance floor for boogieing.)
The top four things that made their pastel party wedding so special were:
“1. The people – having friends and family all in the one place celebrating us was a blessing; we had a destination wedding, so having everyone travel felt so special.
2. The love – having all our loved ones in the one place was unmatched; we were able to share so many special moments with them all.
3. The venue – the most breathtaking venue; it was absolutely perfect and everything we ever wanted.
4. The music – we had live music for the ceremony and cocktail hour and a DJ for the reception so that we could dance the night away!”
Their first dance song was “Cover Me Up” by Morgan Wallen, a song that was sentimental to both Ben and Abbie, having been dubbed ‘their song’ very early on in their relationship.
A huge thanks to Wilde Visual for capturing Abbie and Ben’s wedding and to The Veil Collective for submitting it for us to share! Congratulations to Abbie and Ben for pulling together the perfect pastel party wedding!
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