If you’re looking for a wedding that’s as vibrant as it is relaxed, Meg and Sal nailed it! With native florals and DIY touches, their big day at Farm Vigano was the ultimate bright, relaxed wedding vibe. They welcomed guests with bubbles, shared plenty of laughs, and let the love flow in every detail. This was a celebration of fun, friendship, and finding your person at the perfect time – all captured by the talented Belle Martin Photography.

The easiest (and most common) ways people meet nowadays are either at work or with a few lucky swipes on an app. And while it was lucky that Meg and Sal met, they actually met when they both worked at the same hospital as physiotherapists! But it wasn’t until the notorious Melbourne lockdowns in 2020 that their casual friendship shifted into something deeper. “Over many coffee walks and picnic chats, our feelings for each other started to shift, and it was pretty obvious that there was something more between us that we needed to explore further. Our first ‘official’ date was meant to be a leisurely paddle down the Yarra River in a gentleman’s boat that we hired from Studley Park boathouse. It was a beautiful sunny day in November, and the first half of the trip downstream was lovely, but unfortunately, we had not accounted for the fact we had to paddle upstream to get back. Truly a test of our teamwork early on!”

They had talked about marriage and what it meant to both of them and knew they wanted to propose at some point. During a Christmas trip to Germany in 2022, Meg surprised Sally with a proposal. “After organising a photographer to take them on a private walking tour of Hamburg and be there for ‘the moment’, the photographer ended up cancelling the day before. Luckily, being the organised person she is, Meg had a backup plan and Sal, in true form, had absolutely no idea it was coming!”

Sal had to think on her feet to pull off a quick plan for her own surprise proposal the next month. She planned a mystery picnic along the Great Ocean Road with plenty of winery visits, cheese tastings and Meg’s first-ever trip to the 12 Apostles. “We finished with a beachside proposal at the beautiful Port Campbell. Despite Meg being tired and borderline hangry, a diamond ring was able to put a smile on her face that is still there to this day.”

For Sal, finding her dream wedding outfit took a long, long, LONG time. “I fluctuated between a long dress, a short dress, a jumpsuit and a pantsuit; the list goes on. Many nights were spent sitting on the couch browsing the internet to the point where Meg was getting stressed for me! In the end, I found a dress on Still White (a platform where brides can sell their dresses at a reduced price). Meg and I went to the girl’s house, and from the very first time l tried it on, I knew I had found the dress I wanted to wear on my wedding day. The gorgeous Georgia Young Couture Periwinkle gown – a modern, structured dress with an ivory matt crepe finish, sculptured sleeve detailing, and A-line skirt with an off-centre thigh split.”

Meg had an easier time figuring out what she didn’t want to wear than what she did. “I wasn’t into the traditional bridal attire that I saw in wedding blogs and magazines; I wanted something that made me feel good and represented how I saw our wedding – one big party. In the end, I saw Made With Love’s ‘Poppy’ on their Instagram page and knew it was the one for me. Thankfully, I had the most wonderful time at Made With Love’s Melbourne boutique, where my mum could join me for a private appointment where we drank champagne, enjoyed this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity together and bought my gorgeous wedding dress.”

They kickstarted the day with mimosas and croissants with their mums and the genius that was Sharon Gallo whipping up masterpieces with their hair and makeup. “She was able to work with four very different hair and makeup briefs, and she absolutely nailed it; it was just like having another friend in the room with us while we got ready.”

Meg and Sal opted for native florals from Native Posy Co., which was perfect since they always have a vase or two of fresh native flowers around their home! “It made perfect sense for that theme to continue into our wedding day, and we landed on the guys from Native Posy Co. Their flowers are picked and sourced from their mountain-top farm, nestled amongst the Kinglake Ranges, and they produce freshly cut proteas, banksias, leucadendrons and a large variety of foliage. Alongside their beautiful Instagram page, Rebecca took our inspiration images. She produced stunning bouquets for both of us, an arbour piece that really held its own against the backdrop of Plenty Gorge and small table arrangements (that doubled as take-home gifts for guests at the end of the evening). Everything was delivered to the venue, and our bouquets were waiting for us upon arrival!”

Belle Martin Photography captured each moment beautifully and was the best photographer for Meg and Sal – slotting right in like a kindred spirit! “Belle’s website not only mentions her passion for photography but also her love of Friends and The Big Bang Theory – there was a reason she fit so seamlessly in with our friends and family on the day. Knowing that we weren’t super confident or comfortable in front of the camera, Belle used our engagement shoot not only as an opportunity to get to know us better but also to allay any fears we might have had about our day. She was efficient, made us feel relaxed, and made us feel like we could be ourselves. She loved the dance floor as much as anyone on the night.”

Their sneak-peek photos were in their inbox before the newlyweds could even blink, and they were so so happy with the beautiful quality of their shots! “She documented the big things, the little things and everything in between.”

Farm Vigano was the perfect venue for their bright, relaxed wedding – and was an absolute dream for Meg and Sal to coordinate with from the first moment. “A unique property that is dedicated to preserving the art of true Italian food and culture, Farm Vigano was the perfect setting for our day. With the gorgeous backdrop of Plenty Gorge for our ceremony, orchards and tennis courts for some unique wedding snaps and a relaxed yet stylish interior (including amazing views from the women’s bathroom windows), we truly couldn’t have asked for anything more. Their dedicated wedding coordinators (shout out to Suzie) are there to assist you in your journey to make it seamless and stress-free, and their staff were attentive to everyone’s needs and were nothing short of amazing.”

Instead of walking down the aisle like tradition, Meg and Sal waited for their guests to arrive so they could welcome them with a glass of bubbles and a smile! “We surprised everyone by greeting them as they arrived, which meant that our magical photographer, Belle, was able to get some beautifully raw snaps of our friend’s reactions that we might not have been able to see had we done the traditional walk down the aisle. Hearing the whispers of ‘here they come’ as we headed outside really hit home that our special day was finally here.”

Both Meg and Sally are fairly private when it comes to their relationship, but they felt it was important to have their friends and family witness their marriage. “They have loved us, encouraged us, supported us, and helped us grow, and we felt so very lucky that they were able to help us celebrate the love we share.”

The ceremony itself was short and sweet – perfectly capturing their no-messing-around attitude. Their celebrant, Megan Jordan, briefly spoke about what they love about each other and then jumped straight into tying the knot! “We had no special readings, and we had made the decision to share our vows with one another before the ceremony so that Belle could truly capture our reactions while we shared these special words with one another.”

Instead of a wedding party, Sal and Meg had their friends as witnesses and included Sal’s niece and nephew as their ring bearers. “When you’re already marrying your best friend, it didn’t make sense to us to have a bridal party. Instead, we included those people who meant the most to us in the ceremony and reception.”

Sally was worried about how their first kiss would look on camera, but thankfully, Belle captured it perfectly under their arbour, and it became one of their favourite photos of the day! “The flowers shone, Meg’s red shoes really popped, and our dresses looked absolutely stunning. No awkwardness in sight.”

When planning their wedding, Sal and Meg loved how their friends and family checked in on their progress. Luckily for them, planning their bright, relaxed wedding was never stressful. They loved picking out their vendors, refining all the smaller details, and creating DIY pieces.

Sally loves a cheeky craft project, and knowing the wedding was coming up, Meg had gifted her a Cricut machine for Christmas the previous year—and wow, did she put it to good use! She created the seating plan, the bonbonnieres/place cards, the decals for the welcome mirror and the card box.

Their bonbonnieres were from the Cancer Council Victoria and were beautiful daffodil lapel pins they personalised. “Both of our families have been touched by cancer, and we thought that this was a really lovely way that we could represent those who couldn’t be with us on the day.”

Sally’s mum made this beautiful cake – and she’d also made the wedding cake for both of Sal’s siblings. “We were so excited that she was able to do that for us – special thanks to Sal’s mum, Julia. Cooking and assembling a wedding cake is obviously no mean feat, but we’re not sure where it stands against transporting that two-tiered cake across the city and having it arrive in one piece – special thanks to Sal’s dad, Jim, for that!”

The top five things that made their bright, relaxed wedding day so special were:

“1. Being able to work closely with our celebrant Megan to create an authentic ceremony that we felt captured ‘Meg and Sal’ and celebrated what we loved about one another.

2. Doing our touch-ups together in the Bridal Suite at Farm Vigano while watching our friends and family arrive

3. Taking our photos before our ceremony so that we could share drinks and canapes with our guests on the Terrace straight after (no FOMO here!)

4. Finding a beautiful wedding band that we both loved and suited our very different engagement ring styles was another special touch (many thanks to our jeweller, Michelle)

5. Our dads took the microphone during our reception to share some loving words with us.”

Instead of a traditional wedding guestbook, Meg and Sal chose to use a Textured by Ash’s Lovestroke Art Kit to create this beautiful masterpiece that now hangs in their home. “Ash’s kits allowed our guests to channel their inner artists by contributing their own touch to a shared canvas using a range of textured pastes to make a memory, one brush stroke at a time.”

Sticking with their relaxed attitude to the day, Meg and Sal didn’t have a first dance. Instead, their DJ Jess got the party started with a selection of catchy tunes so they could dance the night away with everyone.

Congratulations Meg and Sal! You planned a beautiful, relaxed wedding that was a pleasure to see! And thanks to Belle Martin for capturing and sharing it with us.