Roma & Tom's Post-Wedding Luncheon At Morris of Rutherglen

Roma and Tom’s post-wedding luncheon was full of foodies, goodies and endless cocktails. Set at the stunning grounds of Morris of Rutherglen, their day was family-focused and relaxed – exactly as they had dreamed. Captured by the talented Blissful Love Photography, we can’t wait to dive into the details.

Even though they couldn’t agree when their relationship started, Roma and Tom can both agree that the tides of their friendship began to turn when they were both placed on the same hotel quarantine duties. “Our perspectives are very different on how the relationship started – according to Tom, lunch before work counts as a first date, and according to Roma, she thought we were just hanging out until Tom went for a smooch and Roma ran away.”

After Tom’s original proposal plan went out the window, he rerouted and planned a day out in the Botanical Gardens. “Tom told Roma that he wanted to check out a historical arch in the Botanical Gardens and hired a photographer off AirTasker. As we walked down the stairs to the arch, the photographer was conspicuously standing on the footpath with his camera towards us, even though he told Tom he’d be hiding in the bushes. It was then that Roma clocked on to what was happening, but otherwise it was a surprise. Tom had a picnic and a bottle of champagne in his backpack, but there was a gardener working nearby, and we were too scared to pop a cork, so we had it back at the Airbnb.”

Roma planned a visit to her family in Sydney, and while there organised a dress shopping trip. “After a long day of trying on dresses and nothing really fitting, we walked into Acler and the first dress I tried fit perfectly, and that was it! I didn’t really know what I wanted, I just knew I didn’t want a traditional wedding dress and I wanted to feel good in it,” she shared.

Tom kept it really simple with his outfit, opting for a charcoal Peter Jackson suit with a patterned tie and white shirt. “I didn’t want a traditional black suit, so I went for a charcoal/grey. I bought the first one I tried on.”

Out of all the beautiful shots captured by Blissful Love Photography from their post-wedding luncheon, Roma and Tom love the photos from their unofficial first dance the most. “The photo of us doing a ‘dip’ on the road from our unofficial first dance. We loved so many of Kelsey’s photos!” they explained.

“We didn’t have a first dance, but technically had a little dance with Kelsey, our photographer, who captured the moment beautifully.”

Their actual ceremony was actually the day before, a beautiful civil ceremony in Tom’s parents’ backyard. Just the two of them, their parents and their celebrant (who is actually Tom’s boss!). “We did the ceremony the day before because neither of us wanted to be the centre of attention or be stressed about it on the day. This worked out perfectly because for the main event, we were able to fully immerse ourselves in spending time with our guests and enjoying ourselves.”

Kelsey from Blissful Love Photography was the photographer for the day, capturing each and every relaxed moment as it happened. “Kelsey did a great job at making us feel relaxed and comfortable. We are both pretty introverted and don’t take a lot of photos but we never felt awkward or weird and we were so happy with how they came out. Kelsey also did a great job the rest of the day with all of our guests wanting photos,” they shared.

“We got our photos back quickly, and she was very efficient. Looking through the photos we are amazed at how many moments she was able to capture, and we’ve had such good feedback from everyone who has seen them, we are struggling to choose which photos to get printed.”

With Tom’s family spread out across Melbourne and Albury, and Roma’s family in Sydney, they wanted a venue that was going to be pretty central for all their guests – which is how they came across Morris of Rutherglen. “On a few of our Albury trips, we took the family out to a few wineries, and Morris was the clear favourite. We loved the open space, the garden, as well as the staff. We also wanted a child-friendly location, and there was plenty of space for them to run around.”

The thing at the top of their minds when planning their post-wedding luncheon was food, and with the help of their caterer, Pincho’s Catering, they had plenty of food to go around. “We just wanted to celebrate with our close family and friends who are scattered across the country and have never really met before. Tom thinks weddings have too many and too lengthy speeches, so we kept it to a single speaker,” Roma explained.

“We also ran our own Easter Egg hunt for the kids – it was Easter after all and it was really important to us to include all our nieces and nephews. Coming from two food-focused families, the caterer did a great job and also made a special effort to cater for the children.”

The top five things that made their family-focused luncheon so special to Roma and Tom included:

“1. Having a private ceremony the day before so the main event was fun and relaxed.

2. Seeing all our social circles mingle and hit it off

3. The weather was perfect

4. Having all the kids in the family made it feel a lot more fun and alive

5. Our guests making the effort to travel, some just for the day, to celebrate – it meant a lot and made us feel loved.”

A piece of advice they want to leave for future couples planning their own weddings and receptions is this: “Don’t forget to enjoy your day and take a moment out to spend with each other, because there is always another guest to talk to and you, the whole day, can get away from you. Don’t be afraid to have the wedding you want to have, not the one you feel everyone else may want.”

Roma’s friend Brigette of Brig Bakes created this beautiful cake – and it was actually her first-ever wedding cake! “She did an amazing job,” Roma gushed. “I also designed some of the signs for the guest book and the menu.”