Nell and Glenn

Nell and Glenn were married at Mimosa Glen in Tooborac earlier this year. Mimosa Glen is not traditionally a wedding venue per-se, it is a homestead that has been restored and there is some lovely accommodation on the property too. It is a stunning place! The views everywhere you looked were exquisite. The weather was a perfect 24 degrees. You couldn’t really ask for more.

I’m not sure how many people believe in destiny, or that life will take you to a certain point at a certain time because that is exactly where you need to be. But for those of you who don’t believe, I’m not sure how else to explain what happened about 5 years ago.  Glenn, a lovely New Zealander, went to Ireland to look into his family history and then to work in Europe. Nell, a beautiful Australian lass, went to Ireland to do a similar thing. Glenn and Nell both start working for the same online poker company. Nell had been away from home for so long so Glenn, being an expat and a Kiwi, made her drawn to him. Her first impression of him was that he was quiet and handsome. There was a rumour around the workplace that Glenn was a party animal, which Nell now thinks is funny as it is not something that she would ever associate with Glenn. Glenn thought that Nell was very friendly and easy to talk to. He thought she was loud and brash and he really liked talking to her.

Nell and Glenn shared their vows in front of about 80 guests, they had people fly in from all around the world, the US, Ireland and New Zealand just to mention a few. Nell looked amazing, her dress and 1920’s inspired veil suited her perfectly. The attendants all wore a lovely green hue, that complemented the brown of the guys suits. They stood on top of a beautiful big rock with 3 attendants each. One of Nell’s bridesmaids,  Susan, wrote a song for the occasion and after Susan came down the aisle she took her place at the microphone and sang the rest of the girls into the ceremony site. Susan also sang while Nell and Glen signed their paper work and when they had been presented as the newly married couple and went through the most magnificent confetti shower that you have ever seen.

When I asked what they loved most about the other, Nell said that was really hard to answer, like when someone asks what is your favourite movie or favourite fruit. But she did say that she really loves Glenn’s nature, that he is honest, kind and gentle, he is quiet and not contrived. Glen said that he loves all of who Nell is. He loves her conviction, her drive and loves her sensitivity and caring nature. Being with Nell has always felt like where he is meant to be.  Glenn said that when Nell sets her sights on getting something done, she is determined and driven to achieve what she sets out to do. Nell said that Glenn is true to himself, he doesn’t pretend to be anything he is not.  They love spending time at home in each others company. They love bad zombie or horror and post apocalyptic movies, Video games, playing with and annoying their dog Greta, wandering around new places and eating great food together, whether it is going out for dinner or breakfast. They love to chat over a nice meal with a glass of wine.

Greta didn’t miss out on any of the festivities. She was there staying at the homestead too. On the day she had a beautiful floral collar. She made her grand entrance walking up to where Glenn was waiting for Nell. It was such a lovely moment as she did it all on her own. She spent most of the ceremony up on the rock with Nell and Glenn while they became husband and wife. Nell and Glenn wrote their own beautiful vows that reflected their feelings wonderfully.  Nell even quoted Dumbledore, saying “Let us step into the night and pursue that flighty temptress – adventure”.

What a perfect day in the most lovely setting, with some of the loveliest people that you could ever meet. I never take for granted that I get to be a part of these wonderful ceremonies and to be right there when people get to make the most sacred promises to one another.  Another amazing wedding of people that I feel lucky that I got to know.

A very big Thank you to Andrew Hardy Photography for all of the stunning images from Nell and Glenn’s wonderful day. You can check out his website here, or his blog about the day by clicking here, or go and follow him on facebook  too.  Also have a look at the Mimosa Glen website, and see all that the property has to offer.

Candice and Ashley

Candice and Ashley were married on a lovely Saturday in March although things didn’t go entirely according to plan.  They were supposed to get married out in the courtyard of  Sherwood Receptions in Greenvale. The weather had different ideas and it started raining early in the afternoon, so the ceremony was moved indoors and they were married inside instead.

Candice and Ashley were set up by friends when they were 16, but didn’t really hit it off straight away. It wasn’t until some years later that they met up again when Candice was out with one of her best friends at a nightclub. Candice wasn’t too fond of the punk music or bad dancers that were occupying the downstairs section of the nightclub, but then she spotted Ash going to the upstairs section so she went up after him and politely offered him a drink. The rest is history.

Candice arrived at the venue with her two bridesmaids, in stunning vintage cars. She wore an amazing lace dress that was 3/4 length and had on some of the most amazing wedding shoes you have ever seen. Both her hair and makeup were stunningly beautiful and everything seemed to just ‘fit’ perfectly with the whole feel of the wedding. They had amazing music and everything just matched. Everything throughout the wedding had a vintage feel and the style of music chosen for the ceremony itself continued into the reception as well.

Candice’s love of cars was highlighted tastefully on the day along with Ash’s love of video games and comic books. All of the Groomsmen were fitted with custom made comic book shoes; Ashley had Spiderman, and his best men had Superman and Batman, I believe. It was a fantastic and unique way to let their own interests and personality shine through on their special day.

The bridesmaids were lovely; one dressed in a royal blue and the other wore yellow, which seemed to match  the whole theme of the wedding, from the handmade bunting all the way through to the invitations (check out my blog about the invitations from this wedding here).  The menus and the instagram photo list (read the blog about it here) all matched with the invitations and all of  the table decorations were stunning! The table floral arrangements were done by Lord Butler and were truly an amazing touch. This is the first wedding that I have been to where Lord Butler have done the table decorations and I was really impressed. The floral arrangements were all in glass jars and featured the loveliest flowers with mint added into the mix.

Candice and Ash also had a wonderful photo booth that had all sorts of props to go along with it.  It was made up of a photo frame that you could stand behind and the front of it looked like a photo wall in someone’s house with photos of people who were no longer with them, like wonderful old photos of their grandparents when they were young and in love and photos of friends that had a special place in their hearts.

The guests were on their feet in no time at all after the Bride and Groom cut the cake and shared their first dance.  There were so many people dancing and having a great time. It would have to be the busiest dance floor that I have seen at a wedding, and all dancing abilities were accounted for. Candice’s Aunty and her husband had won several ballroom dancing competitions and it was obvious when they took the floor, and they were almost matched with the very entertaining stripper-style of dancing from one of Ashley’s cousins.

It was a completely beautiful day which I was honoured to be a part of.  Check out more about Lord Butler and their stunning wedding flowers and decorations by having a look at their website. They do truly lovely work.

Boutonnieres

I recently blogged about bouquets, (you can read that blog here) but neglected to mention the Boutonnieres. These are something that don’t really get too much attention, just something that goes along, part and parcel of the men’s suits. It is almost expected that he will just have a flower of some sort and no one gives it much more thought than that.

Here is another great opportunity for you to express your individuality on your day. If you are happy to have a flower for your boutonniere, by all means have one.  It is quick and easy to organise especially if the bride is having a floral bouquet.  It isn’t hard for these to be ordered at the same time. This is another great way to move away from tradition and put some of your own personal spin on your outfit. It is also a small enough component to the wedding that you don’t need to worry that it is going to take a lot of attention away from other aspects of your big day.

Some things that you could think about would be dependant on what kind of theme you were having. Something quite lovely would be for a vintage theme would be to have an old key, to symbolise that the bride holds the key to your heart, you could also attach a little vintage lock to the brides bouquet to ‘match’  the theme. You could have feathers or some other type of adornment, medals of someone close to you or just a cog from a part of a machine that is something that you work on or that represents something close to your heart.

One thing that I thought would be great for those geeks like me who are into all things video games, Star Wars and comic books, is  you could have a lego character of your favourite comic book  hero or Star Wars character attached to your lapel.  I think it would be really cool to have little figures of all different Bounty Hunters for each Groomsman, or to all have Spiderman, Batman and Superman lego men pinned onto your lapels to show off a bit of your personalities. You could choose to have Luke Skywalker, a Darth Vader, a Yoda and a Darth Maul, depending on who you preferred, they could also match in with some nerdy cufflinks too.  These things could also be combined with a floral arrangement if you still want to keep with tradition but put some of your personality in the mix too.

Do you have any great ideas or know of anyone who has showcased their personality through some part of the wedding that is out of the ordinary?

Thank you to Zoe from The Wedding Photo,  for the beautiful photos for this weeks blog. Check out the website here.