Hands-on.  That’s exactly how I would describe this darling bride and groom, who pretty much crafted their entire wedding from the ground floor up with a whole lot of love and a whole lot of help from devoted family and friends.  I’m talking sewing projects, floral mastering and even a little woodworking, all to create a vintage meets DIY day that will leave you speechless.  Oh, and those centerpieces?  They made those, too.  See every last labor or love captured by Peppermint Studios right here.

 

From the Bride… Matt proposed on the jetty that my dad built at our farm near Corowa, NSW. The jetty has been affectionately named ‘drop knee jetty’ ever since!

My mother had a pair of grandma’s earrings that my grandpa had given my grandma when my mum was born. Mum had these turned into two rings: one for my sister and for one for me. It was my something old, new (new band), borrowed (from mum) and blue (blue sapphire). My dad gave me a penny to put in my shoe for good luck and my family friend Fraser sang me down the aisle.

We were very hands on with styling throughout the lead up. We hand stamped the name tags to be tied around the letterpress invitations and also the name tags tied around the napkins for the place settings. The sewing machine was put to a lot of use to make the grey and white chevron napkins, aprons for the caterers and hessian cushions for the outside benches. The timber boxes for the table flowers were made from shipping pallets. Tables names were stenciled onto the timber boxes using a woolbale stencil. These names were the places we grew up as kids and have lived together. The wool bale stencils were also used on the hessian cushions and timber signs. We wanted to make the marquee interesting so we hung nine rolled wire fence light shades from the ceiling and hung 150 jars filled with hydrangeas around the walls. We wanted some relaxing furniture for the garden so we bought old timber benches on eBay and painted them white.

I wanted to be involved with the flowers, so I asked my very talented godmother to do them. We went to a wholesale flower place in Melbourne two weeks before to pick and order the flowers. On the Thursday before she loaded them into the back of her station wagon, put the air con on as cold as it could go and drove the three and half hours to the farm. The living room at ‘St Alberts’ was turned into a florist for three days. It was amazing seeing it all happen and my vision become a reality.

On the day guest stood under the beautiful elm tree and festoon lights sipping G.H.Mumm and eating oysters out of a wheelbarrow while my family friend Fraser played acoustic guitar. It was gorgeous. We served our guests our favourite meal using local produce – antipasto for entree and rack of lamb for main. A bit of rustic country charm.

Photography: Peppermint Studios | Wedding Dress + Veil: Amaline Vitale | Caterer: Fiona Landy Catering | Floral Design: The Bride’s Godmother, Louise Macfarlane | Bouquets: Flowers Naturally, Albury | Invitations: Peace Love + Letterpress | Venue: Family Home, Lowesdale, NSW | Hire: Barlens, Albury | Rings: Paul Bram

There isn’t a single moment of this wedding captured by Trent Daft Photography that I don’t adore. I would kiss it if I could, because it really is everything. This beautiful Bride had a beautiful vision of what her day would look like, and along with family and friends, she that made it happen (and all within budget). It’s the perfect seaside soiree made even more perfect that it’s overflowing with love, and you can see every last gorgeous detail here.

 

From the bride… Justin and I live near Austinmer beach; we knew we wanted to be by the sea on our special day and to create a relaxed and personal atmosphere. The ceremony was held at a small clearing on Austinmer beach with the waves crashing in the background and the reception was held at Austinmer Surf Life Saving Club with the bride and groom’s closest family and friends. I am obsessed with all things DIY so with a bit of time, creativity as well as a helping hand from some clever family and friends we were able to have our dream wedding for under $15,000.

I wore my mother’s wedding dress as a tribute to my parents’ long and loving marriage. My mother was thrilled when I asked her if she would mind if I wore her dress. As my mother is shorter than I am we needed to alter the dress by adding a beaded lace bustier to the delicate lace and silk satin skirt. 

We purchased the flowers for the bouquets and reception from a Sydney wholesale flower market and styled the bouquets, boutonnières and table centerpieces ourselves. We used a mixture of blue hydrangeas, white and blush roses, peonies, gardenias and, an old favourite, carnations. The ceremony was styled with a white arbor made by the groom from recycled wooden handrail spindles. I walked down the aisle to “All my days” by Alexi Murdoch, a song that Justin and I had to listen to a number of times before the wedding in order to desensitize ourselves so we wouldn’t cry too much on the day.

For the reception we used the venue’s table and chairs. We hired white linens and made coloured printed cotton napkins to go with the wedding colour scheme. Our floral arrangements were the statement of the table pieces, accompanied with vintage brass goblets collected from second-hand stores, recycled jars and votives with tea light candles. Justin and I made the jam wedding favours. We spent a quiet Sunday afternoon before the wedding in the kitchen with a mountain of strawberries and even more sugar (recipe available). We opted for a dessert bar rather than a traditional dessert served at the table, as we knew all our guests would be on the dance floor rather than at the tables, when dessert would be served. The desserts, made by my younger sister, friends and myself, were arranged on glass platters and rustic wooden boxes (made by the groom). My talented sister also made the raspberry and hazelnut with white chocolate ganache wedding cake. The delicious treats lasted about fifteen minutes before the guests demolished them.

One of my favourite moments of the night was our first dance to “Hold you in my arms” by Ray LaMontagne. It was a moment when Justin and I felt like it was just the two us; where we could absorb the atmosphere and joy of the day. The day concluded with lighting sky lanterns on the sand in memory of my late father. Our guests were overcome with excitement and enjoyed lighting them (even those that couldn’t get them to light) and watching them in the sky like bright stars. It was a lovely way to finish the perfect day.

Photography: Trent Daft Photography | Flowers: DIY by the bride | Event Planning + Design: The Bride | Floral Design: The Bride  | Ceremony Location: Little Austi Beach, Austinmer, New South Wales | Reception Location: Austinmer Surf Club | Invitations: Designed by The Bride | Shoe Clips: DIY by The Bride | Bridesmaids’ Shoes: Betts | Dress: The Bride’s Mother’s Dress, alterations by Accapella Bridal, Wollongong | Groomsmen’s suits: Bonanno’s Menswear Fairy Meadow, New South Wales | Groomsmen’s bow ties: The Tie Bar | Wedding Cake: The Bride’s Sister

I fell in love with this Bride from the very first moment I laid eyes on her gorgeous Sydney soiree captured by Rosalie Sweeney Photography. She looks like an angel, and her wedding to her dashing new beau? Equally beautiful and filled with meaning. And when you put that all together, you get a gallery simply too good to miss – so you can join me in adoring every moment of this affair right here.

 

From Rosalie Sweeney Photography… Lisa & Alan’s wedding was held on a beautiful Spring day in September. It was a traditional Chinese Tea Ceremony held at their parents’ homes with their extended families.

The details of the tea ceremony are colourful and steeped in tradition, in contrast with the Brides and Groom’s attire and the reception which was held at the exclusive Dunbar House, on the water overlooking Watsons Bay in Sydney. It was very elegant yet relaxed affair with their closest friends.

Wedding Photography: Rosalie Sweeney Photography | Reception Venue: Dunbar House in Watsons Bay, Australia | Floral Design: Sweet Bride | Wedding Dress: Pronovias | Bride’s Head Piece: The Honeycomb | Bride’s Shoes: Miu Miu | Groom’s Attire: Thom Brown | Bow Tie + Pocet Chief: Tom Ford | Groom’s Shoes: Gucci | Makeup: Emma Dean Salon