We’re pretty much obsessed with your fabulous weddings, Australia. And really, how could we not be? When they are totally chic, super creative and full of amazing DIY details. This particular bride should win an award for piecing together her gorgeous day from all over the internet. NJ Humphrey was on hand to capture all the pretty and you can see it all right here.  

 

From the Bride… David & I were married on the 20th October 2012 in the company of 58 friends and family at Darlington Estate Winery in the Perth Hills, after almost nine years together. For me the wedding was 15 months of all consuming preparation – I lived, breathed and dreamed about every last detail of our ‘Rustic Romance’ DIY wedding and I can say it turned out to be everything I’d dreamed of and much more. Some of the DIY elements included the brides handmade broach bouquet that took 11 months of careful planning, collecting and constructing, the 60 little white name doves handmade from porcelain clay by my mother and I (with weeks spent sitting by the TV sanding each little bird), the pistachio Dukkah & Rosemary Olive Oil wedding favors, shabby chic jars and bottles I collected and decorated, table flower arrangements, doilies that I collected from Ebay, paper doily garlands, hessian bunting… the list goes on!

Living in the West Australia town of Karratha (1600km from the wedding venue) and with very limited access to shops and suppliers the internet was my best friend and I gave Ebay and a number of online supplies a run for their money collecting bits and bobs from all over the world – including some gorgeous kimono dressing gowns from Plum Pretty Sugar in the US. The day itself was amazing, the best day of my life. It was a gorgeous Perth spring day and we were married by David’s aunty, which was extra special. I enlisted the help of a friend who has a decorating/High Tea business to do the set up of the venue to my carefully planned instructions with all my decorations and was thrilled with the results. We had a rustic themed pink, caramel & ivory candy buffet which was a MASSIVE hit, I was stunned to see 57 grown adults literally rushing and cuing up with their little white paper bags to fill them with the Macaroons, caramels, nougat, Hersey’s kisses, jelly bellys, lollypops, candy almonds etc (many enjoying they yummy macaroons before the mains were even served). Our lunch time reception concluded with dancing to our live duo & fun in our photo booth (run by our talented photographer) before moving outside for the throwing of the bouquet and an impromptu group dance to the hokeypokey in the sunshine. It was worth every sleepless night and all the midnight ebay sessions and now I just wish I could do it all again!

Wedding Photography: NJ Humphrey Photography / Wedding Venue: Darlington Estate Winery in Perth, Western Australia / Wedding Event Planning + Design + Invitations: DIY by the Bride / Floral Design: Blush Flowers / Wedding Day Coordination: Jana’s Touch / Reception Coordination: Delia Apelgren / Wedding Cinematography: The Wedding Video Masters / Wedding Dress: Wendy Makin ”Ellie” via Brides Selection / Shoes: Wittner / Earrings: Fletcher & Grace / Robes: Plum Pretty Sugar / Makeup: J Preston Make Up / Children’s Attire: Monsoon UK /

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Time and time again, I find myself falling head-over-heels for a Carmel Valley wedding. Between the perfect, etherial light to the stunning setting, it’s a huge dose of gorgeous everywhere you look! This Holman Ranch beauty from Jason + Anna Photography delivers beyond expectations and you can see it all for yourself right here!

 

From the Bride… After 4.5 years of engagement, Matthew and I finally tied the knot at the stunning Holman Valley Ranch in Carmel Valley, California. Living in London introduced huge challenges to the planning, but we knew we wanted our guests to experience the magical place Matthew grew up in. The save-the-dates were sent a year in advance to our guests, and we began to plan our vision: “Romantic Whimsy.” There were only three things we needed to have: a short and sweet ceremony, great food and lots of love.

The day started perfectly, and although I didn’t have bridesmaids, I’d asked ten of my closest girlfriends to get ready in the bridal suite with me. Matt, of course, had 10 of his closest friends in the groom’s suite! The amazing Shawn Cavlan did our makeup, while my best friend, Nick Matthews (a hair stylist in Chicago) did our hair. While getting ready, my chosen earrings would not go into one of my earlobes! Before I could panic, my best friend, Jamie took hers off saying,”Here’s your something borrowed!” They were perfect, but she never let me give them back in the end. On my wrist, I wore the my wedding gift from Matthew: a diamond tennis bracelet. It was so wonderful to have everyone with me, laughing, drinking pink champagne and getting beautiful!

Two days before the wedding, my father, who lives in Iran, was unable to leave the country, so my mother walked me down the rose petal-lined aisle to Adele’s “One & Only.” It was a magical moment when I saw the ring bearers walking ahead of me with their DIY wooden signs and Matt standing at the altar, bawling his eyes out! We had the great pleasure of being married by Congressman Sam Farr, a very close family friend, whose words were so heartfelt and touching. My mother read a beautiful love poem by the Persian poet Hafiz, and Matt’s father translated the same poem into English as a symbol of unity. After we read our own vows, we looked up to realise that almost every guest was crying! It was just the sweetest thing to see! As we walked down the aisle, our friends tossed white rose petals at us from the DIY lace cones we had created.

While we were off taking pictures with the incredible Jason and Anna Ball, guests picked up their seating plan in miniature envelopes that were hung from an oak tree in the courtyard. Each envelope also contained a hand written note to each guest — some funny, some silly, and all thanking them for their support and love. Our chef, Michael Jones, was incredible, creating our entire menu from local and organic sources. I’ve always wanted miniature wedding cakes, so Laurie at Sweet Celebrations created two tier buttercream cakes for each guest. We cut the cake to a song that I had written for Matthew as a wedding gift, by his cousin’s band, Panic Years. I knew that we had to stick to a tight budget, so I found the wonderful Toni Lucas, who ran the floristry program at the North Salinas High School and asked if she could help with our flowers. Her students created the most beautiful arrangements, using the antique silver containers that we had collected from our family. They even created my amazing bouquet, exactly as I’d dreamed it up, and pinned the groom’s late grandmother’s diamond brooch to it for me. Our last dance was “Tiny Dancer” and in the middle of it, we looked up to see all of our guests in a circle surrounding us, swaying and singing. It was an incredible finish to an incredible evening! After the final dance, I presented Matthew with a surprise: A letter from Mike Aldretti, his childhood baseball idol, who once played for the San Francisco Giants. There’s an infamous story about Matthew sneaking into Mike’s wedding as a child — I figured that Mike could somehow make his presence at ours to return the favor. Matthew was over the moon for this gift!

Wedding Photography: Jason + Anna Photography / Wedding Venue: Holman Ranch in Carmel Valley, California / Event Design: The Bride / Floral Design: Students from North Salinas Valley High School’s Floristry Program / Officiant: Congressman Sam Farr / Catering: A Moveable Feast / Mini Wedding Cakes: Sweet Celebrations / Programs + Menus: Life’s Events by Chelsea (californiachels@gmail.com) / Wedding Dress: Enzoani / Bride’s Shoes: Lola Cruz / Hair: Nick Matthews of Hip Salon in Schaumburg, Illinois / Makeup: Shawn Cavlan Beauty Co.

Holman Ranch is a member of our Little Black Book, Love what you see? Take a look at their portfolios.

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This Halloween morning you are in for a real treat from this stylish soirée by John + Louise. With a strong sweet tooth for stationery I was amped to see that Minted was the paper provider for the festivities, and I loved the clever touch of using the menu’s as napkin rings. Bloomsters hit the nail on the head with the decadent décor and floral arrangements and don’t even get me started on my love for the Zac Posen via Rent the Runway bridesmaids! Head to the full gallery for more!

Click here for the FULL wedding!

From the Bride… Jeremy and I have always loved to travel, explore exciting new restaurants and share a great bottle of wine with friends, so when it came time to plan our big day, we both agreed we wanted it to not only be fun and memorable, but also truly reflective of us and what we enjoy. We decided that we wanted our wedding to be more like fabulous dinner party, so although the absence of a first dance, a cake cutting (we did ice cream sandwiches), and a bouquet toss may have raised a few eyebrows, we were so happy to have a relaxed wedding where we could take in every moment.

Throughout our last year of dating, we spent many weekend getaways at Carmel Valley Ranch.  We loved that it was under two hours away, yet felt like we were in another world.  The setting is so gorgeous and serene, yet there is so much to do and experience (golfing, bee keeping, walking in the organic garden, relaxing in the infinity hot tub). When it came to picking a venue, it seemed like a no brainer. What better way to celebrate our union than to take our friends and family to one of our favorite places on earth?! The only catch with picking such a desirable location was availability. The best available date for us meant we would have three months to plan our dream wedding. No easy feat, but with the stars aligning and our dream vendors all being available, everything went off (almost) without a hitch. We really wanted our day to reflect Jeremy and I, so we made sure to have a team of vendors that could help with that vision. I have been using Bloomsters (a local florist) for events since I was in my teens. They have helped me for everything from arrangements for my junior prom, to décor for my corporate holiday party (with an 800 person guest count!). Their team does a wonderful job of reading your mind and when I walked down the aisle to see everything for the first time I knew they truly hit it on the head and made our dreams a reality. My sisters are great photographers so I have been spoiled with great pictures my whole life. Unfortunately both of them were going to be in front of the camera for once, so we needed to figure out someone who could capture all of the special moments. A coworker recommended John + Louise, and we were instantly drawn in by their photojournalistic approach. We loved their creative take on wedding photography and were yet again giddy to find they had availability on July 14th.

I purchased a vintage dress right after the engagement and after months of alterations, I picked up my dress from the tailor (with three weeks to go) only to find out it was three inches too short … in flats. Not a good look for a 5’11″ bride. With the hard time I had trying to shop for dresses with our three month deadline, I could hardly imagine the looks I’d get with three weeks, so I opted for a Nicole Miller that was on sale online at Neiman Marcus and had it rushed. Luckily it fit like a glove and only needed to be hemmed (considering Jeremy I picked up the suit and dress on the Wednesday the week of our wedding, we couldn’t afford anything other than a perfect fit).

Despite the three month engagement, we couldn’t have been happier with our wedding day and felt so lucky to have such a strong team of vendors to help make our dreams come true, as well as such wonderful friends and family to share everything with!

Wedding Photography: John + Louise / Wedding Venue + Catering: Carmel Valley Ranch in Carmel, California / Floral Design: Bloomsters / Wedding Stationery: Minted / Music: Brett Young + Randy Coleman / Wedding Dress: Nicole Miller / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Zac Posen via Rent the Runway / Men’s Suits: Calvin Klein

Minted and John + Louise Photography are members of our Little Black Book, Love what you see? Take a look at their portfolios.

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