This wedding is a boatload of authentic fun and B&B charm — The old photographs, the cheeky signage, and the casually gorgeous fashion choices of everyone present make me wish I could join the fun! Wildflowers in old glass bottles and fun lawn games gave the day a vintage backyard look and feel. Croquet, anyone? Under a parasol to shield you from the sun? Yup, they had it all! Many thanks to Leo Farrell Photography for capturing all the loveliness right here in the full gallery of photos.
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From the Bride… The hardest thing for us was finding the perfect venue. I was sure that we could style the perfect wedding around a great venue, but how to find it? I searched reception and function centers for months, always coming away disappointed with the limitations each venue put on us. In the end, I decided we needed a simple backyard wedding with beautiful details, but living in inner city Melbourne, we just didn’t have the backyard! I broadened my search to country B&Bs and BINGO — we got lucky with the perfect venue, a B&B just out of Healesville in the Yarra Valley. Incredibly, the owners were happy to help us host and plan our wedding there. They even incorporated some of their own veggies from the farm’s veggie patch in each course of our menu! I had also pictured a majestic old oak tree to be married under and there it was — it was perfect!
Six months before our wedding and well after setting the date, disaster struck and my mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Her doctor thought it was unlikely she would make it to the wedding, but with everything booked, all we could do was keep planning and hope for the best. Mum was adamant that she was going to be there, and miraculously kept herself going and had a ball. (We lost her a few months later — she beat everyone’s expectations!) You can see how sick she looks in the photos, but she was having so much fun on the day that it didn’t matter. And we are so lucky that we will always have the amazing photos from the day to remember her.
We decided to cut a lot of the typical wedding traditions — no cake, no speeches and a much longer, relaxed reception with a banquet meal the main focus. We also set up golf and croquet, which our guests loved! We got so many comments from guests about how relaxed, natural and fun the day was with such perfect little details like dancing flip-flops and matching parasols, the table settings with vintage glass bottles as vases, fresh wildflowers, vintage white furniture with cushions made by my mother-in-law, vintage cameras with family photos and signposts that we made and/or styled ourselves. The day itself turned out to be Melbourne’s “proper” last day of summer — 38 degrees with sunshine rolling into a balmy summer evening. It just all came together so perfectly for us.
My only regret with our planning was that I didn’t spend enough time on myself. My dress wasn’t adjusted properly, and I hadn’t planned my jewelry until the last minute. We were so consumed with the little details that I forgot to think about how I was going to look on the day! Still at the end of the day, I got to marry the man I love, and we had our exact vision for the day come to life with all our family and friends. Can’t ask for much more than that!
Wedding Photography: Leo Farrell Photography / Wedding Venue: Harvest Farm in Healesville, Victoria / Floral Design: Bobilee of Clarence / Styling + Decorations: The Bride & Groom / Officiant: Tim Manger / Catering: Healesville Hotel / Wedding Invitations, Save-the-Dates, Place Cards + Menus: The Groom / Ukelele: Romy Stein / Lighting Design + Set-Up: The Groom / Wedding Dress: Fleur Wood / Bride’s Earrings: Vintage / Hair + Makeup: Margo Orsatti / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Custom (Green Dress) + Fleur Wood / Men’s Attire: David Jones + Bossini / Men’s Shoes: Vans