29.03.19

Photography: Teagan Glenane Photography

Location: Trentham Cliffs, NSW
Wedding party: Bonnie Coxall, Shari Thompson, Rachel Murphy, Taryn Coxall with Sam Turner, Alex Bomitali and Kenny Terry

How did you meet?

How do any 16-year-olds get together in 2007? MSN Messenger. Am I showing my age?? We were both in Year 11, Ned at Mt Clear College and me at Damascus. We had gone to Buninyong Primary together, so we were both aware of each other’s existence, but hadn’t exactly… socialised in the intervening years.

One night, while chatting to friends on our ancient family PC, I saw a message pop up, from Ned. “Hi” it said. Talk about smooth opening lines. Three weeks later he asked me to be his girlfriend and the rest
is history.

Tell us about the proposal...

I have always been a planner and knew I wanted something different for my engagement ring. I had a chat with Suzy from Gems & Jewels and gave her a rough idea of what I was hoping for and then left it at that. Time went by, I had no idea if Ned had even contacted Gems & Jewels, let alone started covertly planning an epic proposal, but I wasn’t in a rush.

One sunny winter’s day we headed down to Torquay beach, to give the dogs a run before heading back into Geelong for Ned’s sisters birthday lunch. Bobbi, our daughter, was playing in the sand with the dogs, the sun was shining and out of the blue, Ned asked me to marry him.

Okay, we want all the details. Tell us about your day.

This wedding had been a long time in the making! As an event planner, I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted. I just had to make it work logistically.

My parents have a beautiful property on the Murray River, in Trentham Cliffs, NSW. I had always wanted to get married there but I also desperately wanted to work with all of my friends and suppliers from Ballarat. Somehow I convinced them all to make the five and a half hour drive up. I can be very persuasive when I want to!

We had our ceremony right at the river’s edge with a beautiful Hamptons Marquee from Tipi Tribe right beside us for a cocktail reception.

In the week leading up to the wedding, the weather was so spectacular! But on the day, we ended up with a dust storm, which was far from ideal but did make for some beautiful lighting and gorgeous photos. We honestly had the time of our lives and the recovery the next day was just as fun.

When did planning begin? What was the hardest thing to get organised? Any hiccups?

Planning in my head started about ten minutes after that first MSN Messenger flirtation - kidding! It was about ten years later. But the real work started a couple of weeks post getting engaged. The logistics of all the travel was definitely a hurdle, but our suppliers were amazing and so accommodating. They made even my wildest dreams work.

Where did you draw inspiration from? Where would you direct future brides?

I had a pretty clear vision of the style in my head but Pinterest and Instagram definitely helped to bring it all together. My advice would be to pick one style and stick to it. Don’t try to blend styles together.

One piece of advice I didn’t take myself, was to have an event co-ordinator. Even if you are set on doing a DIY wedding, the last thing you want to be worrying about is the little details on the day of the wedding. I didn’t think I needed one, but looking back it would have made everything a lot easier in the days leading up.

Describe the elements of your day and how you went about it all

Photography: Teagan Glenane Photography

I have always had a bit of a creative crush on Teagan. She is a Ballarat girl living in Melbourne and I have had the pleasure of working with her on various shoots for the magazine. I was really conscious that I wanted someone who would make Ned and I feel really comfortable and I definitely didn’t want to do any cheesy poses. Tegan was amazing. Really she felt just like a wedding guest.

Videographer: We used David from Josue Films for our wedding videography

To be honest I didn’t think I needed a videographer but my parents insisted. And I am so glad they did because our wedding video is beautiful. It actually blew my mind, and David was a star on the day. He made us feel totally comfortable and added to the fun.

Marquee: Tipi Tribe

I first laid eyes on the Hamptons marquee years ago and I knew I wanted one for my wedding! They are gorgeous and so much more stylish than a regular event marquee. The team at Tipi Tribe went above and beyond getting it from near Bolac to Trentham Cliffs and were on call for the day/night in case we needed anything.

Wedding gown: Cecile Michel Couture

Where do I start? I did the traditional “dress shopping in Melbourne with the bridesmaids” thing, but nothing even came close to what I had imaged my dress to be like. I had met Cecile on a shoot for Ballarat Lifestyle Magazine about eighteen months prior to getting engaged, so after having no luck finding a ready-made dress, I made an appointment. Cecile is the most gentle, creative person and I just knew she would create something perfect. Four months later I had my final fitting and just loved everything about the dress. I was comfortable, felt beautiful and best of all, it was totally “me”.

Music: Like this Corporate Band

These guys are from Melbourne and I had used them before, for our Melbourne Cup Luncheon. There was no question, I had to have them for the wedding. They really know how to get everyone up and about.

Flowers: Holly Spence from Flowerqueen Co

I have had the pleasure of working with Holly a number of times so I was very excited for her to create our wedding flowers! I showed her one picture that I loved and pretty much left the rest up to her. And boy did she deliver. My flowers were perfect. In particular, the arbour she created for the ceremony.

Hair: Chelsea from Eve Salon

Chels has been doing my hair for years and she was invited to the wedding so I am very lucky she was there to do the bridal party’s hair. She always gets the perfect curl even though the wind stripped them out pretty quickly!

Makeup: Bonnie and Coby at Yellow Rose Beauty Studio

I probably shouldn’t have made my maid of honour work at the wedding, but she is the only one who has ever done my makeup and I really wanted something natural and I know Bon nails it every time. We also had Maddy from My Makeup Chair to help out doing the in-laws’ makeup. It was a lot of fun all getting ready together.

Rings: Gems & Jewels

I mentioned above that I had a sit-down with Suzy from Gems & Jewels before I even got engaged, but when I saw the ring, I could not even believe how incredible it was. Gems & Jewels also designed and made our wedding bands and my eternity ring (I wasn’t waiting another ten years or for another child!) as well as my wedding earrings. I wanted something that wouldn’t date and that I could wear again and again. Suzy is incredible and the bespoke experience made it all the more meaningful.

Catering: Dele Foodstore

Adele and her team travelled from Daylesford and put on the best spread. We had canapés to start and then some bigger eats to fill everyone up. There was also a yummy dessert grazing table. Towards the end of the night, they also did toasties and fries which were a massive hit!

Bar: Tipple Caravan

We had a beautiful vintage-inspired caravan as our wedding bar that was built by Ned’s dad for his sister’s wedding. We stocked it with all our favourite local wines including Blue Pyrenees Midnight Cuvée, Summerfield Shiraz, Mitchell Harris Rosé and Pinot Noir and Musk Lane Fiano.

Signage: E & I Custom Designs

These guys were amazing! I was having trouble deciding on my signage so they weren’t given a lot of notice, oops! They turned it around so quickly and it was perfect.

Celebrant: Zena Lythgo Celebrant

I was so particular when it came to our celebrant. I really wanted the ceremony to be completely personalised. Zena nailed our 12-year story and created the most beautiful ceremony. I couldn’t recommend her highly enough.

What was the most memorable moment of your wedding day?

It’s impossible to pick just one thing, the day has already blurred into one long, incredible love fest. I loved saying our vows, our band sang a really paired back version of The Wonder of You which was beautiful, putting on my dress and walking down the aisle in front of my family and bridesmaids, Bobbi in her custom Cecile dress, seeing Ned waiting for me at the end of the aisle, the food, the cocktails, dancing all night. There’s no way I could pick just one thing!

If you could, would you change anything about your day?

I mean, no dust storm would have been great, but other than that? Nothing.

Our editor gets hitched!