Words by Bec; images by Ros and Stephen Blakeney

We hope to fill our home with music, love and laughter.

Ash and I met in a typical friend of a friend scenario. We both liked each other and quickly bonded through our shared passion for music. We spent time as friends, dancing, wandering through the city at night and eating sushi in parks. One spring night, in the very early hours of the morning, I was catching a taxi home from being out with a friend, when my taxi pulled up alongside Ash’s taxi. I jumped taxis and we’ve been together ever since.

Ash and I come from really similar backgrounds and share similar values. We love the life we have created together and are excited about making music, growing our own organic vegetables, creating things and sharing food and wine with friends. In the future we hope to have a family of our own and fill our home with music, love and laughter.

It helped to keep remembering what the day was really about

There were many challenges that arose during the wedding planning process but we dealt with them one by one. Something that did surprise me was the amount of stress I felt in the lead-up to the wedding, worrying that none of it would actually work out on the day. It helped to keep remembering what the day was really about; that nothing actually mattered other than being with family and friends to celebrate our love.

One challenge was trying to work out how to convey all of my ideas in terms of setting up that I had perfectly planned in my head but needed other people to do for me on the day. In the end I divided all the tasks up and wrote them on separate pieces of paper so anyone who was there to help could just read through it and get the job done quickly and easily. Of course, in the end it all worked out better than we anticipated. So many people helped out. I didn’t need to stress and just needed to trust that everyone involved had common sense and good taste!

The guest list was one of the most difficult parts of planning the wedding. We kept returning to our idea of the wedding being about having a ‘community’ to love and support us and celebrate with us. We chose only the closest friends and family to join us for the day and invited our extended circle of friends to join us later for a post wedding party in Melbourne. We were a little overwhelmed by the huge effort so many guests put in to join us on the day, not to mention the cost of flights and accommodation. But it also made us feel very loved!

Margaret River is very special to the both of us

Ash and I both live in Melbourne, but as Ash grew up in Margaret River, and it is such a beautiful place that has become very special to the both of us, we decided to have the wedding over there. We had really wanted a picnic for our wedding reception but had found it difficult to find a location which would also be appropriate for a rainy day. Ash and I have always loved going to Cullen Winery and sitting out on the deck with lovely food and great wine, so we decided to book the venue for the reception. We booked Cullen Homestead across the road from the winery as we figured guests could stay there, and then realised that it was the perfect setting for the ceremony and a picnic! So we ended up with both a picnic and a sit down dinner which worked really well and made it the most perfect day.

The staff at Cullens were incredibly helpful, and they provided bread and dips at the homestead during the afternoon as well as incredible food and wine for the evening reception. The cupcakes were a team effort: they were made by my bridesmaid and me the day before and decorated on the day by guests staying at the homestead. For the picnic, we also had Olsens wine provided by the best man’s parents and Vasse Felix sparkling courtesy of the best mans’ brother.

The cake, made by Arlene at Sugar Mummy, was so delicious that many guests went back for more!

We wanted to involve people we loved

We wanted the style of our wedding to reflect us and the organic, vintage feel was just really natural for us. We wanted it to be simple and handmade and have people we loved involved in the creation. Friends and family contributed to making the bunting which we hung everywhere and I had fun making a few other crafty things such as little flags to go on the cupcakes. My bridesmaid Karen made lots of the bunting, and it helped us feel more connected in the lead-up to the wedding as she lives in Perth. Her dad also made the gorgeous wooden heart on the front of the cake.

Being in Margaret River, Ash’s parents were amazing at finding and making bits and pieces. For example, the chairs at the signing table were a “lucky find” that Ash’s dad painted; Ash’s mum made new cushions for them. Ash’s mum also made many quilts which served as picnic rugs, and which we encouraged guests to take away at the end of the day. We were incredibly lucky to have Peta from Vintage Bloom bring all our ideas to life with the stunning bouquets and styling at the reception.

Music was a big part of the wedding day

Given our musical backgrounds it was important that music was a big part of the wedding day. We wanted to have live music during the ceremony and throughout the rest of the day, and found that doing this was a really lovely way to have our friends involved in the wedding. We flew over friends of ours who play in the 60s-inspired band ‘Newbirds’ to play during the ceremony and also during the picnic afterwards. They have a style that’s at once familiar and easy for everyone to dance to.

We celebrated our classical musical backgrounds with my sister playing Bach on the cello, and even incorporated music into our vows, which emphasised music, love, and laughter. During the reception we replaced some of the speeches with songs, inviting friends and family to play, and I couldn’t resist playing a song for Ash–one adapted from “I Wanna Grow Old With You” played by Adam Sandler at the end of “The Wedding Singer”.

We also spent a great deal of time putting together a very long playlist of songs on iTunes to play throughout the afternoon and evening. The afternoon had a bit of a 50s and 60s theme and during the evening, Australian music featured very heavily–The Triffids, The GoBetweens and The Blackeyed Susans were all on the playlist. Playing back the playlist has been a great way to relive the day a little in the months since the wedding.

As most of our guests were musical, we thought that the guitar picks would make fun little wedding favours.

I had a very clear idea of the style of my wedding dress

I had a very clear idea of the style of my wedding dress, as well as strong views on how much I should–and should not–spend on a dress! It was tricky to find what I wanted and I started to look for vintage patterns that I could make or have someone make for me. In the end I had some very good luck in finding a local Melbourne dressmaker, Jill Burt, who makes vintage style dresses to sell in local shops. She was lovely and made the dress just the way I described, as well as the bridesmaid’s dress.

My shoes were a lucky vintage Etsy find, as were our rings, which were made by Raven’s Refuge. We weren’t fussed about matching outfits for the rest of the bridal party and the guys all chose their own suits. My cousin Nicole did our hair and makeup on the day. Again, it was really special to have family involved in the day, not to mention how much fun we had in the morning.

It was really special having someone who knows us so well taking the photos

Steve and Ros–Ash’s parents–are amazing photographers who always manage to capture something really individual about the couple they are photographing. Ash and I are not usually overly comfortable having photos taken, but it was very easy to ‘let go’ and trust them. It also helped that Steve had done an engagement shoot for us previously, giving us some much-needed practice with awkward things such as kissing in front of your parents and in-laws! The photos beautifully captured the feel of the day and reflect who we are and what we like, which I do think comes from knowing us so well. We wanted Steve to play with the style of the photos to capture a little of the vintage, indie feel. We also knew they were particularly excited about taking the photos so we couldn’t help being excited about it.

Contact Ros and Stephen Blakeney:

Ros and Stephen are photographers based in WA’s Margaret River. Visit their website here.