Hello flower friends!
Over the weekend, my husband and I celebrated 10 whole years of marriage! I cannot believe how much time has passed already. Leading up to our anniversary I started searching for our wedding photos and came across a folder on my usb that I used to gather some inspiration images for how I’d like my wedding to look. When we got married, vintage and DIY was the ‘in’ thing haha. I thought I’d share some of the inspiration images and how it turned out on the day.
At the time I was going to Uni and so I was ‘encouraged’ to give up the organising etc to my husband-to-be, his sister and a friend. I’m not sure how many people would give up that control but I have to say that they did an awesome job with the limited resources and small budget we had. Would I give up this level of control if I had to do it again, probably not, but I can definitely see the many benefits, including less stress, less work and the element of surprise. From memory I wasn’t allowed to see or know anything until the day of the wedding, so it did feel a bit like being a stranger at your own wedding, so if you don't want that feeling, this may not .
We had a private ceremony in Sydney with a small group of family who attended and then we had a small reception at a community hall in Mount Hunter, which is a little way outside of Camden. Brendan is from Camden and so we’d always drive past this small town, stop in at the antique shop and dream of raising children in a house there someday. Our favourite season is Autumn but the only time we could get off from Uni was at the end of semester in July and so we chose to be married on the first Saturday of break and have an Autumn themed wedding. Brenny says that altogether the total cost for everything was around the $2000 mark. We didn’t know much about weddings, it was pretty low-key and we had a lot of help from family and friends, setting up and making things.
Here are some of the inspiration images: The last image is our actual wedding invitation—We squeal at the font we used now but at the time we LOVED it haha
Our wedding specifics:
Clothing:
Brendan’s suit and shoes
My boat neck top I had made by a local seamstress and high waisted long length skirt material made by Brendan’s Aunty, which I still have! We bought the material from Cabramatta. My shoes were bought from an op-shop.
Lace gloves and an off-white vintage parasol that I didn’t end up using because I forgot about it. I still have both of these!
Brendan got his hair cut the day before—never do this. You want it done at least 1 week before so it has time to settle in haha.
I had my hair twisted from one side to the other and ended with a side bun and babies breath placed throughout.
Flowers:
I had a Baby’s Breath bouquet with some vintage lace I bought. I still love Baby’s Breath. The day we got engaged, which was back in February we went to the flower market and I selected these flowers knowing nothing about them. They dried very nicely and so I wanted to use them in my bouquet. This was before I was a Florist and so there are no other flowers!
Reception venue:
Mt Hunter Community Hall—seated 80 guests but we had a few more who sat around on benches.
Bridal seats:
Chairs, frames and horns that belonged to a friend adorned the walls.
An old door from Brendan’s cupboard and big chunky books for our table.
Food and beverages:
An array of soups that the Aunties made with bread rolls and butter.
Sparkling Grape Juice.
Jugs of lemon + water.
Cake in the form of R and B with a little love heart in between. A friend of ours made this cake. It was a chocolate brownie, which was our favourite and when she asked how I’d like it to look I said I’d love it in the shape of our initials with some Autumn leaves—not realising how much work it’d be—and it turned out to be the most beautiful looking and tasting cake!
Tables:
Venue soup bowls, bread + dessert plates, cutlery and glassware.
Mismatch wine glasses from op shops.
Vase with big candle surrounded by a wreath (it took some convincing to make and use wreaths but I was happy to see them on the table), red berries and pine cones from the house.
Chair and table covers made by a friend for another wedding + some additional.
Patterned material cut into table runners. Brenny chose these and really loved them but I secretly didn’t haha.
Decorations:
Tortured willow inside vases—I was (and still am) obsessed with tortured willow.
Fairy lights around the hall.
Fake Autumn leaves sprinkled on the floor and tables.
Sheets of material hung above the ceiling with Autumn leaves.
Guest book—A painting by Brendan’s sister of a bare tree at sunset and guest’s thumb prints formed the falling Autumn leaves.
Baskets with pumpkins and tortured willow.
Formalities:
Cake cutting
No first dance
Impromptu speeches + thank you
No ring exchange
Photography:
A friend, Brendan’s sister and I took some snaps and considering no one was a professional, I think we did a good job. Originally I was wanting to have a few disposable cameras on each table, but it was going to cost a bit and we weren’t sure what photos we’d get. In hindsight, I would absolutely pay for a professional photographer just because I now understand the level of expertise and story-telling that they understand, but I think the photos we got suite the low-key vibe of our day.
Reality: Some images from our special day.
I really hope you enjoyed seeing these. Being a Florist now, I see how small and simple weddings can be just as beautiful as larger, extravagant weddings. If you have the right people and atmosphere and delicious food, you really can't go wrong. I hope you have a wonderful rest of the week!
xo rose