Our Wedding - Part 3: the event details
Hello Beauties,
Here is the third and FINAL part of our wedding day blog. Of course my favourite part of it all, the wedding! In this blog I will go through all the details of our wedding event such as ceremony details, cocktail hour, dinner and dancing and a tonne of unseen images shot by our brilliant photographer, Lily Red
If you haven’t read part 1 & 2 make sure to check those out as well!
If you have any questions feel free to leave a comment below and I will get back to you.
with love… The Watsons xx
CEREMONY DETAILS
Wedding planner + stylist
Okay let’s begin with our wedding stylist, Rach, from The Events Lounge who helped us plan, style and co-ordinate on the day. We booked the ‘full shebang’ package which meant that Rach had everything under control and we didn’t have to stress on the days prior and day-of. Let me tell you, it was the best decision we ever made! We didn’t feel stressed in the lead up [except for all the invoices piling in ;) ] and she made me feel so confident that everything would go to plan.
In terms of styling, we wanted a ‘dreamy romantic bohemian’ wedding, and that it was. For our ceremony we wanted a trail of Moroccan rugs and dreamy florals leading through the macadamia orchard to our hidden ceremony location amongst the orchard by the massive tree. We rented some rugs from The Events Lounge, and used some that we own.
Wedding planner + stylist: The Events Lounge
Florist
Our florist, Bower Botanicals, did an incredible job at making our dream ceremony come true. Plenty of florals cascading up the aisle, large pots of pampas grass, and a simple installation on the tree that looked like it was growing on it. Of course all florals were in our colours for the day (white, cream, beige, pale pink and wine red). The installations at the ceremony were then transported inside the venue where the dinner and dancing was held so we got to make the most of these amazing flowers.
Floral design: Bower Botanicals
Celebrant
To Alex and I, it was important that our celebrant was someone we felt we could relate to or feel comfortable with. I mean no offence when I say this, but we didn’t want an older stranger to be the person that marries us. When one of my best friends, Emily of Sprout Journal mentioned that she was thinking of doing the celebrant course my eyes lit up with so much joy! Em finished the course some months before the wedding and we were blessed to be her first wedding. We also got to do a ceremony rehearsal in our villa backyard over in Bali after my hens weekend which was lots of fun. Not only was she an amazing celebrant but it was so special to have her marry us.
Note: we chose not to sign our marriage certificate during the ceremony as we felt that in that moment it might kill some of the emotions built up in the ceremony and vows. We actually signed them later in the night when we were dancing with all our friends and family.
Officiant: Sprout Journal
Signage
Our wedding signage was all designed and made by Sketch & Etch Creative. We had a Welcome Sign (pictured below), as well as signage for drinks menu, food menu, guest book sign (in sections below). They also made our guest book and wishing well. You can customise everything and they give you lots of design proofs to choose from.
Signage: Sketch and Etch Creative
Confetti
I cant tell you all how many questions I get about my confetti. Seems such a trivial detail but an important one at that. Our venue had a strict no confetti rule however we asked about whether we could use 100% biodegradable paper confetti which they said was perfectly ok. We found ours on Etsy - there’s so many options!
Car
We were fortunate to have some friends lend us their beautiful cream EH holden for our wedding. It’s Alexs favourite car so it was absolutely perfect… well, apart from the part when my sister couldn’t figure out how to start it and park it ;)
COCKTAIL HOUR DETAILS
Music/Entertainment
For cocktail hour we had some beautiful acoustic by Tully John and Liza Jane. The Events Lounge sent us a list of some that would suit our vibe and we picked out these guys because we loved their music and covers. Tully John & Liza-Jane are a singer-songwriter duo from the Gold Coast, Australia.
Music: Tully John and Liza Jane
Platter
For cocktail hour we had a beautiful big platter by The Poor Girls Pantry and I am so glad the photographer caught some beautiful images of our platter because we were unable to actually experience it on the day. We ordered a 1m grazing board for guests to enjoy while we were getting bridal party photos.
Platters: The Poor Girls Pantry
Cocktails
For ‘cocktail hour’ we served up our favourite cocktails: Chilli Margaritas, Espresso Martinis and Ink Gin Sours (with aquafaba foam). Of course when its your day its about introducing everyone to your life together so we wouldn’t have had it any other way! We also served up Alex’s favourite beers plus Champagne and wine and for non-alcoholic drinks we had Sun-O sparkling and Organic Soda. We bought all our alcohol from Bangalow Cellars as they have an awesome buy back service so we were able to hand back any beer and wine we didn’t use and that way we could over buy and not stress about running out. We hired Mauricio Gamba as our bartender, who is also the Ink Gin/Husk Distillery Brand Ambassador & National Bartender.
Airstream
We hired a vintage airstream for our bar, which had hugely sentimental meaning behind it. Alex proposed to me in front of an airstream in Joshua Tree, California, 12 months earlier, so for us this was a really special touch to our day.
We hired it from Silver Lining Situations however it appears the business has been sold and their website isn’t active so I have linked in their facebook page as you might be able to get in touch with them there or find the new owners.
DINNER & DANCING DETAILS
Our sunset soirée was served as a feasting banquet where guests could serve themselves from the spread while they grab a drink and lounge on the Moroccan cushions under the naked tipi. It was a beautiful moment to watch our guests mingling and enjoying their dinner from afar. Rach arranged for Alex and I to be set up with a table and dinner away from our guests so we could enjoy a moment together and watch our family and friends. The sun set and we all moved into the barn for speeches, cake cutting and dancing the night away.
Catering
Our catering was of course an important decision for us with my passion for plant based food. So of course we hired our favourite vegan restaurant on the Gold Coast to cater our wedding. Greenhouse Canteen did an amazing job of filling our guests bellies with delicious vegan food. There was jackfruit sliders, DIY nachos, abundant salads, arancini balls and eggplant Parmigiana’s. We had a lot of people questioning us about whether we would do a vegan catered wedding, for us it was an obvious choice, we wanted our wedding to reflect that way we eat at home.
Catering: Greenhouse Canteen
Cake
Greenhouse Canteen also made our wedding cake which was a 2 layered rustic vegan carrot cake. My personal favourite cake!
Cake: Greenhouse Canteen
Lighting
Lighting inside the barn and outside by the tipi was by Out of the Dark event lighting. We had festive lights by the bar and a starry installation inside the barn.
Lighting: Out of the Dark Event Lighting
Neon
We had a custom neon made by Electric Confetti which read ‘drunk in love’. This neon hung inside the barn where we did speeches, cut the cake and danced.
Neon: Electric Confetti
Florals
Most of the florals from the ceremony were able to be repurposed in our reception by moving them inside the barn as an instalment with the neon sign. Bower Botanicals also created a stunning installation of florals on the tipi and by the bar.
Naked Tipi
We hired our naked Tipi from Byron Bay Tipi Weddings. We hired the 8.5m tipi with flooring and fairy lights. We had the option to hire a cover for the tipi as a wet weather backup and thankfully didn’t need it.
Tipi hire: Byron Bay Tipi Weddings
Styling/Furniture
Over our many meetings with Rach we discussed ideas and inspiration, drew up layouts and plans for the whole reception. The final setup was exactly like I imagined and more! We had numerous rugs, cushions, low tables, couches, high tables and chairs, all set under a naked tipi.
The furniture and decorations were all hired by Rach from either her own collection or Lovestruck Weddings and Hamptons Event Hire.
Furniture rentals: Lovestruck Weddings, Hampton Event Hire and The Events Lounge
DJ
Our DJ was a friend of mine and absolute babe Riki-Lee who played all of the old school tunes you wanna sing and dance too with your friends and family.
DJ: Riki-Lee
Click above to watch our wedding video.
Videography: Saladito Studios
That concludes my wedding blog posts. Please comment below if you have any questions at all.
The Watsons, xx
