Mar 3

Mar 3 Ashleigh & Alex

Tanglewood Estate, DROMANA, VICTORIA

photography by White Vine Photography

PROPOSAL Ashleigh and Alex met as punk rockers while at an 80's themed 13th birthday party and had a teenage 'summer fling'. It was 4 years later and in year 11 at high school that that they officially started dating. Fast forward 8 years and Alex had planned a proposal while on holiday in one of their favourite destinations, Port Douglas. “We both managed to get quite unwell, making the first few days a write-off. Which according to Alex greatly affected his proposal plans," said Ashleigh. Nonetheless, one evening, Alex told Ashleigh he had heard of this fantastic photography spot on the beach. “When we got there, we walked through the trees out to the beach front where I noticed a picnic rug surrounded by candles and an easel covered in a white sheet with a sign reading “the most beautiful thing in the world.” I removed the sheet from the easel and there stood a mirror, and through its reflection I could see myself and Alex kneeling behind me.” Unbeknown to Ashleigh, Alex had also sneakily arranged a hidden photographer to capture the moments. “It was amazing to get those photos back and relive the moment. It really was an incredible night!"

THE PLANNING With two years exactly between their engagement and their wedding day they had plenty of time to discuss and plan how they saw their wedding day. "We wanted to have a laid-back, yet fun wedding with good food and wine." So, first thing was the venue; and Tanglewood Estate won their hearts with it's character and charm, the decision was made.

Next was the food and wine! "We spent quite some time researching a great caterer. Elle from Moreish Catering came to our house and cooked the most delicious gnocchi which sealed the deal in that department (Alex is Italian)."

"The overall process of planning the wedding was relatively stress free because we had quite a long time and were generally well organised. There were times where we did feel overwhelmed, however we managed these by setting achievable time frames and lots (and I mean LOTS) of to-do lists! The other reason we believe the whole process was so smooth is that we had amazing, reliable vendors who went above and beyond to help us."

Due to the drizzly rain and cooler weather on the wedding day a last minute change to plans from having an outdoor ceremony overlooking Tanglewood’s beautiful lake to moving into the chapel. It took some last minute logical persuasion from their florist and wedding planner to move the ceremony location indoors, a decision that ended up being a great one. "We got some beautiful photos from our ceremony and lastly and most importantly all our guests remained dry!"

BRIDAL PARTY Both Ashleigh and Alex decided not to have a maid of honour or best man so that no distinctions were made within their bridal parties and everyone felt equally involved. Although it was pointed out that Alex’s groomsman, announced himself as 'the self- proclaimed best man' in his funny and heartfelt speech, which is something wedding guests still talk about to this day.

DRESSING UP "I had never imagined that I would have worn a ballgown style dress, yet after trying on dress after dress, this was the only style that I felt like a bride in. I was very torn between the dress I had imagined myself wearing which was a fitted lacey dress and what I believed would suit the style of our wedding. A friend of mine reassured me that the most important thing was to feel like a bride in my chosen dress; the rest would fall into place." The advice gave her reassurance to go with her initial decision.Vasiliki Couture designed a modern ballgown, with a low-cut v-line lace bodice and a heavy, structured pleated skirt with pockets. Ashleigh added a modern edge to her look with statement pearl hoop earrings.

After the wedding formalities Ashleigh changed into a white pantsuit "This was one of the best decisions I made! It made moving around so much easier and dancing an absolute breeze."

Bridesmaids wore dark emerald green jumpsuits with elegant splits making it easy to walk and dance in. To complete the look they wore neutral tan heels, minimal gold accessories and unstructured playful hair styles.

Alex and his groomsman wore custom made navy fitted trousers that tapered at the ankles, fitted white shirts and brown leather loafers. The groomsman wore navy suspenders and a knit tie. The groom chose a point of difference by wearing a custom made brown and black houndstooth blazer and a black bowtie. "Alex never wanted to wear a 'suit', and always likes to go against the norm."

STYLING Green foliage and white flowers, consisting of Queen Anne’s Lace, Flowering Tee Tree, White Delphinium flowers and White Lisianthus beautifully draped and framed the church window during the ceremony. They were perched high on top of tabletop towers that followed in the Barn reception.

DANCE Music and dancing was an essential ingredient to the reception. The White Tree provided a variety of music all day from their chapel service to chilled vibes during the dinner reception and finally to the real party afterwards. "Ash didn’t sit down once except when she had to eat!"

MESSAGES OF LOVE A unique idea to have guests sign a message on a small piece of card and place it in a wooden box which held a special bottle of wine. On their first anniversary Ashleigh and Alex will open and read the messages and enjoy the bottle of wine together. Ash’s mum is quite the handyman and constructed the wine box.

FOOD "The food from Moreish Catering and the wine from Tanglewood were definitely one of the biggest highlights of the night. We received a lot of compliments on the night how tasty and well organised everything was – no one was hungry or thirsty!

“We had a very fun and upbeat first dance “September” from Earth, Wind & Fire which opened the reception. This was followed by similar songs that got everyone on the dance floor early and in our opinion really set the tone of the night.”