B R I A N N A & A N G E L - P A R T I

"With all that I am and all that I have, I promise to love and care for you as I accept your loving care now and for always."

F R O M T H E B R I D E . . .

We first met... through a mutual friend in September of 2009 in Paris. I was working across there for a year and Angel was traveling through Europe. I saw him. He saw me. There was Ti'Punch & a booty dance... performed by Angel. He was funny. I laughed. It was on. It was love.

The proposal... Angel is from California so we travel back every year. In the lead up to the trip he kept asking what my Dad was up to in an attempt to get time alone with him...without much success. He was left with little option but to ask for his blessing in the car on the way to the airport before I got in. Dad was very odd that car trip and almost gave away the surprise. With that scare in mind he decided not to tell anyone else. He waited until the last days of our trip, in his favorite city at his favorite location... San Francisco - Twin Peaks look out. He seemed nervous as he embraced me and spoke of his love, I was almost crying at that point when he pulled away and got down on one knee with my grandmother's diamond ring in hand. Of course I said yes and everyone started to clap and cheer. We then celebrated with Champagne and Oysters.

Marriage to us means... A commitment of love, laughter & growth in the adventure of life.

The wedding location... The wedding was held at my family property - Anderson's Mill & Historic House just outside of Daylesford. Standing much like it was over 100 years ago; the five-story bluestone building and its magnificent iron water wheel are still in place. It was chosen for it's intimate setting and family connection.

Wedding celebrant... My childhood pastor Morris Stuart married us. We wanted someone with a connection to us; he's known me since I was a child so it felt very right having him conduct the ceremony.

Theme... Tonal, Textural, Elegant & Romantic. Formal but fun.

Photography... We chose Susan Grdunac, who is a photographer and Art director based in Australia. Having worked on projects with creatives in Australia, Europe and the US, her imagery reflects a diverse narrative of international high-end fashion and lifestyle. She's drawn to balance in opposites, hard subject matter contrasted with soft light. I knew her photo documentary approach would merge perfectly with my styling and vision for the event.

The dress... I was fortunate enough to have 3. The Ceremony dress was a peaked bodice, asymmetric silk gown by Mariana Hardwick. The reception outfit was a sleek, contemporary Alexander McQueen bodice paired with a custom Neo Dia skirt. The exit gown was a customized Christian Dior.

The shoes... Christian Louboutin Nude Simple Pump.

Bridesmaids' dresses... A Custom off white, Silk Dupion wiggle dress with a structured cap sleeve.

Flowergirls and pageboys... The flower girls wore custom off white, heavily interfaced, Silk Dupion, box pleated skirts with matching cardigans and silk jersey Tee's. The pageboys wore traditional black tuxedos.

The rings... Matching Cartier wedding bands from the LOVE collection, mine is platinum with a diamond and his is white gold. Both engraved by Cartier with each other's name and wedding date. My engagement rings are my grandmother's geometric Art Deco Diamond ring and a custom Princess cut/Round diamond ring I designed. When stacked together, they play with shapes and textures, which is what I was after.

Jewellery... A friends heirloom pearl earrings and a mettle - Fair Trade bracelet.

Groom and groomsmen... Custom Oscar Hunt tuxedo, a Movado watch I gave to Angel as a wedding gift and a pair of black patent leather Kenneth Cole dress shoes. He also wore my grandfathers 1950's bow tie. All the boys looked very dapper.

Bride's hair and makeup... Janice Wu did both my hair and make up. We've worked together before and she always does a great job, naturally she was my first and last point of call. I wanted a sleek almost 'handsome' look for the first dress, as it was so feminine I wanted to balance it. For the second dress I wanted to let my hair down into soft waves, so she first curled my hair prior to sleeking it back into a low bun with a side part. With a quick 5 min change it came out perfectly and I didn't need to do a thing to it! My makeup look was based on clean glowing skin, a nude eye with a slick of eyeliner, defined brows and a deep red lip. A look I do often and felt comfortable with.

Stationery... I designed all stationary and Invites for the wedding. The invites were a play on our nickname "The Chaps", with a tongue in cheek adaption of the iconic Chanel No5 bottle. We stuck with a black and white theme; the invite and story card was on thick white cotton card stock with an embossed edge paired with custom envelopes made from translucent paper with our graphics and personalized address's on each one. We then sealed them with our "Chaps" wax seal. All signs and graphics followed the same theme, with the menus being individually printed with each guest's name.

Bombonniere... We had a wrapping station for our guests to take our flowers home with them, complete with personalized stickers.

Flowers... I was inspired by the impact single variety blooms have on mass. We both love flowers and wanted this to be something we invested in. So we worked with Nicky from Spring Hill Peony Farm early on in the year and ordered hundreds of Marie Lemoine - White peonies and hundreds of bunches of Magadi Roses. The venue was full of blooms, from the peony wall to the window seals. My mother and myself did decor flowers and Suri at Wombat Hill Florists created the bridal party flowers.

Videography... We choose Emma Matsunda Video to beautifully capture our day.

Before the big day... Most of the week I was at my family property, but in the lead up to the wedding we stayed at the Novotel, along with our families. It was pretty hectic the day of, but we all managed to have breakfast together and we both got massages in the morning. I got ready with my mum, flower girls and bridesmaid.

Decor... We wanted to keep everything quite classic with high attention to detail and quality. The architecture of the building and aged white washed stonewalls dictated a lot of the direction, along with a reference for the timeless elegance of the 50's. The space is quite industrial; we softened it for the occasion of a wedding. Which was done through soft drapery, tones of white, miss-matched crystal & glassware, lots of candles & flowers and a play on light. We had a projector playing Ginger & Fred Astaire dance sequences on the back wall when dancing began, which gave it another tonal dimension.

Wedding planning... My mother and I did all styling and direction. We hired Megan from Macedon Events as an on the day coordinator for the event.

Cake... My Mum's friend Glenda did the most amazing 5-tier red velvet wedding cake with textural cream cheese icing and cascading roses.

Wedding songs... I walked down the aisle to Bach's Pachelbel's cannon on Violin, he played all ceremony songs. The Sin Frontera Mariachi band played for the afternoon in honor of Angel's Mexican heritage, they were a hit. We then had a DJ (Modish Entertainment)for the Reception. Our First dance was 'Only Have Eyes for you' by the Romantico's...we both said it felt like we were the only ones in the room, it was a highlight of the evening for us.

Catering... Angel loves his food & Drink so this was his area. Head chefs from San Telmo, Mikey Dalton and John Paul Dargen were brought up from Melbourne to cater the event. They came out at the beginning of the meal and took us thru the menu and how it had been prepared. We had canapés served all afternoon with an Oyster & Champagne bar, followed by a sit down four course dinner of local produce from Istra meats finished by le Petite gourmand custom petit fours. The bar was a fully stocked open cocktail bar for the duration of the whole event. Our guests were pretty jolly by the time they left in the early AM.

Transport... We had two cream vintage 1957 Peugeots transport us from the Novotel to the ceremony. Our guests were provided with a party bus that picked them up from Daylesford and returned them to their accommodation in the early morning.

Memorable moment... A moment that stood out for us was our first dance, it was completely left to the last minute, we choose the song at midnight the evening before...and yet we were so in the moment it just felt like we were the only ones in the room.

Honeymoon... We honeymooned in Paris - France. Our story begun across there so of course we had to return for the beginning of another!

M A R R I E D L I F E

What are your plans for the future?

We'd like to push our boundaries and keep achieving, but ultimately we just want to keep growing and experiencing life together.

In 40 years I hope to...

Be surrounded by grandkids!

W I S D O M

One thing I wish I knew before I started my wedding plans...

It took 15 months of planning, a two week bump in with 8 people, 3 day pack down, 10 wait staff, 2 chefs, 2 lighting tech men, 6 musicians, 400 glasses, 1000 roses, a bus driver, an event coordinator and a whole lot more to pull of the day. Being realistic about your expectations will allow you space to enjoy your time as a bride and not a wedding planner.

Advice on enjoying the engagement...

Enjoy the process! It really is such a special time to absorb all the love and excitement with your family and friends...and don't freak out if there's a few disagreements along the way, it can also be a very stressful process.

If I could give other brides one piece of advice...

It's all worth it...and when the day finally arrives, forget about the details and be present.

Photography Susan Grdunac / Bride's Dress Mariana Hardwick, Alexander McQueen (bodice) with Neo Dia Skirt, Christian Dior Bride's Shoes Christian Louboutin Groom Oscar Hunt, Kenneth Cole, Movado Rings Cartier Bride's Jewellery Mettle Fair Trade Hair & Makeup Janice Wu Florist Wombat Hill Wedding Stylists & Planner [email protected] Catering San Telmo On the Day Co-ordinator Macedon Events Venue Andersons Mill & Historic House [email protected] Entertainment Allegro Music, Sin Frontera Mariachi Band - Mex Music, DJ from Modish Events Transport 1957 Peugeots Videography Emma Matsunda Video Registry Honey Fund