Take 300 acres of secluded South Coast countryside, countless pink heart-shaped details, two high-school sweethearts, and 92 of their favourite humans, and what do you get? Emma and Rory’s wedding day! Hosted at The Oaks Ranch in New South Wales, it was an epic mash-up of relaxed coastal atmosphere meets Vegas vibes.
“We drew a lot of our inspiration from kitschy Vegas weddings and decided on a ‘Vegas elopement style’ wedding theme,” the newlyweds explain. “Lots of hearts, lots of pink and disco balls!”
We’re BIG fans and if you feel the same you’ll be pleased to know that awaiting you below is BTS, wedding pics and the whole vendor dream team (including Sea + Paper Creative Studio, photographer/videographer Street and Studio, and celebrant Marry Me Sarah B – who’s “a complete ray of sunshine,” according to the newlyweds).
What are you waiting for, friends, scroll on!
THE VENUE
“We spent multiple weekends travelling up and down the coast of NSW looking at venues, and yet none of them felt quite right. We took a break from looking, and it was just by chance that an ad popped up on Instagram for The Oaks Ranch. We went down the following weekend and immediately fell in love. The venue itself was beautiful and located a short five minutes from the beach (which Rory loved!). The Oaks is set on 300 acres of beautiful countryside, surrounded by bushland and includes a nine-hole golf course. We loved that the accommodation and restaurant were all on-site, and it also had the bonus of a magnesium pool. The staff were all so friendly, and seeing this venue reignited the excitement Rory and I initially had when we started looking for venues. It had everything we were looking for, and we could picture our wedding coming to life there, which made us love it even more!”
REFERENCES
“We used Hello May to help us find inspiration and send us in the right direction with vendors. As we are from Sydney and having our wedding venue down the South Coast, we were a little lost finding good and trustworthy vendors local to the area, so using the Hello May website and magazines was very useful.”
THE TUNES
“Music was a big thing for us, so we had to make sure the playlist included all the songs that we loved! The groomsmen walked down the aisle to Every Morning by Sugar Ray. The bridesmaids walked down to Glamorous by Fergie. Rory and his parents walked down to Hippo In The Water by Mom Jeans, and my parents and I walked down to Hey Ya! by The Blanks (anyone who is a fan of the show Scrubs will understand). Our recessional song was Burning Love by Elvis Presley, which was such a fun exit! We didn’t plan to have a first dance. We are both very bad dancers and were feeling too nervous to do it. However, our DJ tricked us into doing one, and it was the best thing that could have happened. Our first dance song was Can’t Help Falling In Love by Elvis Presley.”
STANDOUT VENDOR
“Our celebrant, Sarah, was a complete ray of sunshine. She was super easy-going and always made us smile. Sarah was more than happy to answer all our questions and even arranged a coffee catch-up in the lead-up to the wedding. She made us feel so at ease. On the day she kept everyone laughing and made sure our ceremony was everything we dreamed of and more.”
Looking for a celebrant in Sydney or the South Coast? Sarah B is your gal. Say g’day here. Or hit up Sea + Paper Creative Studio to get started on your stationery, signage, guestbooks… and pretty much anything else wedding-related made of paper! Hungry for more inspo? Get your hands on our latest Real Wedding Special – it’s a goodie if we do say so ourselves!
CONTRIBUTING VENDORS Photographer Street and Studio Stylist & On The Day Coordinator Two Lovers Florist The Wild Rose Florist Stationery Canva, Emma (Bride) Venue & Catering Oaks Ranch Cake Maker Sweet Avalanche Cakes Other Desserts The Confectionist Bakery, Bec Bakes Wedding Favours TheMatchMuse via Etsy, Yiwu Galore Accessories via Alibaba, Amazon Hire Items Simply Seated Entertainment, Lighting & Sound Hire Tom Spira Signage Panther Hand Painted, Emma (Bride) Decor Alibaba, Kmart, Oh It’s Perfect, Express Party Supplies, Emma & Rory (Bride & Groom), Craig Walsh & John Forrester (Family), Amazon, Zazzle, LilypadDesigns1 via Etsy Celebrant Marry Me Sarah B Rings Chilton’s Antiques Guestbook & Card Box TheGuestbook Collective, Sea + Paper, Flossy Homewares THE BRIDE Bridal Gown Designer ARA Experience Robes, PJs & Slippers Catherine D’Lish, Annabel Trends, Cotton on, Target, Gingerlilly Shoes Mi Piaci, Adidas Accessories The M Jewelers, Temple Of The Sun, Statement Collective, Poppy Lissiman Hair Zed Paints Hair (Friend) Makeup Eliza Sensi Fragrance/Perfume Tom Ford via MECCA Nails Sleek Nails Bridesmaid/MOB/MOG Dresses Baaby, Aje, Bardot, Nookie, Club L London, Shona Joy, Never fully Dressed Bridesmaid Gifts Kip & Co, Hunter Candles, Amazon, MECCA Bridesmaid Makeup Ruby Richards, Kiarna Strauss Bridesmaid Hair Chelsea Taylor via Bridal Glow Co THE GROOM Suit, Jacket, Shirt & Pants Umi Nori Watch Cassio via Fast Times Fragrance Aesop Shoes NoSkin Hair Adam Jackson – Tough Luck Barber Shop Accessories Leoide, Cort Jewellery, The M Jewelers Groomsmen Gifts Solid State, Small Cellar
