With Two Creeks Wedding Photography behind the camera and Jo Booth Marriage Celebrant & MC running the proceedings, Meredith and Matthew were pretty much guaranteed the day of their dreams when they got hitched in February 2021.
Two of our favourite vendors, Hope X Page and Makeup by Megan, came together to give this bride the ultimate W-day look and, might we just say, they totally nailed it. That super-fun long-sleeved mini… that so sweet and so chic boater hat (also found at Hope X Page, just quietly). What. A. Stunner. “I was never going to be a traditional bride,” explains Meredith, who says “full-length lace wedding dresses were not my style”.
But who needs traditions when you have the option to do your day your way, right?! And that is exactly what this loved-up duo did, from meeting guests together on the lawn before the ceremony, to choosing their witnesses via a lucky dip! Want to know the full story? You know you do…
THE VENUE “A continuous theme of our wedding planning process was, the first option we looked at, we went with. The same applied to the venue. We liked the idea of a small wedding and having our immediate family stay with us at the venue, so wanted to find somewhere that could accommodate the family for the weekend plus a ceremony and reception with our guests. What attracted us initially to Terrara House were the ‘Intimate Packages’ they offered during COVID. We only wanted a small wedding and this would suit us perfectly. On our first visit, we knew it was our venue and didn’t need to keep looking. The young couple who run the venue were like-minded. They immediately ‘got’ us. Food, wine and family were our three priorities and they were very flexible with the packages. We could supply whatever part we wanted. The luxury venue was big enough to accommodate our immediate family and create a beautiful backdrop for the ceremony and dinner.”
THE DRESS “Originally I was hoping to find a non-bridal white mini. I came upon Harriette Gordon on Instagram and fell in love with her 2.2 Satin Organza Mini. It was a coincidence that Hope X Page was having a Harriette Gordon trunk show the next weekend. Alex from Hope X Page was outstanding. She knew I was out of my comfort zone and she made the experience so pain-free. I went with the intention to only try on the mini and it was perfect. The first dress I tried on was a winner.”
TALK ABOUT TRADITION “No traditions, no frills. Just food, wine and company. We chose to buck wedding traditions and opted for a relaxed, chilled wedding that felt more like a garden party (with a quick ceremony in the middle). We both greeted guests as they arrived on the lawn for champagne, and as the ceremony was about to start, we all walked over to the Oak Tree together.”
FAVOURITE DETAILS “One of our favourite details of the day was the relaxed ceremony. It was exactly how we envisaged it. We also had a ‘lucky door prize” at the start of the ceremony, where we put all our guests’ names in a wine bucket and drew out two names to be our witnesses. We also loved having all our guests at one long table on the verandah at Terrara House for dinner. We were nervous all day it was going to rain, but it held off until we sat down to dinner and then poured torrential rain as the sun was setting. It was beautiful.”
MEMORABLE MOMENT “It was very touch-and-go when it came time for the ceremony, with dark clouds heading towards the property. When the guitarist, Duan & Only, started playing our song to signal everyone to move over to the ceremony location, the rain started to fall. I ran to the venue coordinator and said, ‘What do we do?’, expecting a last-minute change in location. She looked up at the dark clouds and said, “Run and get married!” In hindsight, rain or no rain, nothing can take away from the most special day of your life. The rain actually made for one of my favourite moments of the day – after dinner, everyone grabbed the white parasol umbrellas and started dancing on the dance floor in the pouring rain. Looking around, everyone was soaking wet, smiling and pumping the umbrellas up and down. It was an incredible moment that we won’t forget.”
A WORD OF ADVICE “Pick the three most important things that matter to you as a couple and execute on them. Don’t get caught up in every little detail.”
WE’RE GLAD WE… “kept the wedding ‘us’. We chose not to do any traditions of a typical wedding that didn’t have special meaning to us. We focused on what mattered most: a small group of our loved ones, a beautiful setting, amazing wine and food, and dancing in the rain.”
RESOURCES “Word of mouth mostly! Once we selected our venue, we were able to ask local operators for recommendations and we went from there. We also did some research on Instagram and, of course, Hello May magazine!”
STANDOUT VENDORS “All our vendors were outstanding. Jo Booth, our celebrant, was incredible. Her energetic, fun and relaxed vibe suited us as a couple and the atmosphere of the day. We even asked Jo to stay on to MC our reception. Our photographer Mark, from Two Creeks Wedding Photography, was such a professional and delivered great results whilst making us feel really comfortable throughout the day. The team at Terrara House went above and beyond to make the day special. They knew what was important to us and were always attentive to our needs.”
If Meredith and Matthew’s gorgeous garden party wedding has inspired you (hands up everyone!), we highly recommend having a chat with some of their key vendors, like Hope X Page, Jo Booth Celebrant & MC and Makeup by Megan.
CONTRIBUTING VENDORS Photographer Two Creeks Wedding Photography Ceremony, Reception, Catering, Event Planning & Styling Terrara House Florist Flamingo Florist Stationery Say I do Wedding favours Superlele via Amazon (milk bottles filled wth M&M’s) Hire Items, Lighting & Sound Hire White Top Venues Entertainment Duan & Only Celebrant Jo Booth Marriage Celebrant & MC Rings Diamond Emporium (bride), late grandfather’s ring (groom) Parasols Lantern Shop Paddle Fans Weddingstar THE BRIDE Gown Harriette Gordon Bridal Boutique Hope X Page Robes Deiji Studios Shoes Wittner Accessories Jasmin Sparrow (earrings), Hope X Page (boater hat) Hair Hair By Holly Gould Makeup Makeup by Megan THE GROOM Suit Suitsupply Shirt & Cufflinks Emporio Armani Shoes Church’s Watch IWC