“They say rain is good luck on your wedding day…
Well, we sure do have a whole lotta luck coming our way!”
Sam and I have been together for over 10 years… high school sweethearts!
I organised everything for our wedding with a little help from my mum, mother in law and my gorgeous bridesmaids during my 6 month engagement.
We were married in our home town of Wagga Wagga in NSW on the 24th April, 2010. The ceremony was held at a winery just out of Wagga called Borambola Winery – and the reception was held at the Wagga Wagga Country Golf Club. We relished the opportunity to return home from Melbourne to spend time with our families, and spend the morning of our wedding in our parents’ homes.
Sam designed my engagement ring himself with the help of Chris at Melbourne Manufacturing Jewellers in Templestowe, Melbourne. An 18ct yellow gold ring featuring a brilliant cut diamond set on intertwining shoulders, surrounded by 8 smaller brilliant cut diamonds. I designed my split wedding bands to match my engagement ring. 18ct yellow gold bands with 12 brilliant cut diamonds on each to balance either side of the engagement ring. One of my rings, and Sam’s 18ct yellow gold band are engraved with the date of our wedding.
The colour and theme for the day was black, ivory and green. As a graphic designer, I designed the invitations myself, featuring a little bird on 3 wires. The theme continued across the wedding (including lollipops, wishing well and wine labels).
Lollipops doubled as place cards and our bonbonniere.
I am a shoe fanatic!
I wore a silk ‘Essense of Australia’ gown. The colour was champagne. Sweetheart strapless that layered down into a small train. My shoes were ivory silk heels by Alan Pinkus. The bridemaids wore black, strapless Nicola Finetti dresses, teamed with gorgeous black headbands and pearl earrings. The flowergirls wore champagne and black dresses from Myer, Melbourne. Our hair was creatively styled by Unique Edge; an ‘up style’ amplified with volume, pulled back from our faces into a clustered bun.
I arranged a surprise gift for Sam and his groomsmen on the morning of the wedding – Cufflinks which contained the photos of our Grandparents. It was an added touch to our wedding – as we both have such large families, and not all our grandparents are surviving… Sam and his 2 brothers wore cufflinks with their grandparents, and my brother (who was also a groomsman, had our grandparents).
The Wagga Wagga Country Club is a modern space that allowed a comfortable fit for our 140 guests. Paper lanterns, 3 ft balloons and beautiful fresh flowers surrounded the gathering – but unfortunately the rain prevented us getting some gorgeous photos on the pristine golf greens. Each of the guest tables had a single bottle of red wine which I designed ‘table number’ labels for. The wine was a Victorian Shiraz Merlot which tied in Sam and my newly found home, with our NSW heritage.
Sam and I in front of the historic Post Office building, Wagga Wagga
Sam and I delayed our honeymoon by a few weeks due to Sam’s commitment to the ‘Chelsea Flower and Garden Show’ in London, UK. He was part of the construction team that built the Trailfinders Australian Garden – and the opportunity for him as a Landscaper was too good to be missed… I joined him after construction, in London while the show was on – and after which we traveled for a further 5 weeks through Europe (to locations like Paris, Florence, Barcelona, Dubrovnik, Santorini and many more…)
It was an amazing adventure! The first time overseas for both of us… After Sam’s hard work at Chelsea, it was a big tourist affair through some historical European countries, winding up in one week of total relaxation and pampering in Santorini, Greek islands.
At Borambola Winery, NSW.
If I was to offer all couples advice for their wedding day – it would be videography! Our videographer Libby from Chocolate Box Films was amazing.
You can watch our highlights video here.
Ms Polka Dot says: Thank you Emily and Sam for sharing your beautiful wedding with us. The rain certainly didn’t dampen the lovely atmosphere that shines through in the photography today – the colours, the sparkling bride, the gorgeous touches.
Photography by Kiley Blatch
Exelent website and great information too. Congratulations and thanks for sharing this info to all your visitor… Btw how did you get a clean site like this? Once again thanks a lot.
Hi melbgirl, I was just wondering, it looks like your lollipop bonbons are upright. Can I ask what you had them sitting in?
They were laying flat on each place setting (held up for the purpose of photographing)