Vendor of the Week – Chameleon Events

Happy Monday Dotties! I am loving lighting candles and falling into Autumn, for me it is the most wonderful time of the year and I am so looking forward to revelling in it all!

Don’t you just love these cooler days? Cooler days are prefect wedding weather – no baking on 40 degree days in hot suits, or perspiring in a long wedding dress. While you consider the merits of a cool weather wedding  take some time out as we highlight and show off the members of Ms Polka Dot’s Directory.  We have Bridesmaid Gowns, we have Photobooth Hire, we have Styling and Hire and Photography – we even have Stationery & Paper Goods and Gift Registries! We have so many talented wedding vendors ready to offer you the best of their expertise to create your perfect wedding day.

Check out Ms Polka Dot’s Directory for wedding vendors who will love your wedding as much as you!

Designing and planning your wedding from schedules to flowers is the special passion of Sara of Chameleon Events. Even events such as engagement parties and hens and bucks nights and shower teas can receive the Chameleon Events touch. With many years of experience in the event planning business, Sara brings to your wedding a desire to “organise events, make things pretty and people happy”. Big events or small intimate weddings – the Chameleon Events touch will set them apart.

We asked Sara of Chameleon Events five questions in five minutes:

What is your favourite after five drink?

I love nothing better than a beautiful glass of Mumm Champagne.

Your favourite weekend getaway?

My partner and I spend our time between The Gold Coast and Melbourne. In the quiet time between weddings our favourite weekend getaway is Songbirds Rainforest Retreat in the Tamborine Mountain. The weather is always perfect and it is the perfect environment to relax and recharge.

Favourite restaurant?

Melbourne is definitely the pick for restaurants. I am a big fan of many wineries in the Yarra Valley but Olivigna in Warrandyte has to be my current favourite restaurant. Set in a beautiful Italian landscape, the food and wine is beautiful.

What can we find you eating for breakfast on a Sunday morning?

There is nothing better than a gorgeous cafe breakfast and where ever I am, my favourite breakfast would have to be smashed avocado and poached eggs.

Your favourite wedding story? 

On Black Saturday, the morning of February 7, 2009, my team and I were preparing for the wedding of Liz and Ben, held at De Bortoli Winery in the Yarra Valley. As we busily set up the marquee and prepared for the celebration ahead, the bride and groom, my team and I had no idea of the events that would unfold throughout the day and into the night.
The forecast was that Saturday would be in the low 40′s (degrees celcius) with rain and thunderstorms by early evening. The word from the Yarra Valley was that the cool change always came a little early up there, so we should be prepared for a cool night. We therefore ordered outdoor heaters, anticipating a chilly evening, but also hired some misting fans just in case the temperature continued to soar.
It must have been close to 55 degrees in the marquee during the preparations and the weather outside was so still. Strangely still. The main concern until the ceremony started was how the guests would cope with the stifling heat – it was too hot to conduct the ceremony outside, and far too hot inside the marquee for a sit-down reception afterwards.
The ceremony went as planned, but just afterwards, as guests were having pre-dinner drinks, a fire appeared at the top of the hill a few kilometres away. Everyone assumed the fire was ‘back burning’, until we noticed a line of fire on the opposite side of the marquee.
By about 5.30pm when large pieces of ash, about 20cm in diameter, started falling from the sky; it was like it was raining ash.The ash began landing on the marquee making it too dangerous to host guests. It wouldn’t have gone up in flames, it would have simply melted.
By this stage the roads were blocked and the safest thing was that guests stay put. The reception was moved into De Bortoli’s restaurant building where the staff turned a three course dinner into a beautiful cocktail dinner party, serving each of the courses on small plates so guests could manage standing up.
The bride and groom, Liz and Ben, still had the most wonderful wedding day. Surrounded by their family and friends, they danced the night away and enjoyed a great wedding despite the change in circumstances and fear of the unknown as to what was actually happening with the fires. They weren’t able to use the beautiful marquee that we created, they instead had to “make do” with the cellar door.
It wasn’t until 11pm when the roads were unblocked and guests were able leave that we began to realise the devastation of what had happened that afternoon and evening.
I will always remember Liz and Ben and how at the “end of the beginning” of their love story, their wedding day, their worlds could have been turned upside down but instead they created amazing memories.

Visit Chameleon Events’ page to find out more about our Vendor Of The Week. Chameleon Events is a member of Ms Polka Dot’s Directory.