Kara & Eric

Sometimes, our mums really do know us best. Kara and Eric came to meet when Kara’s stepmother and Eric’s mother, were friends at work and thought they’d make a good match, spending their time hinting at Eric until he finally relented and met with Kara. The rest, as they say, is history and the end result? A beautiful bohemian inspired wedding at Tocal Homestead that was filled with beautiful bright details, macrame inspired hanging strung from ever after that pulled together the country, bohemian style the bride and groom dreamt of. Each moment and each detail captured beautifully by  Lauren Anne Photography.

The couple became engaged on holiday, Kara recalling the story. “Eric proposed to me while we were on holidays in Cairns. It was our three year anniversary and we were on our balcony overlooking the ocean drinking wine. He went missing for about 15 mins and I started to get worried and went inside. Little did I know he was mustering up the courage to ask the question.”

Kara chose a gown from Peter Trends, telling “I had trouble looking for a dress I liked as I had a specific design in mind. It had to be light and cool (as we were married in the middle of summer), boho style and elegant. The dress I choose was perfect and as soon as I tried it on I fell in love.”

Kara and Eric were married at the beautiful country venue Tocal Homestead. Kara noting “We choose the beautiful Tocal Homestead because it fit in beautifully with the theme we wanted for the wedding. It was country and spacious. We had beautiful views and many nice photo locations.”

The bride walked down the aisle to “Don’t Stop Believin” sung by The Jezabels, a cover of the much-loved song by Journey.

Kim Oakhill officiated the proceedings, Kara remembering “Kim Oakhill was our celebrant and she was amazing in creating a relaxed and rustic ceremony. It was in a barn so we didn’t want it traditional, but more spiritual.

We chose a reading by Hilary T Smith. “People are like cities: We all have alleys and gardens and secret rooftops and places where daisies sprout between the sidewalk cracks, but most of the time all we let each other see is is a postcard glimpse of a skyline or a polished square. Love lets you find those hidden places in another person, even the ones they didn’t know were there, even the ones they wouldn’t have thought to call beautiful themselves”.

The couple worked closely with The Wedding Designer who styled the wedding, right down the florals, Kara tells “We got our beautiful flowers from The Wedding Designers. I literally just sent a picture of the chosen bridesmaid dresses to the girls and said I wanted them to be colourful and wild. They created them based on those instructions. I didn’t even know what they were going to look like. It was a beautiful surprise when they turned up on the morning of the wedding. I couldn’t have picked anything more perfect myself.

The Wedding Designers were fantastic. They designed the reception and the flowers! It was a surprise for me when I first walked in the hall. I was in love with the space.”

“It was very important for us to include family in our bridal party so we had – MOH – Chloe (Kara’s cousin), Bridesmaids – Laura (Eric’s sister), Rhi (Kara’s sister) and April (Kara’s cousin) and BM – Jarrad (Eric’s best mate) – Groomsmen Jamie (Eric’s school friend) Andrew (Eric’s school friend) and Julian (Eric’s cousin)” explains Kara of the bridal party.

Of their photorapher Lauren Anne, Kara remarks “She was absolutely amazing. I don’t think she took a single bad photo on the day and was very casual and made us all feel super relaxed throughout the whole day.”

The boho style carried through to the reception, long tables kept simple with tealights, allowing the macrame strung plants and Edison bulbs hung from the ceiling to become the focus.

In lieu of traditional cake, the newlyweds cut into a stack of  Doughheads doughnuts. Their creative touches continued as guests were welcomed to the reception with a macrame inspired seating chart.

Guests took home succulents grown and potted by the bride’s mother with tags that read “Let Love Grow”.

Sprout Catering catered a sit-down feast, the bride explaining “We wanted the meal to be like a big family dinner. That meant instead of individual meals we had a banquet style dinner where there were big share dishes in the middle of two super long tables. It was more casual and relaxed.”

Dancing kicked off and continued all night long, the couple choosing the appropriate “Forever Begins Tonight” by The McClymonts for their first dance as newlyweds.

Kara remembers “My favourite detail of the day was probably on dusk when we took some amazing sunset photos and the teepee that was outside was all lit up and stunning.”

https://vimeo.com/218853931/c05385d65d

Congratulations Kara and Eric! Thank you for sharing the stories of your day with us! Thank you also to Lauren Anne Photography for sharing today’s beauty with us!