Eliza & William – Kangaroo Valley Golf and Country Retreat
About You Two;
– Now, how did you two meet? We met on the dance floor at a pub in Paddington called The Unicorn Hotel
– Who popped the Question and how did it happen? Will popped the question after I ran my first half marathon in Batemans Bay! He took me out to an amazing lunch by the water; we ordered a plate of oysters and a ring was hiding in one of the oysters!
– Why did you choose your venue and how was the venue choosing process? Will and I had been living in Kangaroo Valley for almost a year when he proposed to me, and I remember the first time going to the Kangaroo Valley Golf and Country Retreat and thinking, wow, this is a really stunning venue with so much character and warmth. It was a hidden gem as well; it’s located outside of town and is surrounded by beautiful mountains, and the Italian restaurant there is absolutely incredible, so we knew the food would be amazing!
Quick Fire Questions;
– How many wedding guests did you have? We had around 153 guests
– Sit down or Cocktail Style? Sit-down dinner
– What month? April
Planning The Wedding;
1. Was planning the wedding stressful, or did you enjoy the journey? It was a bit stressful and overwhelming, if I’m honest. I am a perfectionist, and part of me did enjoy moments; however, you soon realise during the planning stages that things you may have envisioned for your wedding may not go to plan due to unavailability, budget, etc, so there is a lot of research and pivoting involved and A LOT of decision fatigue. Though that’s all part of it and I wouldn’t have had it any other way!
2. How involved were you both in the wedding planning? Did one of you take more of the lead on certain aspects than others, or were you both equally involved? I took the lead on all aspects of the wedding planning, though Will was of course always there if I needed advice or vendor support; he also attended the key meetings.
3. What was the top couple of non-negotiables or important must-haves at the wedding for you both? The main ones were an outdoor dance floor, a live band, good food and a good photographer!
4. Tell us about your dress and that dress-finding process? I left finding a wedding dress quite late as I was so focused on other areas of the wedding planning. I was 8x weeks out from the wedding and decided to go and try on dresses for the first time just to get an idea of what I liked. The first dress I tried on was The Rowyn Gown from Saint Bridal, and that was the dress I ended up choosing! I also ended up adding these beautiful fluttery sleeves to it as an additional accessory. It truly was my dream dress.
5. What sort of theme, vibe or style did you go for? I really didn’t want to lean too much into themes and get caught up in trends (which is SO easy to do when you have such amazing wedding inspo all around), and so we were really happy taking more of a minimalist approach, as the venue/location did all of the talking. If I had to describe our wedding theme in three words: warm, ethereal, fun.
On the Day;
6. How did you both feel on wedding morning? We each felt really good and excited, though I was a bit nervous thinking about the day ahead – just hoping everything went to plan!
- What was the best part or moment of your day? SO many moments; I definitely cannot choose one moment, however, to name a few, getting ready that morning with my mum, mother-in-law and bridesmaids, the ceremony, the bridal party photoshoot during golden hour and the dancefloor of course!
- Anything you would change about your wedding or anything that didn’t go to plan? We’re really happy with how it all went, though if I could think of one thing, I do wish I had created a cocktail hour sign to place near the bar – just to make it more obvious that there were Margaritas + Aperol Spritzes being made for our guests!On the Day;
6. How did you both feel on wedding morning? We each felt really good and excited, though I was a bit nervous thinking about the day ahead – just hoping everything all went to plan!7. What was the best part or moment of your day? SO many moments, I definitely cannot choose one moment; however, to name a few, getting ready that morning with my mum, mother-in-law and bridesmaids, the ceremony, the bridal party photoshoot during golden hour and the dancefloor of course!8. Anything you would change about your wedding or anything that didn’t go to plan? We’re really happy with how it all went though; if I could think of one thing, I do wish I had created a cocktail hour sign to place near the bar – just to make it more obvious that there were Margaritas + Aperol Spritzes being made for our guests!9. Are there any rituals, sentiments or traditions you incorporated into the day? Nope! We were really happy with everything we included and wouldn’t have changed anything there.
- Are there any rituals, sentiments or traditions you incorporated into the day? Nope! We were really happy with everything we included and wouldn’t have changed anything there.
Credits
Coordination/Set Up: The Wedding and Event Creators
Celebrant: Kay Cornett
Venue: Kangaroo Valley Golf & Country Retreat
Florist: Under the Willow Floral Design
Photographer: Brooke McBurnie Takes Photos