Real Wedding; Chelsea and Harry @ The Woods Farm
About You Two
Now, how did you two meet?
I (Chelsea) went last minute to an Australia Day party with a friend, saw Harry there and thought he was cute so struck up a conversation. Shortly after he and his friend had to run off for another party and I thought I’d never see him again. The next day I was going to a Triple J Hottest 100 party with another friend, which was hosted by her boyfriend Nick. Turns out Nick and Harry were best friends, so we spent the day together and the rest is history.
Who popped the question and how did it happen?
Harry proposed by the lake at my mum’s house in Ulladulla (my favourite place in the world). He was actually supposed to ask about a month later (which my friends and family were all in on) but he got impatient.
Why did you choose your venue and how was the venue choosing process?
We had seen photos of the Woods farm and immediately fell in love but I wasn’t sure if we could take on the additional costs and organising involved in a multi-day wedding. We went and saw a few South-Coast properties but I couldn’t stop thinking about the Woods, so our compromise was a Sunday-Tuesday wedding (huge money saver). We are sooo happy we did our wedding this way and really treasure all of the additional time we got to spend with everyone.
Quick Fire Questions
How many wedding guests did you have?
101 guests
Sit down or Cocktail Style?
Sit-down style
What month?
November
Planning The Wedding
Was planning the wedding stressful or did you enjoy the journey?
I really enjoyed the journey, but I’m definitely a type A personality. It helped me massively to break it down into smaller bite-sized tasks with different ‘due’ dates along the way (my spreadsheet was pretty nuts). I think for anyone wanting to do a DIY venue who doesn’t have this kind of (crazy) personality, a wedding planner would be a massive help.
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 definitely took the lead on the planning. I tended to narrow down the options for each element and then Harry would help make the final decisions. He was super supportive and constantly offered to take over parts of the planning, but I honestly loved the process.
What was the top couple of non-negotiables or important must-haves at the wedding for you both?
Good food, good alcohol and a great dancefloor! We just wanted everyone to have the best time.
Tell us about your dress and that dress-finding process?
I originally tried on and loved a much more expensive dress, but was having trouble accepting the cost. I went to try on dresses at Made With Love (which were more affordable) expecting I wouldn’t find anything and could then justify my original dress, but fell in love with the first dress I tried on there. I actually found it harder to pick my reception dress, because it had to hold up for our first dance which was a salsa!
What sort of theme, vibe or style did you go for?
We wanted everything to be colourful and fun, and to reflect elements of our personality. This included adding some very rogue ideas into our 3-day stay, including a scavenger hunt around the property which rewarded participants with a tequila shot at the reception, and place cards/favours that were personalised Christmas baubles for people to hang on their trees.
On the Day
How did you both feel wedding morning?
Both of us were pretty relaxed on the wedding morning — Harry was at the beach/by the pool while I spent all day in hair and makeup haha but I was with my best girlfriends and they made it such a special, chill time. The nerves really only kicked in when the dresses and suits went on!
What was the best part or moment of your day?
A tie between our first moment alone after the ceremony, looking at each other and suddenly realising we were actually married, and the moment we finished our first dance and kicked off the dance floor because we could finally really cut loose and enjoy it all.
Anything you would change about your wedding or anything that didn’t go to plan?
Honestly not really! There are always a few tiny things on the day that don’t go exactly according to plan, but we had the best time and I’d pay a lot to be able to live it all over again!
Are there any rituals, sentiments or traditions you incorporated into the day?
We actually skipped quite a few traditional aspects, e.g., I walked myself down the aisle and we had no wedding cake, but we both knew we wanted to do a first dance and that we wanted to make it really fun. We did 6 months of private salsa lessons which ended up being a super fun date activity and guests were sooo surprised on the day, it was amazing.
After the Wedding
Describe newlywed life in a couple of words?
Same-same but different! We already lived together so there wasn’t any huge shift in our lives post-wedding, but there is something really special (and weird) about calling each other husband and wife.
Best investment or money well spent on the wedding that you made?
I think our best investment was our venue, because it really set the tone and vibe of our whole wedding. We are also so glad we ended up investing in an on-the-day co-ordinator, which was actually towards the end of our planning process. As much as I loved the planning process, I really didn’t want to have to stress about any of it on the day, which is why I think we ended up being so relaxed.
Budget-over, under or what you estimated?
Budget only slightly over — we ended up booking a gelato bike and a coordinator pretty last minute which tipped us over, but we are so glad we did!
Credits:
Celebrant; Ben Ager
Venue; The Woods Farm
Catering; Clockwork Catering
Bar Staff; Henry Clive
Florist; Lily Ever After
Entertainment; Oberon Lane
MC; Blake Riddington (Brother of the Bride)
DJ; Oberon Lane
Photographer; Sommar Films
Videographer; Sommar Films
Makeup; The Future Mrs (Katie Moore)
Hair; Chelsea Taylor Hair
Hire Equipment; Shoalhaven Party Hire
