Real Wedding; Rebecca and Ryan @ Kangaroo Valley Bush Retreat
About You Two;
Now, How did you two meet?
We met at a Christmas party through a mutual friend.
Who popped the Question and how did it happen?
Ryan popped the question on our 9 year anniversary while we were on holidays in Denver.
Why did you choose your venue and how was the venue choosing process?
We wanted a venue with everything onsite – ceremony, reception, accommodation. We’ve been to many weddings where it just feels like the night is getting started and you are getting kicked out of the venue… we wanted the party to be able to last as long as our guests (and we) wanted it to! So we loved the idea of being able to have a silent disco after noise cut off, and have the boma bonfire to keep the party going. We wanted our guests to get a little getaway, and be able to fully relax and have fun so we knew we wanted to get married somewhere out of Canberra, but not so far that travel would be a pain for everyone. It was really important to us to have a couple of days to spend time with our guests, so we are really glad we had the venue to have opportunities to spend time with guests the night before the wedding and the morning after. We also wanted somewhere dog friendly so our Bonnie could be part of our wedding day. We wanted something outdoors, but not at a farm or a beach…
Kangaroo Valley Bush Retreat ticked pretty much every box. It was the first and only venue we visited! I actually cancelled the other venue inspection we had lined up the same day we visited KVBR because we knew it was it straight away!
Quick Fire Questions;
How many wedding guests did you have?
85
Sit down or Cocktail Style?
Sit down
What month?
April
Planning The Wedding;
Was planning the wedding stressful or did you enjoy the journey?
Depends who you ask… Ryan would say I found it very stressful. For the most part, I really enjoyed wedding planning. There were points where I was sick of making decisions, and I definitely overcommitted on the DIY then had a mad rush to get it all done.
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?
Bec did a lot of the planning. But I love planning parties and events. When we got engaged, we discussed what was important to both of us, the things Ryan wanted to help decide, and the things he didn’t really care about. I took the lead on a lot of the planning, but Ryan got really involved in the DIY – I mean he built me a pineapple cocktail wall from scratch and painted 90 pineapple cups just to bring my vision to life!
What was the top couple of non-negotiables or important must-have’s at the wedding for you both?
Banging dance floor and great food.
Tell us about your dress and that dress-finding process?
I had a pretty good idea of the dress I wanted. I tried a few different styles, but ultimately ended up with what I originally thought I wanted. I only went to one store, and ended up getting the 4th or 5th dress I tried on. I’m very indecisive and knew if I kept looking I would never decide. I loved that one, so just committed!
What sort of theme, vibe or style did you go for?
Our venue was so beautiful, so I didn’t want to overdo it on the decorations. I love fresh flowers so wanted to have those as features without distracting from the venue. I wanted to get the most out of my beautiful flowers so I worked with my florist to have pieces that could be used for various purposes, but equally look like they were designed just for that one spot! I had a lot of greens and burgundy, with blush and gold pops. We didn’t really have a theme and I didn’t get too hung up on the “right” colours or vibe, but more went with what what we liked and what felt like us and just trusted it would all come together okay!
A giant pineapple Pina colada wall isn’t traditional wedding decor, but it somehow worked with the rest of our vibe. For my main bridal look, I did keep to more of a simple style, with lots of pearl details. My dress was quite simple, so I had lots of beautiful sentimental details like jewellery and my veil to compliment it, without overdoing it.
On the Day;
How did you both feel wedding morning?
Excited but emotional. We had been together for 10 years before getting married, so it was a very special day for us. I (Bec) had some sad moments, as I was missing a very special person from my big day. Generally, I think we were just to ready to be there and marry each other!
Anything you would change about your wedding or anything that didn’t go to plan?
I keep saying that our wedding day was about as close to perfect as I could have hoped. Any little things that didn’t go according to plan we didn’t even notice, and wouldn’t have even known if someone didn’t tell us the next day. We did have a vendor that booked me on the wrong day and didn’t show up. I think I surprised people with how much I didn’t let it affect me. I figured there wasn’t much I could do about it, and stressing about it wouldn’t fix it. Luckily a fabulous friend and guest stepped in to help last minute.
After the Wedding;
Describe newlywed life in a couple of words?
Mostly the same but I can never remember which name I have used…
Best investment or money well spent on the wedding that you made?
Our wonderful wedding coordinator Amelia! An absolute gem. And our wedding painter – the way she was able to capture the emotion in a painting that we were able to take home was just incredible.
Budget-over, under or what you estimated?
We probably spent more than we originally planned. We semi-deliberately didn’t set a budget (oops), but discussed each thing to see if it was important enough to spend the money.
Credits:
Coordination/Set Up; The Wedding and Event Creators
Celebrant; Celebrant Kiki
Venue; Kangaroo Valley Bush Retreat
Florist; Under the Willow Floral Design
Photographer; Keepsake by the Keeffes
Photobooth; Photobooth Studio
Live Painting; Live Wedding Painting
Catering, Bar Staff and Cake; Rabbit and Co.
Entertainment; Duo Acoustic
DJ; Unity Entertainment
Makeup; Divine Makeup Artistry
Hair; Manes by Mel and Hair Elegance by Kimberley
