A M Y & S H A N E
High school sweethearts, Amy and Shane, were married on 23rd March 2013 on their 11th anniversary together. They married in their hometown, Wellington, in country NSW. Their unique ceremony took place in Wellington Caves where Amy had worked previously as a guide, followed by a reception at Hermitage Hill Restaurant. Once the Wellington District Hospital, the federation style house was beautifully restored as a retreat with the restaurant and accommodation.
F R O M T H E B R I D E
The Meeting…
Shane was an absolute character funny as hell and I was such a shy and serious person, so instantly! Opposites attracted and for the next 3 months we would message one another on MSN. My younger sister started to notice how excited I was on MSN and began to show interest. So I introduced her to Shane on MSN, until one day she pretended to be me and somehow hooked us up. It wasn’t until the next morning, I walked in the school gate and Shane greeted me with a big hug, in shock I choked on my chewing gum!
The Engagement…
Shane and I had been together for almost 10 years and always knew that one day we’d get married but marriage just wasn’t at the top of our list. We started renovating properties and couldn’t comprehend the costs of a wedding. Until we purchased our dream home and started imagining our future with little children running around. So I began looking through jewellery catalogues and showing Shane every single one. Then one day when we were shopping in Dubbo, Shane said “let’s go and have a look”, so off we went. We ended up purchasing the first ring we saw and with the push of a family member to set a date, we decided the big day was to be held on our 11th year anniversary together.
The Dress…
The wedding dress was purchased from ‘The Wedding Shop.’ The wedding dress was the first purchase and inspired the wedding theme. The invitations even matched the dress. The dress was ivory in colour, well fitted, and covered in lace with tiny beads that were hand stitched. The dress had a slight flare starting from the hips, extending to a wide train and finished with a champagne bow under the bust. I loved the dress and knew straight away it was the dress for me.
The bridesmaids wore a dusty pink metallic dress, with a floral lace on the chest, a ribbon tied to taper the waist and finished with a box pleated skirt which sat above the knee. The dresses were purchased from Myer, who kindly gathered the much needed sizes from other stores.
The groomsmen wore simple yet smart black pants with a matching vest, white buttoned shirt and a black tie. Getting the suits was one of the groom’s jobs, which turned out to be a last minute thing. And a big thanks to Mary from Myer. Who at the last minute, pulling her hair out gathered all the sizes they needed.
The Ceremony…
The wedding ceremony was held 35 meters underground at The Wellington Caves. I worked as a cave guide whilst studying my teaching degree and I still do tours today during the school holidays. It’s so lovely to still be guiding. Every time as I walk down the stairs, I look down at my feet, I can see my wedding dress and I say to myself – here we go!
The Reception…
The Reception was held at Hermitage Hill. Many years ago Hermitage Hill was the Wellington district hospital, built in 1904 and privately restored in 1997 as a retreat with accommodation, functions and a restaurant. The Hermitage Hill Restaurant was our favourite place to eat out and we both love federation style buildings, making Hermitage a must for our reception.
On The Menu…
Beginning with entrees: Middle Eastern Spiced Lamb Cutlets with apricot couscous and the alternate King Prawns served with a rich Garlic sauce over Fettuccine. The mains were also alternate: Herb Marinated Chicken Breast on a pea and baby spinach risotto with lemon and herb sauce and the alternate Garlic Rubbed Scotch Fillet of Beef on a Rosemary potato gratin with green bean almondine and topped with a caramelised red onion and red wine Jus. For dessert we had the wedding cake served with a Berry Coulis and Cream.
The Styling…
From the outset everything I imagined, for a wedding and more, I was able to create through the help of Sabarbia Event Hire & styling. Every little snippet I saw in bridal magazines and pinterest, Sabarbia made it happen. They had lots of creative ideas; they saw me for me and gave me a wedding that symbolised both Shane and I. Using the wedding dress to inspire the theme and my love of rustic materials, Sabarbia was able to create my dream wedding. The colour scheme was consistent throughout, from the wedding invitations, to the ceremony and to the reception. Using off whites, hessian and the touches of green from the flower stems. The table settings were decorated with antique dictionaries, baby’s breath, pearl necklaces, tin cans and glass candle holders wrapped in hessian and lace to match the invitations and there were mason jars used as vases. The chair covers were wrapped with hessian sashes and a white rose tucked into the bow. The fireplace mantels were lined with glass milk bottles, holding white single stemmed roses.
The Flowers…
The bouquets were white roses. The bride’s roses were held together with an ivory buttoned up material sleeve, whilst the bridesmaids’ roses were wrapped in twine.
The Cake…
The wedding cake was a two tiered chocolate mud, with slabs of white chocolate creating a wall around the outside and then tied together with a thin piece of ribbon, which matched the bow on the brides dress. The cake was topped with white chocolate scrolls and white roses. The cake was made by Cake Art.
Bomboniere…
The bomboniere was not only a gift but cleverly used as the seating placement. The bombonieres were heart shaped cookies, with a black and white suit design for the male guests and a white bridal dress design for the females. All the cookies were personalised with the guests’ names. The cookies were made to order by ‘Mar-Valicious Bites’.
The Soundtrack…
The bridal party and my mum alongside me walked down the aisle to the song ‘A Thousand Years’ by Christina Perri and we left the ceremony to the upbeat ‘I’m Yours’ by Jason Mraz. The official entrance of the bridal party was ‘Move Like Jagger’ by Maroon 5 and the official entrance as husband and wife began with ‘Love And Marriage’ by Frank Sinatra as a joke and finally Shane and I entered the reception to ‘Beautiful Day’ by U2 and the first dance to ‘Beneath Your Beautiful’ by Labrinth.
Memories…
The most memorable moment was on our way to the reception, when we flew in a helicopter above our house and we saw our dog ‘Harley’ who we love so much, waiting at the gate for us to come home!
Photographer…
When looking for a photographer I spent many hours searching local photography websites, viewing their portfolios and narrowing down the styles I liked. Mark James was our chosen photographer for the wedding. We were so impressed with Mark James; he was a pleasure to work with, for his professionalism, welcoming approach, ability to capture every moment and the detail in his photos were remarkable.
The Honeymoon…
For now we’ve put our honeymoon plans on the back burner due to our much loved dog, Harley. who ruptured a ligament in his knee and needed surgery at the Parramatta Veterinary Surgical Specialists. We are so happy to see Harley’s progress and wouldn’t have it any other way.
Photography Mark James Ceremony Venue Wellington Caves Reception Venue Hermitage Hill Restaurant Bride’s Dress The Wedding Shop Bridesmaid Dresses Myer Groom & Groomsmen Suits Myer Styling, Decorations and Flowers Sabarbia Event Hire & Styling Cake Cake Art Bomboniere Mar-Valicious Bites
Are you having a country wedding?
MW x