When Steve surprised Lena with a proposal on a Grand Canyon trek, it was just the start of their wedding adventure. Here he recounts the beautiful story of their vintage DIY wedding – where the focus is on sharing what you love with who you love, enjoying each moment and overcoming obstacles together.
The Planning Experience
“We always wanted to take a relaxed approach and tried to enjoy it all, picking venues and items we both liked. We enjoyed the little things like going to op shops and markets looking for glasses and jars and watching it all come together. The guest list and seating plans were the hardest – there were a few friends we couldn’t invite due to limited numbers. There wasn’t a planned colour scheme, we just chose outfits we liked, ending up with neutrals and blues with pops of colour.”
Finding The Dress
“Lena did lots of dress research online beforehand and selected a few shops which held some of her favourite designers. She ended up buying the first one she tried on.”
Bridal Party Styling
“We stuck with the vintage theme – the boys had bow ties and braces and the girls had dresses in different styles, but the same colour.”
The Ceremony
“The ceremony was very simple. We had a beautiful view of Mount Eerwah, so we didn’t need much else. We had wooden chairs, flowers in jars and Lena’s vintage bike with flowers in the basket.
There was a rainbow straight after the ceremony and then it poured down on our guests! We organised for some of our photos to be taken in one of Lena’s favourite book stores, Berkelouw Books.”
Most Important
“Remembering that it was about us and just enjoying it rather than stressing. We were pretty adamant about having a good band, relaxed reception and something easy for all our guests.”
DIY Projects
“I made the invites, Lena and her bridesmaids put all of the flower arrangements together, the father of the bride created the favours, the maid of honour’s husband made our cake, one of Lena’s close friends did the makeup and my groomsman’s wife did the hair for the girls. Also, the muso at the ceremony is a close friend of Lena’s.”
Reception Styling
“One of the great things about Bohemian Bungalow was that we didn’t need to do any styling. It has its own quirky character which is what we love. The flowers and potted herb favours were the only addition. It has a super relaxed atmosphere and their service was five-star.”
Entertaining Guests
“We had a solo musician at the ceremony and an afro funk/jazz band at the reception. There were also books as table numbers at the reception and the guests were entertaining each other by reading them out loud.”
Best Advice
1. Embrace it and enjoy it. If you hurt yourself the week of the wedding as I did and end up on crutches, remember you’re not the only one to do it and the people you have around you will help.
2. Don’t get caught up in micro-managing on the day – ask for help and delegate.
3. Relax and enjoy not only the day itself but all the planning leading up.
4. When all the formalities are out of the way, take five or ten minutes out together and reflect on the day. You won’t get many moments to yourself to enjoy each other on the night, so take the time when you can.
Location: QLD | Photography: Jenna Fahey-White | Ceremony: Capriole Estate | Celebrant: Gail Evans | Reception: Bohemian Bungalow | Dress: Rue De Seine from The Babushka Ballerina | Bridesmaids: ASOS | Hair: Whyte Hair | Makeup: Project Beauté | Flowers: Heavenly Blooms | Groom: yd., Trent Nathan, Wayne Cooper & Grand Frank | Groomsmen: yd. | Entertainment: Hayden Hack Infusion