Real Weddings

Article by

Dani Connor

Posted on

05/04/2023

Posted in

Real Weddings

Nothing was going to dampen George and Blake’s dream day… not even a polar surge that brought with it a tonne of rain! These two lovebirds met in a Perth nightclub 12 years ago, moved to Melbs in 2016 and got engaged in front of the National Gallery of Victoria in 2019. Planning their nups in June meant they knew rain could be on the cards, but they hadn’t expected quite. so. much. Even still, their winter soiree in the Yarra Valley went off with a bang, and after a three-and-a-half-year engagement, caused by restrictions, George and Blake were simply stoked to finally be celebrating! “Once we made it into the chapel for our ceremony the heavens opened but seemed to stop just in time for us to do our bridal exit,” George says. “It was like the universe knew our run sheet.”

Surrounded by 85 loved ones, George wore an elegant number from one of the best in the biz Karen Willis Holmes accompanied with an Amelie George jacket and Bared Footwear shoes, while the oh-so-talented Georgia Verrells worked her magic behind the lens. Scroll for more…

THE VENUE “We wanted a destination wedding for both interstate and Melbournian guests, so the Yarra Vally was perfect as it’s still close to the city. After spending a few weekends viewing venues, we kept gravitating to Stones. We loved that it enabled us to have the ceremony, reception and accommodation all on-site.”

THE DRESS “Me and my trusty sidekick (Blake’s auntie) started a whirlwind dress search, with Mum on FaceTime at every appointment as she wasn’t able to join us due to travel restrictions at the time. In the space of two weekends, it became very clear that I only had eyes for Karen Willis Holmes. In particular their Bespoke collection. I had so much fun choosing a combination that felt like me with a statement belt and hidden pockets. “

REFERENCES “We started at the Vally Loves Fair, which is where we connected with Event Merchant Co, who we hired our champagne tower from. We then continued the search using Hello May and spending way too much time on Instagram and Pinterest!”

FAVE DEETS “Three-tier lamington cake made by Ladybird Cakes, need we say more! It was as yummy as it looks. Looking back, the cake was actually the first thing we decided on for our wedding.”

MEMORABLE MOMENT “We both agree that our first look was incredibly special, not only were we seeing each other for the first time but we both relaxed as the wedding was finally happening!”

STANDOUT VENDORS “A special mention to our photographer, Georgia Verrells. She did an incredible job capturing our day, taking the weather in her stride. Braving the cold and helping us to normalise the situation to ensure we enjoyed ourselves and were able to take fantastic photos.”

WE’RE GLAD WE… “Snuck off from pre-dinner drinks with our guests to see our reception space with our photographer. We had canapés as just us two – our first little meal as husband and wife.”

You can see more from phenom photographer, Georgia Verrells, on our directory here, more stunning brides in Karen Willis Holmes here, more from our friends at Amelie George here, more delish creations from Ladybird Cakes here, and more fab footwear from Bared here. But first…