When your mother-in-law is a talented florist who belongs to a knitting group called ‘Stitchin and Bitchin’, a DIY wedding at Seacliff House, an epic south coast wedding venue, is a no brainer.
For Chloe, quite the creative herself, decorating their entire venue with hand made cushions and throws, custom favours, and a sh*t tonne of amazing native flowers was a dream come true. Topped off (quite literally) with an amazing crystal crown from WedShed fave Crowns &Wreaths.
It wasn’t just Chloe and her MIL that contributed though. This gorgeous celebration took an entire army to pull off. But boy was it worth it.
Tell us about how you met and the proposal?
We are true high school sweethearts. We have known each other since I was 15 and Zach was 17. Zach was my best friend’s neighbour. She wouldn’t let me meet him for two years because she knew we would be inseparable… she was right! We have been together pretty much every day since.
Truth be told, we had two proposals:
First proposal – I asked Zach… It was sitting in a booth at the pub using a burger ring. We were serious but VERY young and never really started planning a wedding.
Second proposal – five years later, on our nine year anniversary Zach asked me this time after dinner on Avalon Beach down the road from the house we had just bought and renovated.
What DIY projects did you do accomplish for the wedding?
Omg SO many! Zach’s mum is an incredibly talented florist. She had a tribe of family friends who are also florists drive down to the house bringing half of Sydney Flower Markets with them. They did two amazing altar and marquee installations using natives and dried vines.
My sister made a Middle Eastern inspired pavlova for our wedding cake with pomegranate, figs and pistachio. So yum!
I took on the massive task of hand making every guest a pair of clay earrings (for the chicks) and key rings (for the guys) as wedding favours.
Zach’s best man is a shipwright and made our love dinghy which we used to serve ice cold drinks from.
All the soft furnishing, throws, cushions and floor pillows were made by me, my sister and Zach’s mum through her sewing group that’s called ‘stitchin and bitchin’. They were the most lovely and generous bunch of women by donating their time, expertise and fabrics to use!
What was the inspiration behind the styling for the day?
The only rule was if we liked it we would use it. Nothing needed to match or be overly romantic. We wanted a fun, eclectic day that represented our personalities. My favourite pieces were the bright patterned fabrics, crystals and soft furnishings to bring it all together.
We bucked tradition and did it our own way… we wanted to keep our guests guessing!
What traditions did you involve during your big day?
So many people offer their well intentioned opinion on what you should and shouldn’t do for your wedding. The most important thing is to stay true to what you want and just have fun with it. It doesn’t need to be an overly serious or romantic affair. The most important thing is to stay authentic to you and your dynamic as a couple and then everything seems to fall in place.
What does marriage mean to you?
Being at home with the one person always. The good, the bad and the ugly, but always coming together at the end of it and having a laugh.
Tell us any funny stories that surrounded your wedding?
Accidentally kissing before we were supposed to and getting lipstick all over Zach’s face for the rest of the ceremony. I couldn’t stop giggling… the guy can rock a red lip!
Ceremony song?
James Blake – ‘I need a forest fire’.
CREDITS: Photos Folk + Follow // Ceremony and reception Seacliff House Gerringong // Catering Duck Duck Goose // Wedding gown Rue De Seine // Hair piece Crowns and Wreaths // Rings Alexis Russell and Wooden Ring Store // Brides shoes Birkenstock // Makeup Bri Bradshaw // Celebrant Oliver Thompson.
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