Real Wedding; Ashleigh and Matt @Worrowing
About You Two;
Now, How did you two meet?
We both swiped right!! Classic tinder. We met back in 2017 and after a few weeks of chatting over Tinder, Ash asked Matt out on a first date. Our first date was at the Vivid festival. We spent hours talking, getting to know each other, drinking mulled wine and walking around looking at the lights. We both instantly felt a connection and never looked back.
Who popped the Question and how did it happen?
The proposal was very small, quiet and intimate. Matt popped the question in November 2019 in Byron Bay. I was 6 months pregnant and we were on our babymoon. Matt had been in for a surf at Wategos beach and Ash was lying under a tree. When Matt came out of the surf, he pulled out the ring and Ash was speechless. We still don’t think Matt even asked the question of “will you marry me?” but of course Ash still said yes!!
Why did you choose your venue and how was the venue choosing process?
The south coast of NSW is a very important and special area to both Matt and I. We own a house in Mollymook that we will one day call our home. At the moment, we are still living in Sydney. We love the beaches, lifestyle and the South Coast vibe so we both knew it felt right to have our wedding there. We had searched a few different venues but as soon as we stepped foot at Worrowing, we knew it was the place. We love that it is so close to the beach however it is a country style venue. It feels rustic and yet so so beautiful. We loved the wildlife that was present on the property. The accommodation is stunning so we knew our guests would love to stay there. The grounds are gorgeous and so different everywhere you look. There are beautiful gardens, trees and the lake is also stunning. We loved that it was a blank canvas and you could make the venue your own to suit your own style. It made us feel warm, happy and at home every time we went to Worrowing.
Quick Fire Questions;
How many wedding guests did you have?
We invited 106 and ended up with 88.
Sit down of Cocktail Style?
Sit down
What month?
7th May
Planning The Wedding;
Was planning the wedding stressful or did you enjoy the journey?
I found it both stressful and yet I also tried my hardest to enjoy the journey as I wanted it to be an exciting event and not something that I just wanted to be over. I think the biggest stressor I had was the cost. If I didn’t have to worry about cost, then I wouldn’t have been stressed at all. I really enjoyed picking all of our vendors and styling the day.
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?
Ash definitely planned 90% of the wedding. Matt was helpful with his input but ultimately it came down to Ash to speak to and organise all of the vendors and the logistics of the day. Matt had the task of choosing the band as this was his non-negotiable of the wedding. Matt definitely enjoyed choosing the wine and food for the day and gave input with things he was asked about.
What was the top couple of non-negotiables or important must-have’s at the wedding for you both?
Top non-negotiable was a band, especially for Matt. We both love music, especially dancing and letting our hair down, so we wanted to make sure this was a huge part of our evening. Another non-negotiable was to have a wedding coordinator. We have a 2 year old son which added a whole other level of stress to the day as we had to logistically think about him. Having a coordinator organise the day was SO helpful and definitely took away 90% of the stress! We really wanted our wedding to be more than one day. We used the whole weekend for the wedding so we could spend more time with our guests. We wanted our guests to have a weekend away and to thoroughly enjoy themselves. We also hired a nanny to be the eyes of our son and that was SO helpful for us. We knew he was being taken care of and yet no family member had to be distracted by looking after him. This also meant Matt and I could really engage with our guests and not have to “parent” for a day.
Tell us about your dress and that dress-finding process?
I bought my dress from Grace Loves Lace. I really love their dresses and knew it would be the right match for me. The dress I chose, Noah is her name, was the first dress I tried on! I instantly knew she was the one. I took my 3 bridesmaids with me to try on the dress and we went for brunch after. I did go to another bridal store to try on more dresses just to make sure but I went back and bought the first one I tried. I loved the dress-finding process, I didn’t find it stressful at all. I just wish my dress had been a touch longer as I had originally thought I was going to wear flat shoes but went with heels and the dress was a tiny bit too short.
What sort of theme, vibe or style did you go for?
I went for a boho theme. My dress was strapless, backless and lace. I also had a braid in my hair with a messy bun which really flowed into the boho theme. The style of the wedding was also boho country theme and I think it all came together really nicely. We had lots of macramé style features throughout our florals and the ceiling installation in the Heresford shed. We went with blush, light pink, rose gold, white and light blue. My florals were just stunning and the florist really nailed the brief. My man of honor and bridesmaids all chose their own outfits so they looked different but absolutely amazing. Matt and his groomsman wore open collar and Humphrey and Matt wore matching blazer and pants.
On the Day;
How did you both feel wedding morning?
Ash didn’t sleep very well the night before so she was worried she’d be too tired on the day. However, she started the morning with yoga outside the Heresford Shed with 10 other people and it was just absolutely perfect. Our friend is a yoga instructor and she ran the flow. My bridal party and I then went back to our house to get ready and the whole day was extremely relaxed and stress free. We drank champagne and had a cheese platter and it was perfect. Matt was also extremely relaxed on the morning. He went for a surf with his best man and had a nice breakfast. Came back to the house, got ready and off he went. Having a coordinator on the day meant we were both able to sit back relax and really enjoy every single moment of the day and have no stress.
What was the best part or moment of your day?
It’s hard to really bring it down to one part as every single element of the day had something fun and special. I think being able to have our son be a part of our big day was extremely special for us. Also, after COVID taking away so many special events and moments from our lives for the past 2 and a half years – it was extremely exciting and amazing to see all of our guests really let their hair down and enjoy the whole day as if there was nothing wrong in the world. That was really special for us and looking back on the day, I just feel so happy that I could provide such a fun weekend for all of our close friends and family.
Anything you would change about your wedding or anything that didn’t go to plan?
There’s nothing I would change about our day at all. Everything went to plan and if anything was out of place, I was completely oblivious. I wish I had been more specific with my photographer about certain photos that I wanted as there were people I didn’t get photos with or enough photos that really showed the true detail of my dress and the train that it had and my large long veil. But – my photos were incredible and I am still super happy with them.
Are there any rituals, sentiments or traditions you incorporated into the day?
Matt owns a gym and at the beginning of every class he makes sure everyone walks around to say hello and introduce themselves so everyone knows each other. We made sure we had our MC do this as soon as our reception started so all of our guests could get up and walk around and mingle.
After the Wedding;
Describe newlywed life in a couple of words?
As we have a son – we feel more as a special, intimate family unit.
Best investment or money well spent on the wedding that you made?
Definitely money well spent on the wedding that we made. It was not a cheap wedding and the money definitely had us very stressed but now that it’s done, we are just so so happy with how fun and amazing our wedding weekend was that the money hasn’t even popped back into our mind.
Budget-over, under or what you estimated?
I think it would be over what we estimated however we didn’t really lay out a specific budget as everything just costs what it costs! We definitely tried to keep costs as low as we could and did not over spend in areas we didn’t need to.
Credits:
Coordination/Styling/Hire; The Wedding and Event Creators
Celebrant; Tim Mannering
Venue; Worrowing
Florist; Ivy Lane Collective
Photographer; Samuel White Photography
Videographer; Whiteys Media
Catering; Rabbit and Co
Bar Staff; Henry Clive
Cake; Sweet Art Celebrations
Entertainment; The White Tree Band
Makeup/Hair; The Makeup Collective
