Real Wedding; Lily and Zane @ Weddings in the Wilde

About You Two;

Now, How did you two meet?

We met 11 years ago in a nightclub in Canberra, I was down visiting my friend for the night – I was living in Sydney at the time and after a couple of dates every time I was down visiting my friend we made things official! We did long distance for 5 years before moving down to Melbourne together after that.

Who popped the Question and how did it happen?

Zane popped the question in June 2021, we were staying down in Perisher over the weekend with a few of our friends. We were going up the chairlift and Zane said he wanted all of us to get a photo at the top, I was annoyed because I didn’t want to so I started slowly snowboarding down to where I thought we were going to take a photo – then I heard Zane yell out behind me and he was down on one knee with the most amazing ring! I said yes and everyone was cheering around us, one of our mates had also brought a backpack up the chairlift with champagne and glasses – so we popped the champagne and all celebrated on the top of the mountain before drunkenly snowboarding back down! I kept randomly crying all afternoon because I was so happy, and was so not expecting it at all!

Why did you choose your venue and how was the venue choosing process?

As we have both lived in lots of different cities around Australia, we have lots of friends coming from different states, so we wanted a venue where there was on-site accommodation to make it easier for everyone, and so that we could make a weekend out of it. I grew up in Bowral, and have always wanted to get married around the Southern Highlands so that narrowed our search too. When we got to Weddings in the Wilde, we knew it was the one! It’s so big and unique – it was like being at a cool fairy-like festival – there are naked teepees everywhere and you are literally in the middle of a forest surrounded by nature which was awesome! Plus they have on-site accommodation for up to 120 people, so it fit the bill!

Quick Fire Questions;

How many wedding guests did you have?

136

Sit down or Cocktail Style?

It was technically a sit down ie: there were 3 long tables, everyone had a place to sit etc. However everyone was seated pretty much only for the speeches, and some people for meals – we had a big long table full of pizzas, salads and entrees for dinner (by the wonderful Red Belly Pizza!) so after the speeches were over people either grabbed there pizza and sat back down at their table, or just ate it outside around the wine barrels and outdoor furniture. We wanted people to be able to eat as much or as little as they wanted, and get up, move around, dance and social when they wanted also!

What month?

December 2022

Planning The Wedding;

Was planning the wedding stressful or did you enjoy the journey?

It was definitely stressful at times (mainly because I was worried about the weather, which I couldn’t do anything about!), but I made sure we gave ourselves a decent amount of time from when we booked the venue/secured the date to when the wedding was, to try and ease the stress a bit – we secured the venue in September 2021, and had the wedding in December 2022

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?

I pretty much did everything – Zane’s only jobs were to make a playlist and get him and the boys suits! I complained occasionally that he wasn’t helping, but I actually wanted to do it all anyway haha

What was the top couple of non-negotiables or important must-have’s at the wedding for you both?

We wanted to make sure people had fun, drinks were flowing and the music was loud and lasted as long as possible!

Tell us about your dress and that dress-finding process?

I have followed grace loves lace on Instagram for years, booked an appointment once we set a date, and decided in the first appointment – it was an easy choice!

What sort of theme, vibe or style did you go for?

Fun, bright, festival, fairy-garden vibes.

On the Day;

How did you both feel wedding morning?

I was so relaxed because I had planned everything for so long, and knew that there was nothing else I could do but just relax and enjoy – I was laughing all morning getting ready and drinking mimosas! Brooke from WEC also put my mind so much at ease on the day and the day before at the site visit, so I knew I was in great hands – the WITW team were also so helpful over the weekend! As Zane hadn’t been as involved with the planning, he didn’t really know that much of what was going on (I did tell him but he didn’t listen haha), so he was a bit more on edge than me apparently!

What was the best part or moment of your day?

Honestly every single moment was perfect – but the dancefloor was a huge highlight, our mate from Melbourne was DJing, and it was an absolute VIBE! Also the flowers were out of this world and even better than I expected, Emily from Two Wild Hearts created the most amazing vibe – there were disco balls hanging all around the clear marquee, and the cocktail area/teepees with bridal veils draped on them – it looked epic!! The Henry Clive Team were also so much fun, and got involved with the dancing which I loved!

Anything you would change about your wedding or anything that didn’t go to plan?

I wish I planned to throw the bouquet, I didn’t really think about it when I was planning the wedding, but wish I did!

Are there any rituals, sentiments or traditions you incorporated into the day?

We kept the traditions to a minimum! We just wanted to have fun and relish in the fact that all our closest mates were in the same place!

After the Wedding;

Describe newlywed life in a couple of words?

Exciting, I feel like now we’ve hit this milestone we can just relax and focus on more adventures!

Best investment or money well spent on the wedding that you made?

100000% THE WEC TEAM, Brooke and the team made me feel so much more relaxed and organised both on the day and during the lead up to the wedding, particularly as it was a DIY wedding venue, there were a lot of moving parts!

Budget-over, under or what you estimated?

Slightly over – but still relatively within range!

Credits:

Coordination/Set Up; The Wedding and Event Creators
Celebrant; Sue Jackman
Venue; Weddings in the Wilde
Florist; Two Wild Hearts
Photographer/Videographer; Heart and the Sea
Catering; Red Belly Pizza and The Grazing Girls
Bar Staff; Henry Clive
Cake; Cooked by Julia
Makeup; VDJ Makeup
Hair; Lu Hair