Real Wedding; Madison and Edward @ Merribee Gardens

About You Two;

Now, How did you two meet?

Working in a media agency together a few years ago

Who popped the Question and how did it happen?

Ed popped the question and did over the June long weekend 2021 at a Farm Stay airbnb in Little Forest (Milton).

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

We reviewed venues during the second lockdown of 2021 and loved how Merribee looked even just over Facetime so knew we’d only love it more in person. We always wanted outdoors but also wanted a venue where we loved the indoor option too in case we had to use our plan b.

Quick Fire Questions;

How many wedding guests did you have?

98

Sit down of Cocktail Style?

Roaming Canapes/Grazing for entree and dessert then did a sit down banquet style main

What month?

November 2022

Planning The Wedding;

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

Was a little stressful on top of full time jobs, buying a house and getting a puppy but we still enjoyed the journey, once I’d locked in all the major vendors it was much easier to sit down and work out the whole vision/plan for 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?

Madi was involved in main planning and admin for most of it but Ed weighed in on all the major decisions like colours, food and drinks, music, run of the day and major moments to incorporate etc.

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

We wanted to be at the wedding for as much of it as we could be so having it all at the one venue was key, short ceremony, short photo time allocation etc. we wanted to be present for the whole day and soak it all in with our loved ones.

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

I bought my dress from Eternal Bridal in Sydney, was a long day going to 3 different stores and it was the last dress I tried on (lucky number 15) was nothing like I imagined but was simply perfect! Dress shopping is not for the faint hearted that’s for sure!

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

Rustic, boho, romantic, garden vibe with earthy autumn colours.

On the Day;

How did you both feel wedding morning?

Ed had a few things to tick off the to do list like pick up the cake etc. but once that was all done he settled into a nice morning with his boys going to brunch then relaxing at the venue. Madi on the other hand was quite nervous, didn’t sleep much the night before but once I was getting ready and saw the venue getting all dressed I felt much calmer.

What was the best part or moment of your day?

Too hard to pinpoint a particular moment but the flow of the day made it all feel perfect which helps.

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

One of our transport vendors wasn’t great and ruined the end of the night a bit which wasn’t pleasant but we shared that feedback with them.

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

Wanted to acknowledge Madi’s Italian background so she made traditional desserts for the wedding and we played some key Italian family songs. Our first dance was also the Nutbush which was symbolic of a lot of the groups at the wedding and was such fun!

After the Wedding;

Describe newlywed life in a couple of words?

So much fun! We were some of the first amongst our friend groups so it’s really nice to see them all now getting ready for theirs and being able to share helpful tips we got along the way

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

Our vendors without a doubt were all worth every penny! We’ve had so many compliments about how great they all were and how well they all worked together.

Budget-over, under or what you estimated?

Pretty on par with where we wanted to be which was good.

Credits:

Coordination/Set Up; The Wedding and Event Creators
Celebrant; Married by Jess
Venue; Merribee Gardens
Florist; Ivy Lane Collective
Photographer/Videographer; Amity Photography
Catering; Garnish Creative Catering
Bar Staff; Henry Clive Caravan Bar
Entertainment; Oberon Lane
Hair; Absolute Hair by Tia
Makeup; Makeup by Kye