Real Wedding; Natasha and Corey @ Willow Farm
About You Two;
Now, How did you two meet?
We met on Hinge, a dating app which they say is meant to be deleted – which it was.
We matched the week before Covid lockdown in March 2020, so we actually couldn’t meet for a while. We spend the first 2 months just face time dating, watching movies at the same time over FaceTime, cooking together in our seperate kitchens and Friday drinks all over the screen.
When we finally met in person, it was like we had known each other for so long – it just felt right!
Who popped the question and how did it happen?
Corey popped the question on the 1/1/22. We drove up from Wollongong to Sydney on the scenic route (on the sea bridge) on the most perfect day – super sunny, sun roof down – was just perfect!
We stopped at the National Park to go to the bathroom & when I walked out, Corey had set up a picnic near the waters edge with all our favourite food. It was quite beautiful and such a surprise. We spoke about our new years intentions, what we had planned for the day, and as we were packing up, ready to home, he asked me if I would marry him.
Of course I said yes!
Why did you choose your venue and how was the venue choosing process?
At the beginning we determined what we wanted / didn’t want. We didn’t want the traditional venue (hall/book a room at a venue) type wedding. We wanted something that we could customise, that had outdoor / indoor options, a Marquee and lots of fairy lights.
Instagram was a great source for finding venues – we would look at lots of photography / wedding pages and see what venues were being tagged, then go through the enquiry process.
We had 4 venues we went to look at, we did them over two weekends and made it a quick and fun experience. We had an excel spreadsheet going for all these venues with the inclusions and costs associated so we knew what we were getting into before we went on the tours.
When we went to Willow Farm, we felt the magic. I know that sounds cliche, but honestly, there was something about it. The more we went on the tour of the grounds, the more Corey & I fell in love with it.
We could see the potential of what we could do there; how we could make it customisable to us, and be in any styling we wanted. It fit perfectly to what we wanted in our core checklist, it was absolutely stunning and we could actually see us getting married there. We both looked at each other and said this was it.
We did have viewing at another venue an hour later which was beautiful but didn’t have the same heart string pull- it just solidified Willow Farm was for us.
Quick Fire Questions;
How many wedding guests did you have?
110
Sit down or Cocktail Style?
Canapé hour with a sit down dinner
What month?
February
Planning The Wedding;
Was planning the wedding stressful or did you enjoy the journey?
The whole journey itself is really exciting and was very enjoyable!
It’s such a wonderful experience to create a vision of what you want your perfect day to look like – by creating moodboards and planning it out with your Mum & cousins and seeing it come to life. From that planning to going out and finding vendors that understand you & the vision, to working with amazing businesses and people is just so awesome.
Don’t get me wrong, there was a lot of admin involved and the stress started coming in with 1.5 months to go, but it’s all part of it. I like to take on too much and say ‘I’ll do that’ to everything, so we ended up doing a lot in the final 6 weeks to ‘I do’.
We trusted all of our vendors and knew they had everything covered, so that took off so much of the stress.
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 like to say we planned the idea together and I made it a reality hahaha . We were both involved in the planning process as we wanted it to be a day both of us wanted. It needed to be a collaboration of our ideas, tastes and a team effort in the execution.
From visiting venues, fairs, wedding meetings and all big decisions / core elements, we did it together. We would pick the vendors, sign off the budget and talked about what we needed vs. Feasibility of it happening.
Corey was in charge of booking the band, the transport and the alcohol. Corey would research all the options, get quotes and liaise with the vendors for us both to agree and action the booking. The smaller details, liaising with vendors, following up quotes, the budget, wedding collateral, overall vibe and aesthetic was where I took over.
I would create moodboards for each element of the day (table decor, floral arrangements, bridal party outfits etc) for Corey to see the vibe and style I was going for – for us to agree on and create.
What was the top couple of non-negotiables or important must-have’s at the wedding for you both?
The formalities being short & sweet – we wanted to make sure we could enjoy our day, be present and be with our friends and family – laughing and celebrating our love with everyone. Good food & drinks – we both love food so we wanted to make sure the food was delicious and no one would go hungry! We wanted bellies fed & full. Fairy Lights – we love the vibe and feeling of seeing twinkling lights in the sky. We find it quite magical so it was a must. Live music – we wanted music to add to our day and create a great vibe and experience for ourselves and the guests.
Tell us about your dress and that dress-finding process?
I was never someone who dreamed about their wedding. I didn’t know what dress I wanted, I actually had no clue what style would look nice or where to start looking.
I ended up booking in appointments at four different boutiques, which were all very different in their styles / the type of dresses they stocked. I wanted to try on one of every style to see what I liked and what would suit the day.
Bridal Atelier was the fourth boutique we went to. My cousin Emma picked out a dress from their Instagram for me to try on and it was just perfect!
I wanted something that fit the venue, accentuated my features, made me feel comfortable, confident and beautiful. I was debating whether or not I wanted something with sleeves & this dress had detachable sleeveless which was just perfect!!
I went back for a second fitting to make sure this was the one & yes it was!
What sort of theme, vibe or style did you go for?
Super romantic, fun, soft and magical. I don’t know if that’s a theme, but we went for. Lots of flowers, neutral palette with pops of pink and orange.
We wanted it to be timeless and work with the backdrop of the venue.
On the Day;
How did you both feel wedding morning?
The morning of I was very chill! I had lost my voice the night before and was blocked up with a cold
But I was super chill- I a little frustrated that I couldn’t breathe through my nose but chill haha
Corey: In the morning I was fine, as the day slowly went by I started to get a bit more nervous, when I got into the car to hear to the church that’s when all the nerves started to hit. Standing and waiting in the church felt like it went for hours and I felt as if I was going to pass out but the second I saw Natasha walking down the isle all those nerves went away and all I felt was happy
What was the best part or moment of your day?
Seeing each other and locking eyes as I walked down the aisle. It was just us in a sea of people and as Corey said, all the nerves went away.
The church and the ceremony is the part where the magic happened and we became husband and wife!
Anything you would change about your wedding or anything that didn’t go to plan?
We not change a thing! Everything was absolutely
perfect! Even with people getting added to the guest list the night before and dropping out on the day- it didn’t rattle us or make us want to change anything.
Are there any rituals, sentiments or traditions you incorporated into the day?
We had a traditional Roman Catholic ceremony at St Patrick’s church in Berry. The Priest who officiated the mass was Natasha’s family Priest – he baptised her, but also married her parents and all her Uncles. He was known / been with the family for over 40 years so it was very special.
To add to the magic the hairdresser who did Natasha’s hair has been in the family for over years and also did her parents hair on their wedding day.
Natasha also wore the garter her mother wore on her wedding day & plans to pass this down one day.
After the Wedding;
Describe newlywed life in a couple of words?
Magical and perfect. We married our best friend.
Best investment or money well spent on the wedding that you made?
Two things
1. Photographer & videographer
We now have the magic moments captured forever in film. We can relive the day each time we look through the album which is so special!
2. A event co-ordinator / set up star – thank you guys so much for taking out the stress of the day! We were able to enjoy every second and knew everything was in good hands.
Budget-over, under or what you estimated?
Hahaha, over! Things always come up and we gave ourselves a buffer of what we could go up to if needed. It’s your one special day to celebrate with the people you love, so if you go over a little bit, it’s ok- you only get to throw a party like this once!!
Credits:
Coordination/Set Up; The Wedding and Event Creators
Celebrant; Parish Priest
Venue; Willow Farm
Florist; Lovers and Fleurs
Photographer; Matt Ashton Photography
Videographer; Volcano Sundays (La Lune Cinema)
Catering; Duck Duck Goose
Bar Staff; Henry Clive
Gelato; The Gelato Bike
Entertainment; Valley Beat Music Co.
Makeup; Tayla Jane Makeup
Hair; South Coast Hair and Makeup
