When UK blog Rock My Wedding featured Jessica & Justin’s delightful Yarra Valley wedding last week, they went so far as to say it might be one of the best weddings they will see this year…. and they may well be right! The warm light and dreamy photography, not to mention the bride & groom, are just so romantic!

I love sharing beautiful and inspirational weddings on Chic Vintage Brides, but sometimes the weddings are so magical I struggle to find words eloquent enough to describe them (I think my career in numbers tells in my lacking vocabulary) and this is definitely one of those times! So with this wedding I am going to let the photographer and the bride do all the talking……

The incredible photographer is Jonathan Ong – “Being at Justin & Jessica’s wedding was like being in the presence of love in it’s purest, most genuine form. Even going through the photos again, I can feel a warmth rise in my heart. Watching Jessica grab Justin with both her hands to kiss him made my heart skip a beat. Every single guest wore their heart on their sleeve, which made it all the more enjoyable. Their families embraced each other like long lost siblings – Justin & Jessica didn’t just marry each other, they married each others’ worlds.”

“Our wedding was held on the 28th of December 2011 at Stones of the Yarra Valley in The Yarra Valley – an hour out of Melbourne it feels like a million miles away……”

“Melbourne designer Gwendolynne Burkin designed my dress. She is one very talented woman” (I agree with Jessica – this isn’t the first of her dresses to make me swoon) who makes the most gorgeous vintage inspired gowns – right up my ally. “Walking into her studio I immediately realised that I was going to fall in love with many. After a few alterations I loved my dress just that little bit more and so did my mum, which made the decision a whole lot easier to make. The dress was made from spotted  tulle and was crinkled tiered from the hips down.”

“My hair was done by the lovely Lauren Mackellar. Her sense of style is very similar to mine – nothing too structured. She did some beautiful soft up do’s which were simply perfect. Mum is a whizz at almost everything – she did my make up ensuring I still looked like myself. I didn’t want to hold a bouquet so my florist made me a floral head wreath, which I loved and which fit perfectly with the theme I was going for.”

“Blooming Brides’ Rita Feldmann was so beautiful to work with – she understood my style as soon as we got chatting. With help from family, we collected boxes of amber beer bottles and boxes of glass jars (from jam to pasta sauces) which were used as vases/votives. Amber bottles also hung from the Oak tree we were married under. We wanted natural tones throughout the wedding so for flowers we had creams and whites with a lot of foilage. I love the “Just came back from the garden and chucked the posies in jars” look and she got that down to a T.”

“I wanted a surprise, so didn’t have any idea what Justin was going to wear. He looked so very handsome in a Dom Bagnato light blue grey suit, Rhodes & Beckett checked white and navy shirt, dark navy tie and a spotted pocket handkerchief to tie it all together. I tried very hard not to run towards him. “

“We discovered Jonathan Ong whilst browsing a couple of Australian blogs. We met a couple of times over coffee before hand and instantaneously knew we had the right photographer. The pictures speak for themselves. I cannot express how lucky we were to have him. It felt very natural in front of the camera and it felt as though he was one of our guests. Jon is a very talented man. We adore his work and adore him!”

“The amber beer bottles and glass jars that we collected were a big feature of the decor from the bottles hanging as a back drop during our ceremony to the tables filled with jars and bottles as posie vases. We also had fabric stripped garlands that hung between posts in natural tones with Festoon lights, that really suited the barn like venue.”

 “We didn’t really want a ‘first dance’ so instead, we started the dance floor to “Signed Sealed Delivered” as soon as we were announced . Within 30 seconds of the song starting, we had everyone dancing on the dance floor and out on the patio. We continued dancing to a few more songs before being dragged away for dinner!”

“Soulbeats Entertainment played a few years ago at a family friends wedding. We both loved their music and danced the night away (I was even on crutches at the time!) We tracked them down years later and they were even better than we remembered. My youngest sister Jodie, belted out a couple of songs with the band too!”

“We both just wanted a big party with people we love. There was nothing meticulously planned and traditions weren’t exactly followed to a T – it was perfect just letting the day/night unfold naturally. We are very blessed to have the most beautiful family and friends.”

 I don’t think I have ever seen a bride look quite so…… blissful! To see more of her and this delightfully dreamy wedding take a squiz at Jonathan’s affectingly beautiful Journal – it is like getting a glimpse into personal diary rather than a public blog.

Oh and if you’re looking for further flower halo inspiration go and take a peek at CVB’s Flower Crown board on Pinterest – over 90 pins on there now!

Amy

x

Dress Gwendolynne Burkin

Photography Jonathan Ong

Venue Stones of the Yarra Valley

Blooms Blooming Brides’

Hair Lauren Mackellar

Entertainment Soulbeats Entertainment