Wedding people we loved

A few friends have gotten engaged in the last few months, which is really exciting - I love engagement stories. I thought I'd share a list of the people we loved working with, which I've found myself emailing to anyone who asks for recommendations.

I relied on a few Australian blogs to plan our wedding (although looking at too many can be overwhelming - some brides sing and play the ukulele at their own receptions!) and especially loved tips from family and friends.

Louise was our celebrant. She was warm and genuine and kept the ceremony personal and bright. Louise married my brother and sister-in-law a few years ago and was the first person we booked.

My lovely friend Sophie runs Little Triffids and did all of our flowers. My bouquet had wattle from her parent's house and lambs ears from her garden, and I will never forget the pre-dawn flower raid we went on with her husband Tim, where I parked illegally and Sophie bought flowers like a boss.

My friend Alison is a make-up artist and the bubbliest person to be around. She was the first to arrive on the day and quickly made friends with my mum and bridesmaids. Everyone felt so confident and beautiful in their make up, and most importantly like themselves. I was so sad when I had to take mine off!

We had five wedding cakes in all - which sounds like a lot but in my mind they were deconstructed ;) Dell from Cake Salon is a friend's mother-in-law, and she made all my cake dreams come true. She even lent us her cake stands and there was enough cake for dessert and goodie bags.

Our friend Sabine handmade our rings (and my engagement ring too) and was very patient explaining all the different types of shapes and metals, as well as what would actually be comfortable to wear every day. She even mixed metals so Tony's ring would be really unique.

One of the last things we booked was a photographer because finding one that felt right was surprisingly hard. Thankfully, our friends Sophie and Blake had just started shooting weddings as a photographer and videographer duo and we felt really comfortable having them there on the day. If you're unsure about whether you need a video - we were - get one because they really capture the emotion of the day, and are lovely for friends who can't make it.

I am always so excited to see what other brides wear, it's one of my favourite parts of any wedding! My dress was from this designer, which I bought from the David Jones bridal suite. It was really comfortable and I felt excited the minute I tried it on, even before I looked in the mirror.

I changed into a Bowie Wong sample right before we left the reception, which I'd bought years before we were engaged :) The first house Tony and I lived in together was right across the road from his showroom, which was my excuse.

We were very practical with cars and went with this company, picking a black van and later a sedan as a getaway car. The drivers were punctual and helpful in unexpected ways too - reminding my Dad to lock the house (!) and pulling out a surprise packet of snakes for the pageboy on the way to the ceremony.

Two small things - we splurged on Rifle Paper Co. table numbers, having done our dash with DIY and they made the tables look great! We also bought three giant helium balloons that spelt YAY, which were the backdrop for the ceremony. Super simple and fun too :)

Photos by Wattle + Lace.