Every couple planning a Central Coast wedding would do anything to have the day that Ash and Matt had at Magenta Shores earlier this year. Although I was responsible for the wedding photography and had a fair idea of how the day was meant to run, I think I can safely assume that everything went entirely to plan… the weather, the location, the guests, the bridal party, the speeches, the emotion and of course, two of the most gorgeous flower girls you could ever wish for.
Of course, with any wedding day, there are always things that can and do go wrong. In fact, it’s usually the little things that do go wrong that become the beautiful memories of the day when reminiscing in years ahead. I usually mention this to couples looking to book me for their wedding photography… things like; there will always be little things that don’t go according to plan, don’t sweat the small stuff, you can’t control every minute of the day and so on.
Looking back at the wedding of Ash and Matt, I’m wondering now if those little wedding warnings of everything not being perfect has become one of those wedding day sayings like “it’s good luck to have rain on your wedding day”. What if these little wedding superstitions are just that… superstitions. Surely, every couple would prefer a day like Ash and Matts. How can you beat the memories of the perfect day? You can’t!
I asked Matt and Ash to share a little more about themselves, their wedding day and the plans that went into making it the amazing day it was. If you’re planning a perfect summer wedding at Magenta Shores, there’s a good chance there will be some hidden gems below.
What’s the story behind the two of you, how and where did you meet?
We met in 2003 at high school (Year 9) and began “going out” in year 10. We were from completely different groups, Matt was one of the “cool kids”, whereas I was one of the “nerds”.
Matt proposed at my favourite family camping spot, Wyangala Dam. My family have been visiting this spot since I was two years old and Matt joined us one year prior to proposing. He planned a lovely picnic on the boat, however, bad weather resulted in him proposing inside a tent!
Where was your wedding ceremony and why there?
We had our wedding ceremony at Magenta Shores on the Central Coast, mainly because a number of Matt’s extended family live on the Coast and we love it there. We originally wanted to get married on the beach, however, after considering how messy and uncomfortable the sand might be, we decided on a venue which provided a garden ceremony option that was close to the beach.
Where was your wedding reception and why there?
We stayed at Magenta Shores for the whole day, we both got ready in different units, had our garden ceremony and stayed on for our reception at the same venue. No-one had to walk or drive anywhere and there was accommodation available for guests to stay the night.
Were you going for a certain theme or style?
No, we had no idea what we wanted to begin with. We basically were after “something relaxed” and a “big party”. All of the people we dealt with leading up to the day assisted us by introducing new and different ideas and helping make our decisions easy. I also found Google and Pinterest a great resource tool for ideas.
Can you tell me about your wedding dress and any advice you have for other brides looking for their perfect gown?
Again, I had no idea what I wanted. I had thought about having lace but when I tried a lace dress on it really didn’t suit me. I then began trying on a range of dresses, dresses I liked the look of and dresses I didn’t like the look of (because they look completely different on to when they are hanging on a rack).
I found my dress on my first day of shopping, it was chosen from our local Spurling Bridal Shop. The assistance from the staff at the bridal shop was amazing from the first “hello” at the front door all the way through to the wedding.
My only advise would be to choose something that is comfortable and that you feel confident in. Also, as I mentioned previously, try dresses that you may not like the look of as they look completely different once on.
Where did you find your wedding shoes and do you have any advice for brides looking for their bridal shoes?
I found my shoes at Myer in the city. They were my ‘something blue’ and everything I wanted. My advice again, would be find something that you feel comfortable in.
NOTE: we supplied thongs for the wedding because no matter what anyone says, high heels are not comfortable!!
My bridesmaids wore bracelets and earrings from Lovisa and I wore pearl drop earrings from Gregory Jewellers.
Who did your hair and what led you to the style you chose?
Choosing a hair style was my hardest decision throughout the whole process. I wanted to choose a style that was simple, elegant and somehow kept all of my hair off my face (due to having an outdoor wedding ceremony and the possibility of windy weather), however, all of the styles I tried, I felt, just didn’t suit me.
I ended up having 4-5 hair trials leading up to the wedding day which gave me the opportunity to give different hair styles a go and finally find a style I liked.
A family friend, Krystle Stig did both mine and the bridesmaids hair styling.
Who was your makeup artist and what were your instructions when booking?
Again, a close family friend Emma Michelmore was my make-up artist and she did a trial for all of us leading up to the day. I wanted something natural, but seeing that Emma knew me well it helped to feel comfortable with any decision she made.
Where did you find the guys suits?
The suits were from Spurling in Penrith and we hired them, mainly because of the odd colour choice. We felt that the suits may not have been worn again by any of the boys.
Can you tell me about your flowers?
The flowers for the ceremony (rose pedals to outline the aisle) and reception (rose centrepieces) were done by GG Events. We explained to Jean and the team that we wanted a laid back garden wedding and they were able to provide us with pictures and examples of other arrangements that they had done for other Central Coast weddings. They were also able to take away certain things we didn’t like and add other features that we requested.
The bridal bouquets were done by Pavalyn florist. The bridesmaids had simple white rose bouquets to match my bouquet. I had a larger white rose bouquet, however, through the centre of the bouquet was an assortment of silver brooches.
Some of the brooches were sourced by the florist specifically for my bouquet and some were passed onto me by my grandmother. They had belonged to her great nanna and were part of my ‘something borrowed’.
The day after the wedding, I was in contact with Rebecca from Wonderful Memories and she is in the process of having the bouquet preserved.
What led you to choose the colourful wedding cake you did?
The wedding cake was made by Matt’s sister Tenille. We choose this cake because we wanted something colourful on the inside but elegant on the outside. I first saw a cake design like ours on Pinterest.
What did you have for your Bomboniere?
We had a small glass jar filled with an assortment of purple lollies for bomboniere. Purple to match the bridesmaids dresses, and lollies because I love lollies!
Can you describe the photography part of the day?
Our wedding photography began two hours prior to the ceremony. Firstly Andrew visited the boys (who were hungover) taking a combination of natural and structured photos both within the hotel rooms and around the grounds. Then, with an hour to go he visited the bridesmaids, my family and me. He was there capturing photos of me having the finishing touches as my gown went on and was able to capture some amazing photos during this time.
Most of the photos taken with us were natural photos, exactly what we wanted.
Andrew then met the boys at the ceremony and waited for our arrival. He captured some great shots at the ceremony and afterwards we had plenty of time to get group photographs with family and friends.
Following the ceremony, Andrew joined the bridal party on the golf course where we had an amazing time shooting some shots both as a group and individually.
During the reception Andrew again was able to capture photographs of the bridal party entering, the formal section of the night and some great action shots of dancing.
Andrew was extremely professional yet friendly and laid back which made us feel extremely comfortable in his presence and with all of the decisions he made on the day. At times during the day we forgot he was there (he wasn’t in your face with the camera), yet the photos he was able to capture were amazing and look like he was up close and in all the action.
What led you to choose Impact Images for your photography?
We don’t live on the Central Coast, so when booking with Magenta Shores they provided us with an information pack with local businesses they use for their wedding and event planning. Impact Images were first on the photography list so we arranged a meeting with Andrew.
Upon meeting Andrew he was really lovely, he asked us questions, getting a feel for who we were and what we wanted as part of our photography, his approach and his easy going manner had us sold!
As we continued to meet with other business’ and event coordinators as the wedding drew closer, each time we would mention we had chosen Impact Images as our photographer their comments were “good choice”, “they are amazing” and “you won’t be disappointed”.
Can you tell me about your most memorable moment from the day?
Matt – The speeches and having the live performer singing during the wedding ceremony.
Ash – Having my two grandma’s as flower girls. Although I did not see them walk down the aisle, hearing the laughter during and stories afterwards made my day!
What were your honeymoon plans?
For our honeymoon we visited South America which we chose because seeing the Amazon and Machu Picchu was part of both our bucket lists.
What is the most important piece of advice you could share with brides to be?
Remember it is only one day out of your whole life! So have people around you who make you feel happy, always have a backup plan if you are having an outdoor wedding, if something unexpected happens brush it off (it is not the end of the world) and stop to take a breath, it will be over before you know it, so have fun!
If you had the chance to redo the whole thing again, what changes would you make?
We honestly wouldn’t make any changes, our day was perfect and everything we could have wished for.
Want to find out more about our wedding photography? Head to the Impact Images website to see exactly what we can offer you. Alternatively, check out one of my recent, favourite and very classy Central Coast weddings photographed at The Bells at Killcare.
