Big & Modern Macedonian Wedding– Natasa & Jason

Jase & Tash

Bride’s Maiden Name: Natasa (Natasha) Lukic

Occupation: Account Manager

Groom’s Full Name: Jason Ploeg

Occupation: Carpenter

Contact Email: natasa.lukic@realestate.com.au

Wedding Date: 23rd September 2017

How many guests? 190

Wedding Budget (Optional): 80,000

The Team

Wedding feature thanks to: Giant Invitations http://giantinvitations.com.au
Dress: Enzoani with alterations https://www.enzoani.com/
Veil: Rosa & Marys Bridal
Makeup: Tanielle Jai MUA
Hair: Evalyn Parsons Hair
Shoes: Stuart Weitzman
Accessories: Mimco
Bridesmaids Dresses: Jadore from White runway
Groom’s Suit: Male Manor
Groomsmen Suit: Male Manor https://malemanor.com.au/
Cake: Studio Cakes
Food: Moda Events
Flowers & Event Styling: Stylised http://stylised.com.au
Photographer: Pelizzari http://www.pelizzariphotography.com.au/
Ceremony Venue: Newstead Park & The Macedonian Orhodox Church, Newfarm
Reception Venue: Moda Events Portside https://www.modaevents.com.au/
Entertainment: GM Events & Macedonian Band
Celebrant: Michelle Anderson
Transport: Mercedes C200 & Chrysler Limos
Wedding Favours: Engraved stemless wine glasses

The Details

How did you and your partner meet?
We met through mutual friends whilst attending a music festival on the Gold Coast.

How did he propose?
Jase surprised me when I arrived home from a week long work trip. He surprised me with flowers and made the room look amazing. He prepared a will you marry me tick a box (I had told him how cute I thought it was in school when boys would pass around notes to ask a girl out and include a tick a box at the bottom) so he made sure I got to tick yes for last time!!

Length of Engagement?
1 year- together 5 years

What do you love most about your partner?
He is the most genuinely caring man- sometimes he thinks he covers this up but you can see it in his eyes every day.

What’s your most important piece of advice for creating and maintaining a strong relationship?
Talk to each other and be real. Too many people speak to everyone else but their partners about how they feel when that is the person they should go to first.

Tell us about your wedding gown and how you chose it.
I loved so many gowns but I was forever drawn to anything with a hint of colour outside the usually whites and ivory. The lace was intricate and detailed and the exposed boning and buttons perfection.

Did you do a ‘first look’ before the ceremony?
No, we had so much going on bringing together a traditional wedding with Macedonian cultural wedding. Plus, I wanted Jase to see me for the first time walking down the aisle.

What sort of style did you envision for your wedding day?
I wanted a soft romantic style with punches of glam. Charlie for Stylised made this happen combining Grey and Gold to perfection.

How did you come to choose the location and venue?
Coming from a big family I have been to so many weddings in Brisbane and Jase and I wanted ours to be different so we chose a location that not only suited our style but was one that we hadn’t been to before.

Did you have any symbolic gestures during your ceremony i.e. a hand-fasting, candle ceremony, wine ceremony or something else?
We had a many of these elements in the Macedonian ceremony including; the crowning, ring & wine and first steps as husband and wife wrapped together with a beautiful piece of chiffon.

Did you have a wedding party? Did they do anything special during the ceremony?Nothing special- My sister Branka Lukic as MOH, Cousin Katrina Bogoevski & Best friend Jessica Millman

Were any of your guests involved in the ceremony in any way?
Godparents Brad & Jacinta Ploeg

How did you enter your wedding ceremony? (Accompanied? Together? Solo?)
With my step dad for the traditional ceremony and with Jason for the church ceremony.

What made you choose the type of ceremony that you had?
We chose to do both as having a traditional ceremony was important to me and I didn’t want Jase to miss out on a wedding as he knows it.

Describe the cake (including the flavors) and cake topper
The wedding cake was a simply designed 4-tiered cake with brushed gold accents and 2 large white magnolia style flowers. We had 2 different flavours a white chocolate caramel tier and an almond & coconut mud which we served the following day at my parent’s place.

What flowers did you use in the bouquet and at the venue?
Cream blooms mixed with abundant greenery

How did you choose your table décor?
Grey and gold theme- Charlie went to great lengths to source the table cloths in a beautiful grey that matched the bridesmaids’ dresses.

What was the menu for the reception?

Entrees

Pork belly

Pork belly, seared scallop, cauliflower puree, 5 spice sauce

Moroccan, Spatchcock supreme

Moroccan, Spatchcock supreme, pumpkin puree, pepitas, petit salad

Mains

Fillet of beef

Fillet of beef, garlic mashed potato, sweet corn salsa, and red wine jus

Breast of chicken

Breast of chicken, parmesan polenta, roast onion, chorizo, salsa Verde

Dessert

Sticky date pudding

Sticky date pudding, ripple ice cream, vanilla sauce

Ice Cream Sandwich

Ice cream sandwich, marshmallow and praline.

Tea & Coffee

What were your favorite moments from the day?
The super excited feeling of getting ready with my girls and my mum in the morning, reading a letter from Jase in the morning, seeing him as I walked down the aisle and off course partying the night away.

Name your wedding soundtrack (aisle entrance & exit, reception entry, first dance songs)
Isle entrance was Angels by The XX- First dance- XO John Mayer (Beyonce cover)

Any DIY décor elements?
No

Any sentimental personal touches?
No

What was the biggest splurge of the day?
Wedding Stylist

Where did you go on honeymoon?
Europe- Barcelona, Paris, Rome, Florence & Berlin

Any tips that you can give to future brides?
Start planning early

If you could sum up your wedding in one sentence, how would you describe it?
Perfect would do it again in a heartbeat!!

Dancing up the Aisle Collection

Every girl has a dream of becoming the most beautiful woman during the most especial day in her life: the wedding day. To make her more beautiful and confident as she walks down the aisle, a bride carefully choses and try what kind of hairstyle and what shade of make up will best suit her that will make each and every guest’s jaw drop. And on the top of the list is the wedding gown which was carefully chosen to make the bride feel like a princess on her most awaited day. For all the bride-to-be here’s some bridal gown inspiration to make you feel beautiful and unique on your special day.

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Jessica + Arek’s Elegant Yellow Wedding at Wadsworth Mansion

For their big day, Jessica + Arek incorporated wine corks (for their mutual love of wine) and honored Arek’s Polish heritage by including Polish traditions. Captured by the lovely Michelle Girard Photography, their summer wedding at the beautiful Wadsworth Mansion was an elegant affair with lots of white & yellow.

Although there aren’t that many big DIY projects present in this elegant modern wedding, Jessica + Arek made sure to personalized as much as they can. They personalized beer mugs for groomsmen and hoodies for bridesmaids. They incorporated Arek’s Polish heritage into the decorations by using empty Polish liquor bottles as vases as well as adding a Polish Ritual for Health and Peace into their ceremony. As mentioned, the couple’s mutual love for wine is displayed using wine corks as decoration in vases as well as on reception tables. They also put together really simple and elegant center pieces by only using wine glasses and candles.

My favorite part of Jessica + Arek’s elegant wedding was the “First Looks”. There was the “First Look” with Jessica and her father, and then the “First Look” with Jessica + Arek. Michelle Girard captured perfectly how the men were just stunned by how amazing Jessica looked.

Congratulations to Jessica + Arek!!

Photographer: Michelle Girard Photography//Wedding Date:08.17.2013//Dress Store: Bridal Heirlooms//DJ:CNT Entertainment//Floral Designer: Dandelions //Makeup Artist: Makeup Artistry by Liz//Tuxedo and Mens Attire: Modern Formals//Dress Store: Pearl Bridal Boutique//Reception Venue: Wadsworth Mansion at Long Hill Estate//

Submitted via Two Bright Lights

Ashley + Justin’s Elegant Winter Soiree in Philly

We’re kicking off this Monday with a super gorgeous Philadelphia soiree from BG Productions Photography and Videography. This late Fall/early Winter wedding just oozes sophistication and elegance, with help from the presence of the historical venue, The German Society of Pennsylvania. Using main colors black, white, and gold for the palette and lots of lace, Ashley + Justin pulled off one awe-inspiring wedding with gorgeous details!

Ashley + Justin incorporated DIY touches where they can. For example, Ashley ordered bulk flowers from
Falls Flowers to put flower arrangements together herself. Ashley’s mom and aunt made amazingly beautiful handmade snowflake ornaments as favors for guests. And I’m in complete awe of how neat and clean their chalkboard signs were.

I love Ashley + Justin’s use of lace as table runners, which show up especially well against the black table cloths. I also love Ashley’s bold choice of using black lace dresses to dress her bridal party, which they all look amazing and romantic. I also just can’t stop adoring over their First Looks with BG Productions Photography and Videography, featuring scenes from all over their favorite spots in Philly (e.g. Race Street Pier, where they got engaged; Painted Bride, which is down the street from their house; and of course their super adorable dog and the Philly skyscrapers as background).

Much congratulations to Ashley + Justin for their beautiful wedding and pulling off this super classy wedding!

Photographer: BG Productions Photography and Videography//Wedding Date:11.23.2013//Photo Booth Equipment:BG Productions Photography & Videography//Cake Designer:Classic Cake//Location:Loews Hotel//DJ: No Macarena DJ//Caterer:Blue Monkey Catering//Floral Designer: Falls Flowers//Reception Venue: The German Society of PA//Submitted via Two Bright Lights

Ellen + Wes’ Idyllic Winter Wedding

Such a treat I have for all you lovely DIY brides and grooms today. Ellen + Wes’ perfect southern-style winter wedding incorporated lots of white, blue, and grey details photographed by Catherine Guidry. Ellen is an interior designer graduate, so obviously, she had a clear vision on what her dream wedding would be and executed it very well. With a little mix of traditional and rustic, Ellen + Wes created their own dreamy wedding.

There were tons of details I just adore. I love that Ellen incorporated rice into her florals as well as created a rice bouquet for her flower girl since Wes is a rice farmer. Instead of expensive draping, she opted for making tissue pompoms and draped them with lights. True to the southern style, Wes had a pretty impressive groom cake featuring his favorite football team. And their kids dessert bar is completely decadent and to die for!

Gorgeous bouquets, gorgeous decoration, gorgeous bride and her equally stunning bridesmaids… complemented by lots of lights and tissue pom-poms, this wedding is definitely not lacking in the prettiness department. Thank you, Catherine Guidry, for capturing all the breathtaking details and sharing them with us.

Congratulations to Ellen + Wes!!!
Photographer: Catherine Guidry//Wedding Date:02/05/2013//Dress Store: A-Nets Enchanted Dream//Caterer: Chef Bobby and Dot//Cake Designer:Daisey Cakes//Pre Ceremony Location:Maison D’Memoire//Cake Designer: Short and Sweet Cakes//Reception Venue:The Warehouse//

Submitted via Two Bright Lights

Mia + David’s Sweet & Wholesome Wedding

We all know that planning a wedding is no easy task. When the wedding is a very DIY wedding… well, that certainly requires months of advance planning and executing, and of course, talented friends and family. For our super creative and talented bride Mia, she knew exactly what her dream wedding would be like and immediately started planning and working on the details as soon as she knew that she would marry David.

This sweet wedding consisted of so much DIY details, it’s awe-inspiring. I have so many favorite details from this wedding, and had a really hard time trying to pick them out from TréCreative Film & Photo. But if I had to pick my utmost favorites, it would have to be Mia’s dreamy dress and rosette boutonnieres. Mia, along with her dear friend Kierna, constructed her gorgeous vintage lace wedding dress for less than $45. They also created the beautiful boutonnieres and bridesmaids’ bouquets from pages of old French books and dictionary.

Other DIY details include invitation suite (Mia designed them their silhouettes as the main motif and hand lettered the invitations), headpiece, bouquet and garters, the flower girl baskets and flower head wreaths, the ring bearer’s nest, the cake topper, and the chalkboard directional sign.

What a sweet, sweet couple. Ialso want to share a couple of other sweet details:

The bridesmaids gifts include Sseko sandals, which are made by Ugandan women earning money to go to college.

But the sweetest one of them all?

Mia’s locket on her bouquet was actually a present from her grandfather. The locket originally belong to her grandmother, whom passed away before she was born. The locket says “I love Lenny” (also short for Mia’s middle name “Helen”, and grandmother’s name)… and when her grandmother opened to see it for the first time, that was also the first time her grandfather had expressed his feelings for her. Awwwwwwww!!!

Congratulations on your beautiful marriage Mia + David!

Photographer: TréCreative Film&Photo//Wedding Video: Mia + David//Wedding Date: August 04, 2013//Wedding Location: Fremont, California//Cake Designer: Amia Bakery //Caterer:Mikonos Grill//Event Venue:Shinn HIstoric Park & Arboretum//Cinema and Video: TréCreative//

Submitted via Two Bright Lights

Amanda + Daniel’s Old Hollywood DIY Wedding

Amanda and Daniel brought Old Hollywood style to Decatur, Georgia with their classy spring wedding. Even a few showers couldn’t dampen their dapper spirits. Their palette of black and red fit their theme perfectly, as did the Frank Sinatra cover band that kept guests jumping and jiving all night.

This wedding also is abundant with handmade details – the couple created the photo booth and props, and the bride arranged all the bouquets and centerpieces, as well as made the hairpieces for herself and the bridesmaids, AND added the lace applique to her shoes (*whew*)! Last but certainly not least, the bride’s sister owns Savoreaux Cupcakery and made the mini-cake and cupcakes. What a lucky couple!

From the photographer: Amanda and Daniel met their sophomore year at Young Harris College. After several classes together, they discovered how much they had in common and became close friends. They bonded over their mutual love of stage shows, classic cinema, and their own quirky senses of humor. After they were cast together in their college production of The Music Man, Daniel started asking Amanda out, but she didn’t take him seriously, but he was persistent and six years later, they’re even more inseparable, goofy, and head over heels in love with each other.

Any couple that brings NERF guns to their wedding is okay with me! Congrats on your beautiful wedding, Amanda and Daniel!

DETAILS:

Photography: Christi Falls Photography

Venue: Old Courthouse on the Square, Decatur, Georgia

Submitted via Two Bright Lights

Kati + Todd

While there are tons of cute DIY details in the wedding of Kati and Todd, my eyes stopped and stuck on the groom and his party’s vests. CAMO VESTS? I love it! I never see this, and it’s done so well here! I really need to stop using exclamation points!

In all seriousness though, I am very much enjoying this detail. Traditionally, most of the wedding aesthetic falls to the bride but Todd has interjected a nice and humorous bit of his personality into the day. As for Kati’s purview, she created the bridesmaids’ bouquets, centerpieces, and painted wine glasses. Today’s wedding is a great balance of personality, humor, and love.

DETAILS

Location: Elizabethtown, NC

Photography: Caroline Lima Photography

Venue: Lu Mil Vineyard

Dress: David’s Bridal

Florals: Elizabethtown Florist

Weekend Love: Laura + David

When I think of great places for romance to spark, the company bathroom isn’t exactly high on the list. In fact, I don’t think it even makes the list. However, that’s where Laura and David found each other, and began their love story with coffee and tacos. Today and tomorrow we’ll be featuring the wedding that resulted from that bathroom meeting, in all its DIY glory.

DETAILS

Location: Folsom, CA

Photography: Teresa K Photography

Venue: Lake Natoma Inn

Florals: Camino Flower Shop

Dress: House of Fashion

Alterations: Kim’s Couture

Bridesmaids Dresses: David’s Bridal

Suites: Tuxedo Den

Makeup: All Dolled Up

Weekend Love: Tim + Vanessa

Happy first day of September everyone! I could not be more excited about the coming fall season, and with everyone going back to school next week the anticipation is through the roof. We’re going to slide into this Labor Day weekend with the first part of Tim and Vanessa’s traditional, yet quite modern, wedding.

DETAILS

Location: Columbus, IN

Photography: Ampersand Photography

Venue: Columbus Visitors Center