The couple finally wed after actually meeting at someone else’s wedding. A Winter Elegance themed wedding saw their special day incorporating Stacey’s Jewish heritage throughout and hosted in a beautiful timber book barn at Bendooley Estate (NSW, Australia.)
Stacey always joked about running through an AFL banner on her big day and her and Michael bonded over their love of football – he a bombers supporter and she a swan’s, so her favourite part of the day was running through the banner at the reception reading ‘TWO TEAMS, ONE LOVE. STACEY & HOBBSY.’
See the beauty of the winter elegance wedding! You may even get amazing inspiration from them! Remember to check their wedding details.
[/et_pb_text][et_pb_gallery gallery_ids=”159807,159808,159809,159810,159811,159812,159813,159814,159815,159816,159817,159818,159819,159820,159821,159822,159823,159824,159825,159826,159827,159828,159829,159830,159831,159832,159833,159834,159835,159836,159837,159838,159839,159840,159841,159842,159843,159844,159845,159846,159847,159848,159849,159850,159851,159852,159853,159854,159855,159856,159857,159858,159859,159860,159861,159862,159863,159864,159865,159866,159867,159868,159869,159870,159871,159872,159873,159874,159875,159876,159877,159878,159879,159880,159881,159882,159883,159884,159885,159886,159887,159888,159889,159890,159891,159892,159893,159894,159895,159896,159897,159898,159899,159900,159901,159902,159903,159904,159905,159906,159907,159908,159909,159910,159911,159912,159913,159914,159915,159916,159917,159918,159919,159920,159927,159926,159925,159924,159923,159922,159921″ fullwidth=”on” posts_number=”4″ show_title_and_caption=”on” show_pagination=”on” background_layout=”light” auto=”on” auto_speed=”5000″ caption_all_caps=”off” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_width=”1px” border_style=”solid” disabled=”off”][/et_pb_gallery][et_pb_text background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left”]The Wedding Details
How did you and your partner meet?
We met at a wedding in Melbourne. An old school friend of mine was marrying Michael’s cousin. Michael’s sister had planned to set him up with another old school friend at the wedding but when she introduced them the match was not meant to be and Michael & I ended up chatting for the most of the night. At the very end of the wedding I saw Michael striding over to me out of the corner of my eye and I was overcome with butterflies. He asked for my number and a date once we were both back in Sydney and the rest as they say is history.
How did he propose?
Michael surprised me with a helicopter ride from Hamilton Island to Hayman Island where we spent the day relaxing by the pool at the One & Only resort. That night he organised a private dinner on the beach and he got down on one knee under a super moon with the waves lapping beside us and proposed. Funny side note: the super moon meant the tide came in a lot quicker than expected and by the end of dinner we were basically sitting in the ocean! We then spent the rest of the week sailing around the Whitsundays and basking in engaged bliss!
How did you choose your wedding gown?
I had been looking for a wedding dress for a while and just didn’t feel like anything I tried on was ‘The One’. I kept expecting to have some kind of holy moment when I would try a dress on that would give me the sign that it was ‘The dress’. I happened to visit Savvy Brides in Sydney on a weekend when Erin Clare was having a trunk show of her collection there and I immediately fell in love with ‘The’ dress. It was made even more special to have Erin herself there so talk everything through. Erin made the dress to fit my measurements and I ended up going up to her studio in Noosa for a dress fitting which was a surprise getaway with my mum that I organised for her birthday. While I was having my dress fitting Erin showed me a veil that she had made to match my dress design and not already having found a veil, I knew I had to have it. It was a wonderful and very special experience to deal directly with my dress designer and really made the whole experience quite unique.
What sort of style did you envision for your wedding day?
‘Winter Elegance’ – a roaring fire, a beautiful timber book barn, cosy and oozing with love.
What was your favorite moment from the day?
Running through our AFL banner (with the song Holy Grail by Hunters and Collectors playing) into the horas (Jewish dancing that the function begins with).
The banner read “TWO TEAMS, ONE LOVE. STACE & HOBBSY”.
Michael and I bonded over our mutual love of footy and he is a bombers supporter while I am a swan’s supporter. We were both raised on football and I had always joked that I would run through an AFL banner on my wedding day. I had it made by a banner maker in Victoria and shipped to Sydney for the big day.
Also – The groom secretly organised a flash mob for me with his groomsmen (to ‘I want it that way’ by the Backstreet Boys). A few months before the wedding the best man was in a scooter accident and broke his ankle. He was adamant that he would still be able to perform the dance on the night…. And that he did – walking stick, limp and all like a total superstar!
I had no idea what Michael had planned (and choreographed!) and was totally shocked and amazed and laughed hysterically with joy and surprise throughout the whole performance.
Any DIY décor elements?
Our individual, personalised origami paper ‘fortune tellers’ designed, printed and folded by Michael & I were used as an all-in-one place setting, menu and message to guests. We painstakingly printed, cut out and folded 150 individual origami pieces but it was worth it to see the curiosity and delight on our guest’s faces when they opened and read them and realised we had made them all especially for each one of them.
We sourced vases of various shapes, sizes and colours (blue, crystal and gold) from various variety stores and op shops for the table flowers and I made the table numbers from old classic looking children’s books tied together in a bundle to create a holder for the table number.
We also set up a photo booth table with Polaroid cameras, an album and pens for guests to take photos and leave a note as a memory of the night.
If you could do it all over again, what would you change?
Nothing!…… except I would do it earlier so my grandmother could have been there. She was too unwell on the day to come to the wedding and passed away shortly afterwards and I will always think that I shouldn’t have waited a year. Time really is so very precious.
Any tips that you can give to future brides?
Be true to yourselves and chip away at it every week ahead of the wedding. Do your research! There are plenty of DIY projects and fun things you can do together or with friends for the wedding that really give it a personal touch and will definitely save you a lot of money! If there is something you realllly want, be as inventive and creative as you can to achieve it.
As stressful as the wedding planning was sometimes, we were really happy in the end that we had planned the whole wedding ourselves. It meant that our wedding was a true representation of who we are as a couple. The whole day was everything we could have ever imagined and more!
Anything else you’d like to add?
I (Stacey) am Jewish so it was very important to both myself and Michael to incorporate as many of the Jewish traditions into the ceremony as we could. We were married under a chuppah (Jewish wedding canopy) borrowed from a friend who was also married under it, we were both walked down the aisle by both parents, I circled Michael seven times as I entered the chuppah, family members said the seven Jewish wedding blessings, we drank wine from my grandparent’s kiddish wine cup (from my grandparent’s own wedding in 1948), Michael smashed the glass to conclude the ceremony, we signed a traditional Ketubah (Jewish marriage contract); and we danced the horas at the beginning of the wedding function (which were sung by a close friend of ours.
To top it off our close friend Leor became a celebrant especially so he would marry us. It was an incredibly generous and heartfelt gift that we will be forever humbled and grateful for.
Having family and friends involved in the whole day was something that was very important to both of us.
[/et_pb_text][et_pb_gallery gallery_ids=”159932,159933,159934,159935,159936,159937,159938,159939,159940,159941,159942,159943,159944,159945,159946,159947,159948,159949,159950,159951,159952,159953,159954,159955,159956,159957,159958,159959,159960,159961,159962,159963,159964,159965,159966,159967,159968,159969,159970,159971,159972,159973,159974,159975,159976,159977,159978,159979,159980,159981,159982,159983,159984,159985,159986,159987,159988,159989,159990,159991,159992,159993,159994,159995,159996,159997,159998,159999,160000,160001,160002,160003,160004″ fullwidth=”off” posts_number=”12″ show_title_and_caption=”off” show_pagination=”on” background_layout=”light” auto=”off” auto_speed=”7000″][/et_pb_gallery][et_pb_text background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left”]The Team
Dress: Erin Clare http://www.erinclare.com.au/
Makeup: Nicky Lurie http://www.nickylurie.com.au/
Hair: Hair by Louka https://louka.co/
Shoes: Panache
Accessories: My grandmother’s engagement ring pinned to my bouquet (something old), Pearl earrings (given to me by Michael as a first anniversary present) from Mazal Jewelry (something new), Pearl head piece from my sister in law (something borrowed) & Blue Ostrich feather bolero by Diamante dresses (something blue).
Bridesmaids Dresses: The only request I had for my bridesmaids was to wear a blue dress (my favourite colour) in whichever shade they wanted. Three bought dresses from Alannah Hill and Review and the other two wore dresses they already had. I wanted them to wear something that they felt completely comfortable and beautiful in and that they would wear again.
Grooms Suit: Peter Jackson Menswear
Photographer: Milton Gan http://miltongan.com/
Wedding Invitations: Adorn Invitations https://www.adorninvitations.co.uk
Cake: 3 tier cheese wheel cake by Bendooley Estate
Food: Bendooley Estate
Flowers: Flowers by Emma http://www.flowersbyemma.com/
On The Day Wedding Stationery: http://www.bweddinginvitations.com/
Ceremony Venue: Bendooley Estate Gardens http://www.bendooleyestate.com.au/
Reception Venue: Berkelouw book barn at Bendooley Estate. NSW.
Band: Mike Champion and the Cool https://www.mikechampion.com/weddings-events
AFL entry banner: Milestone Banners http://www.milestonebanners.com.au/
Ketubah / Personalised Jewish Wedding contract: Etsy
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