East Gippsland Wedding Planner

68 EAST GIPPSLAND WEDDING PLANNER 2017 | www.eastgippslandweddingexpo.com.au Who: Brooke and Jarrod Matthews. When: November 28, 2015. Where: Married at Pentre Grange, Meerlieu, in its beautiful garden, with the reception at the same venue. Attendants: Maid of honour Nakita Dyer and bridemaids Andrea Boote, Olivia Van Reyk and Erin Matthews. Best man Brendan Matthews and groomsmen Shannon Anderson, Jeff Van Den Oever and Sam Nickless. Guests: 95. Gown: Raffaele Ciuca on Sydney Road in Brunswick. I had a day of appointments booked in at dress shops on Sydney Road and my first stop was Rafaelle Ciuca where I found the perfect dress! I ended up with a strapless dress (which was not what I had dreamed of). I tried on various dresses that I had pictured being my dream dress but didn’t fall in love with any of them. My mum saw a dress hanging up, which originally I was not keen to try on because it was strapless, but she convinced me to try it on and that was the one! My advice is to definetly have an open mind when trying on dresses. What you think you like may not be the right style for you. Flowers: Van Berkel Florist. Bride - a mixture of baby breath, David Austin apricot and pink roses, peonies, pink carnations and white freesias. Bridesmaid - baby breath bouquet. There was also a mixture of all of the flowers in old jars around the venue. SURPRISE PROPOSAL, PERFECT WEDDING Transport: I arrived on horse and cart with my bridal party. Something old, new, borrowed and blue: I didn’t really follow this tradition, but I did wear my Nan’s pearl necklace, which was something old and something borrowed. Menu: Canapes by Essenz Gourmet Catering in Sale. Colour scheme or theme: Rustic theme. Decorations: Mainly supplied by Pentre Grange and we supplied some bits and pieces ourselves. The bridal party and our families all helped to set up and decorate, along with Carol from Pentre Grange. Music: Acoustic music by Matt-Peter Fry. Photographer: Alice Campbell Photography. Favourite wedding day memory: Arriving on horse and cart and seeing Jarrod’s face as I walked down the aisle. How did you meet: Through mutual friends in high school. The proposal: It was a total surprise! Jarrod had organised with one of my friends for her to invite us to have dinner at her house in Eagle Point (unbeknown to me we were never going there for dinner). We took our dogs for a walk before ‘dinner’ near the Eagle Point Bluff. While we were walking the dogs, Jarrod organised a friend to come and set up a picnic on top of the bluff. On our return from walking the dogs there was a beautiful picnic set up and Jarrod popped the question! Words of wisdom: Try to take in every second of the day. It is all over in a flash.