Sophie and Daniel’s dream was for a relaxed country vibe for their wedding and they wanted to share it over a weekend with family and friends. They began searching in the Macedon Ranges area and found a perfect country house near Trentham, with lots of outdoor space for a romantic lakeside ceremony, followed by lawn games and cocktails and canapes in the garden.
Their ceremony was warm, light-hearted and inclusive. I told the story of their meeting very early in their lives - kindergarten to be exact! They had various childhood and teenage crushes on each other and Daniel finally proposed to Sophie on the 11th anniversary of their first teenage date. They hadn’t long arrived in Vancouver, where they planned to live and work for a time. These plans took a dive after the proposal because they couldn’t wait to get back to Australia to share their engagement news and start planning their wedding.
Their ceremony included lots of family members. Daniel’s Grandma started the action by being first down the aisle, tossing flower petals. There were fun readings by family members, siblings in the wedding party and two younger brothers as ring bearers. Live music from friend, Emily Southwell, added to the relaxed party vibe with perfect song choices - “Sea of Love” as the processional and “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” during the document signing.
Secret wedding vows were revealed to each other for the first time and Daniel went the extra (impressive) mile with his - heartfelt, funny and in rhyming text!
We planned this beautiful, relaxed but classy wedding ceremony together over two meetings in Melbourne, followed by plenty of emails and texts. I enjoyed every minute of the planning and officiating process and it was such a joy to be the one to marry Daniel and Sophie. Thank you for inviting me into your lives on this most meaningful and celebratory of days.
And from Daniel:
Sue is amazing!
Beyond being incredibly kind and thoughtful, she knows what she's doing. Sue guided us through the whole ceremony process (there is much more to it that I had originally thought) and made great suggestions on how we could make this moment really memorable. Everything felt very personal, thoughtful and special.
Not least important was Sue's care and thoughtfulness on the day – from helping me fold my pocket square properly, to helping the groomsmen get their buttonholes on, not to mention the amazing ceremony she delivered!
Sue – thank you, thank you, thank you!
Celebrant: Sue Begg
Photographer: Wild Romantic Photography
Flowers: Wootton & Nicholls
Hair & Makeup Artist: Carla Dyson
Sophie’s gown: d’Italia
Bridesmaid’s dresses: FME Apparel
Catering: Hampton Wine Co.
Venue: Private property