Friday 26 August 2011

Location, Location, Location!

Last Sunday was a fun day! We drove to Simon's parents house in Ararat on Saturday night and got up nice and early Sunday morning (skipped church) and drove out towards the Grampians to check out possible wedding locations! Guess what?! We took video too :D So here is a collection of our adventures...


Luckily we found it! (... and we were even early! ;D)

Driving up the looong driveway...
So...


Here are some photos I took, there is a beautiful homestead (only the outside can be used), gardens, accomodation and rustic reception rooms!


Here are some more pics of the accomodation and beautiful grounds...


And last lot at this location... (there were loads more, I was sooo snaphappy!)







Our thoughts... (turn the sound up to hear Simon)


Stay tuned for my next post to see what the second location was like!

:)

Renee X

Wednesday 10 August 2011

We’ve set a date!

Simon and I have set a date for our nuptials, hopefully it's going to be Saturday November 10th, 2012! We are excited that it's (kind of) set in stone now. We are planning on having the ceremony at 3pm and the Reception by about 7pm. We really want to have the reception outdoors maybe a marquee or something, we don't want a big fancy ballroom sit down dinner style we want it to be relaxed (but really nice) buffet style.
I just had a thought, we probably need to consider mozzie candles...
These ones are citronella anti-mosquito candles but they look classy too, might fit in really nicely with some other candles too...
At that time of year here in Australia I'm hoping the weather will be about 25 degrees Celsius which is perfect weather for me! We are planning on getting married in the Grampians in Western Victoria at this stage because Simon grew up in Ararat which is pretty close and he worked in Halls Gap in the Grampians for a few years when he first became a chef... Also it's quite picturesque and with my parents living in Adelaide they will have to travel somewhere for our wedding and the Grampians are closer than Melbourne!
I really want to get married in a church, but there isn't actually that many, if any, churches in Halls Gap, certainly not any big enough to hold 100 people so I might have to compromise on that... Funnily enough Simon isn't actually that bothered by this and quite likes the idea of getting married in a garden, even though HE's the Salvation Army Officer!
This is a chapel at a historic artsists colony called Mont Salvat in Melbourne, if I was getting married in Melbourne I would definitely look into getting married here however this is ideally the type of church I would be looking for in the Grampians but I don't think I'm going to have much luck...

This month we are hoping on taking a look at a few different locations for both the ceremony and the reception and booking them as soon as possible! On our hit list is;
Chatsworth House Functions
They are a beautiful property with a homestead and several different options for receptions, they also offer accommodation at this location as well, I like their idea of a BBQ Breakfast the next morning after the wedding!
I also love the idea of using these stables!

Grampians Pioneer Cottages
International guests will appreciate the Australiana of these locations however I would then have to organise everything else such as hire equipment, catering etc... I'm not perturbed by this but I will have to consider what is most cost-effective in comparison to the additional organisational headaches...
 But this looks fun doesn't it?

The only other location we will probably consider in the Grampians is good old Norval which is a campsite The Salvation Army has used many times... It probably won't be my first choice but having not been there I still want to have a look.

That's what we're working towards this month...

Wednesday 3 August 2011

Otherwise Engaged!

I finally got some photos from our engagement party, I wanted to share... These haven't gone on facebook so should be new...
 This is the engagement cake that Simon's Aunty Joy made!
Mel, my older sister made these Red Velvet cupcakes with orange icing to go with it!
My nephew Philip (2) and me, you can see some of the decorations in the background
Me and Simon my fiance
Outside for a quick speech and toast as the sun was setting.
Sealed with a kiss!
This is my favourite photo, we love each other!
Cutting the cake, from this angle you can see a bit of the set up we had outside.
Another pic of the cake, some more cupcakes that Sara made and our teacups
Look at the inside of the cake! It was Caramel and Chocolate Marble!!
My family Simon and I
Simons family and me.

Hoping to share more of our plans with y'all soon!