Pink Ribbon-themed Yarra Valley Wedding

Samantha and Billy defied convention by choosing a Bridesman and a Best Woman to witness their wedding in the gorgeous Yarra Valley. They chose a pretty classical pink theme with a hint of vintage and every guest wore a pink ribbon thanks to the couple’s wedding donation to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. What an inspiration!

Couple: Samantha and Billy
Date: 13th June, 2009
Location: Sebel Heritage Yarra Valley, Victoria
Photography: Warren Photography

Gown: Mariana Hardwick
Shoes: Alan Pinkus
Suit: Formal Red
Wedding Party: One attendant each. The Bride’s brother was the “Bridesman” and wore a Formal Red suit and the Groom’s sister was the “Best Woman” and wore a Mr. K dress.
Accessories: Swarovski and my Grandmother’s eternity ring for my “something old”.
Hair: Rogue Artists – Bryony Price
Makeup: Rogue Artists – Bryony Price
Flowers: We used my favourite flowers for my bouquet – pink peonies. All flowers were arranged by Style By Nature, Port Melbourne, VIC.
Ceremony: The ceremony and reception were held at the Sebel Heritage Yarra Valley. I am a country girl at heart so I love the surrounds of the Yarra Valley. Also over sixty percent of our guests travelled from interstate so we needed somewhere for everyone to stay for the weekend and the Sebel Heritage had enough room for everyone. Tasmania’s most highly regarded celebrant Ms Stephanie Templeton (ph: (03) 6433 3077) flew in for the weekend. The processional song was ‘Songbird’ played on the harp by Melbourne musician Alannah Guthrie-Jones. Order of Service cards were handmade to tie in with the invitations and were written as movie titles (eg. Samantha & Billy starring… Best Woman – Maria Anker, Grooms Sister etc).
Reception: Sebel Heritage Yarra Valley. Guests were served antipasto platters on arrival, a three course meal, cake and coffee. We also servied locally produced wine from De Bortoli in the Yarra Valley. The Bride’s brother was MC for the evening.
Wedding Planner/Coordinator: We didn’t have a specific wedding planner but the team at the Heritage were fantastic in terms of assisting with all the organization.
Music: Harp by Alannah Guthrie-Jones for the ceremony and The Baker Boys Band (five piece band) for the reception along with some Greek music.
Decorations: We hired Theme From Jak as stylists for the event. The theme was vintage pink. Each place had a pink ribbon tied around each napkin and finished with a vintage broach. Each bomboniere was a donation to the National Breast Cancer Foundation so each guest wore a pink ribbon all night – including the band members! Beautiful pink peonyies and roses decorated each table along with a vintage high candelabra in the centre of each table, tea lights and flower arrangements around the room.
Stationery: Rock Paper Scissors in Armadale made the one-of-a kind invitations that were made in the form of a book. Each page consisted of invitation, wishing well, rsvp and a map. The invitations were grey in colour (to match the Groom’s suite) and finished off with a pink ribbon and a vintage brooch.
Cake: The cake was a fruit cake made by the Bride’s mother.
Transport: No transport required.
Budget Tip: We wanted to make the event a family affair therefore family were used in a lot of the roles that couples normally hire out, such as brother was the MC and the Bride’s mother made the cake. Also the Bride and Best Woman made the invitations along with staff at Rock Paper Scissors to keep the costs down. Each name card for the tables were made by the Best Woman and friends at a girly night (while the boys were having their buck’s party) which proved to be the best time to make up the bomboniere and order of service cards!
Eco-friendly Tip: We didn’t need cars as our ceremony and reception were at the same location. We also gave a donation to the National Breast Cancer Foundation as our bomboniere, rather than another gift with unnecessary packaging. As we stayed the weekend with the guests at the Sebel Heritage, all flowers were displayed in a special breakfast room so that they were re-used the next day after the wedding. Guests then took them home, rather than them being disposed of after breakfast.
Handmade Tip: We put together both the invitations, order of service cards, bomboniere and the seating name tags – all matched and tied the theme in together. We also made a newspaper that was available at breakfast the next day with the wedding on the front page – this was an extra treat for all the guests.
I wish: … I could do it all over again it was so special!
Something Special: My mother gave me a Country Women’s Association pin that belonged to my Great-Grandmother to wear on the day, along with a pin from my Grandmother (on my Father’s side) and my Grandmother’s (Mother side) eternity ring. I had all the women with me on the day!