Creative couple Dave and Bree celebrated their wedding with a lovely, personal ceremony and reception, featuring their beautiful small town, much-loved VW Kombi and Beetle, students from their school, and flowers and succulents from their own garden. They have some great tips for being eco-sensitive and budget-friendly. This gorgeous wedding is proof of what you can achieve with an amazing vision, creativity and helpful friends and family. There are so many elements of this wedding that I adore – the Bride’s textural bouquet is one of my all-time favourites. And who doesn’t love a fish and chips picnic ceremony and reception, with beer. (ps how much do you love the tongue-in-cheek last image of the couple with a broken-down Beetle!). Congratulations Dave and Bree on an exceptional event and on your life together.

Couple: Bree and Dave
Date: 11th December, 2010
Location: Tarwin River, Tarwin Lower, VIC
Photography: Matt Drysdale, Mornington, VIC (cousin)

Gown: Designed and created by the Bride’s sister.

Suit: 1970’s suit found in a Vintage store in country Victoria.

Accessories: Beaded ring that the groom proposed with, orange cashmere shawl.

Hair: Indigo Hair and Beauty (5 Beethoven Ct, Mount Martha, VIC, (03) 5977 2198).

Makeup: Indigo Hair and Beauty (5 Beethoven Ct, Mount Martha, VIC, (03) 5977 2198).

Flowers: Arranged by the Bride – home grown succulents (Grandmother and Groom), home grown Helichrysum (Groom’s mother), Billy Balls (from the site where Bride and Groom met), Bunny tails (from Bride and Groom’s home).

Ceremony: The Long Table (a 36 metre long picnic table made from a single piece of wood) at Tarwin Lower picnic area, (near Venus Bay), Victoria. We’ve recently moved here and wanted to introduce our secret paradise to family and friends. The picnic table reflected our casual relaxed theme as well as having the beautiful Tarwin River backdrop. Church pews were replaced with various second hand bentwood chairs and the Altar simply represented by an existing tree stump with the reedy river backdrop.

Reception: A picnic lunch at the Long Table at the Tarwin Lower, VIC jetty and picnic area. Local fish and chips were prepared by the Tarwin River Fish and Chips. Food was served in a custom newspaper cones including stories and articles of the Bride and Groom’s adventures together (a great conversation starter!). Afternoon drinks were then served at the Venus Bay Angling Club. Evening festivities were enjoyed at the Bride and Groom’s Venus Bay home. Finger food was prepared and served by family and high school students from the college the Bride and Groom taught at.

Music: Ceremony- school students (classical guitarist and singer). Reception - the school band with teacher.

Decoration: Home made trays with newspaper potted home grown succulents (made by the Groom). Hanging lanterns with citronella (found at opp shops and markets).

Favors: Ghanda Flip-Flops and succulent trays.

Stationery: The wedding invitation was a stop-animation movie home made by the Bride and Groom, sent out as a disc mounted in hand made cards made of recycled brown paper and sewn together with orange cotton.

Cake: Chocolate and orange-flavoured cupcakes, baked and decorated by both the Bride and Groom’s mothers.

Transport: 1972 Volkswagen Kombi Ute (Groom and brothers), 1964 Volkswagen beetle (Bride and Father). Both vehicles were owned, rebuilt and detailed by the Groom.

Budget Tip: As we were bound by a very strict and low budget, we utilised students, friends and family members, and their skills! If you are asking friends and family for their assistance, it is important that not one person is over-worked to the extent that they don’t enjoy the festivities. Share the jobs around! Use your imagination and don’t underestimate your crafty talents. The more memorable details are not always the expensive ones.

Eco-friendly Tip: As we served all food on wooden skewers, in paper cones or serviettes, we simply created a bokashi bucket for all food scraps and paper waste. Table runner was a long strip of Hessian which now lines our garden beds to stop the weeds, and the succulent trays, acting as table centres, were made up of 8 newspaper potted succulents. At the end of the ceremony picnic, the succulents were given to guests as favors. The succulents in the bouquet were replanted in the garden after the wedding to continue growing. All stationary used recycled paper.

Handmade Tip: We physically hand-made as much as we could ourselves. The key to stress-free handmade creations is to ensure you plan the decorations early in the piece. They often take more time than you think, and tend to become stressful and unsuccessful when made under pressure!

I wish: … we could relive the day! I wouldn’t change a thing.

Something Special: When we visit friends and families, it is warming when guests are excited to show off their new succulent gardens!

Images: Matt Drysdale

Tags:  chocolate brown and orange, cupcakes, Eco-friendly, Succulents, VIC, Volkswagen

Categories:  Australian, Budget-Friendly, Gippsland, Orange, Relaxed, River Weddings, Rustic, Smart Casual