Real Wedding :: Kate + Adrian

We're a little bit behind on our Real Weddings posts of late so over the coming weeks, we're going to be sharing a whole lot more of our couples with you. Meet Kate + Adrian, married earlier this year. I'd like to preface this post by saying that it brings me great joy to share their wedding with you all. You can tell that these two really love each other and the day was all about the bond they share. Kate, who sadly lost her mother to pancreatic cancer in September 2009, made a number of heart-warming tributes to her mother to ensure she was part of the day. In a world of weddings that are so full 'details' for the sake of it, this wedding is very simple, yet absolutely full of heart.

Kate + Adrian :: Saturday 23 April 2011
Pokolbin, Hunter Valley Region, New South Wales

Kate and Adrian met in September, 2004, when Kate started working for Queensland Health as a Forensic DNA Scientist. Fast forward to the end of 2010 when the couple went on one of their regular picnics at their 'special' spot in Bulimba, Brisbane, Adrian proposed. Kate says, "I wasn't particularly surprised as I basically bullied him into it. He knows now that it was the best thing for him. ;)" Nice one Kate!

All images shot by the very talented, April Werz Photography.





Theme :: "Non-traditional and relaxed." Kate and Adrian opted not have a bridal party, as they "don't agree on choosing your favourite friends and we wanted the day to just be about us." The couple opted for an unofficial wedding party who helped them get ready. Two of Kate's girlfriends also played special roles in the ceremony - one gave a reading and the other was their witness while signing the marriage certificate.

Ceremony Location :: Kate and Adrian were married by celebrant Megan West (based in the Hunter Valley), on Kate's family property in Pokolbin, NSW. Megan married one of Kate's friends a few years ago and also tap dances with that same friend, so the couple knew "she was a fun sort of a person." Kate's parents have owned the property for around 20 years. Kate says "there are no buildings on it, just a beautiful piece of land. We've always spent a bit of time in the Hunter Valley, mostly eating at all the delicious restaurants!" The couple chose to use the lyrics to Gorecki's song 'Lamb,' as a reading in their ceremony - "Gorecki doesn't really have any special meaning to us other than to sum up how we feel about each other just perfectly. Adrian said he'd never truly listened to the words until Isabel was reading them during the ceremony which then made him very emotional."









Reception Venue :: Bimbagen Estate, Pokolbin. "The perfect setting. Great food, great wine and great atmosphere."

Wedding Gown :: Kate found her dress very uncomfortable, albeit very beautiful, and had to change after the ceremony. "Thankfully, I had a white linen sundress packed for the honeymoon that I could change into - otherwise I would have been in jeans!" The bride also wore a necklace that inspired her colour choice for her stationery. Kate's late mother made a lot of jewellery and one of Kate's favourite pieces was a three strand bracelet. Kate says, "I knew I didn't want to wear a bracelet on the day so I made the necklace with beads from her collection. The frog that was dangling from the clasp was a charm that my mum wore around her neck everyday." Kate's shoes were also in a lovely shade of jade green to match.







Groom's Attire :: Adrian wore a very dashing Farage charcoal suit, from Elio Moda, Brisbane, finished with black dress shoes.

Photographer :: Kate and Adrian selected local Hunter Valley photographer, April Werz who shot both their engagement shoot and wedding day. Kate describes April as "gorgeous and so are her photos!" As you can see, April did an AMAZING job.

Florist :: Kate put together her bouquet of white freesias and reception floral arrangements herself and they were all the more special because of their meaning. "Adrian and I drove to the Sydney Flower Markets two days before the wedding and purchased a car load of white freesias. Freesias are special to me - my Mum and I used to pick them in the park every year."






(check out the Kangaroos!)

Other recommended suppliers :: Tanya and Deena from Chic Artistry did Kate's makeup and hair, along with her unofficial bridesmaids and mother-in-law. "I would recommend them to anyone, they were just lovely." Simon from XYDJ is also highly recommended. "He was very accommodating and even played a Bon Jovi song even though it pained him to do so!"

Tips and advice for other brides :: "Relax! Don't let anyone tell you what you should or shouldn't have. And don't worry about minor details - it's all about the love you have for your partner, not about which bomboniere is best. Oh, and see if you can sit down in your dress!"

Most treasured moment of the day :: "Other than marrying an amazing man, during our vows I had to stop and tell my girlfriends to keep it down - they were sobbing so loudly! Also, one of our friends does an invisible skipping rope dance which brought the house down at the reception."





Creative/Personal Touches :: "Rather than having our celebrant announce us as husband and wife, we had all of our guests yell it out. It was fantastic!" To keep the guests occupied after the ceremony, Kate and Adrian's guests played a spot of boules. Croquet was also organised but it was "far too complicated to learn once they'd had a few drinks!" The couple also ordered playing cards to be used at the reception for those who were not up for dancing however "the guests were having too good a time - the card games just didn't get a look in!" Thongs were supplied so that guests with uncomfortable footwear could slip into them. Kate says, "the thongs were a huge hit! Everybody had a pair on by the end of the night."

Kate and Adrian are avid supporters of the Avner Nahmani Pancreatic Cancer Foundation after Kate lost her mother to the disease. The couple decided to make a donation on their guests behalf, instead of giving favours. "We didn't want bomboniere because we didn't think that spending money on something nobody really wants was money well spent. Pancreatic cancer research is something that we're very passionate about given mum passed away from it. We not only wanted to contribute financially, we wanted to educate people and make sure that if our guests were only going to donate to one charity this year, it would that one." On the third panel of Kate and Adrian's tri-fold table signage, we printed a short message to Kate and Adrian's guests giving thanks for their donation and a little bit about the fund.



The Details
Stationery chosen :: The couple chose our 'We Do' design to use as the basis of their stationery suite, in which design elements and typefaces were altered to suit the couple. The suite was printed on a lovely textured stock using colour swatches 'jade,' 'scarlet + 'charcoal' from our colour chart. Kate + Adrian decided against using the ribbon embellishment as they were going for a more simplistic look and feel. We printed double-sided invitation cards, single-sided rsvp cards personalised with guest names, custom-designed bus timetables, table seating chart, tri-fold table signage, tent-folded personalised place cards, ceremony reading cards, A3 signage and personalised playing cards.









"It was an absolute pleasure to work with you Jackie. You were attentive, tolerant and delightful. I would definitely choose professional stationery again - it's so much better than anything we could do ourselves. Our wedding stationery was fun and relaxed which was exactly how we wanted our wedding to be."

About the Avner Nahmani Pancreatic Cancer Foundation
Kate explains, "The statistics for pancreatic cancer are frightening and therefore seemingly placed in the 'too hard basket'. Many people have never heard of pancreatic cancer. The recent passing of Steve Jobs has brought a lot of media attention to the disease which will hopefully increase education and spending in this area."

The Avner Nahmani Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund was established by the late Avner Nahmani and his wife Caroline. The fund is an extraordinary legacy for all future sufferers of this lethal cancer. It was Avner's aim through the Fund to raise awareness and funds that will assist in improving outcomes for patients. To achieve these aims more research into pancreatic cancer is desperately needed – around 2,000 Australian are diagnosed and die each year with fewer than 5% surviving more than 5 years – a survival rate that hasn't improved in over 40 years. The objective of the fund is to raise funds for support services, fund research and to build awareness of this disease.

If you would like to make a donation to this very worth cause, please visit the website.

Kate and Adrian, thank you so much for sharing your gorgeous wedding with us.

With love to you and yours

Jackie xo