Real Wedding | Ginny & Jackson

Tell us a little about yourselves!

Growing up in a small town, Jackson and I had known each other throughout our teenage years, however it wasn’t until our early-mid-twenties that we really noticed one another. We had both gone to university, lived overseas and when we both recently moved back to our hometown, we ran into each other on a night out and never really stopped talking since.

Jackson is a high-school teacher at a boarding school, and I work for the Victorian Government. We live on campus at the boarding school with our German Shepherd Moose.

Why did you decide to get married where you did?

After getting engaged in November 2023 and once the engagement bubble wore off, the daunting reality of planning a wedding sank in. We are both very simple people and didn’t want to have a huge or overly traditional wedding.

We already had plans to travel to Italy in July 2024 with a small handful of friends and began daydreaming about getting hitched in a villa in Tuscany. After comparing the prices of an Italian villa to venue hire in Australia and with the support of our immediate families and closest friends, it was a no brainer. We found the perfect villa, Casa Bini, in the hills of Tuscany on Air BnB and invited our friends and family to stay for five days and join us for an intimate wedding ceremony.

How many guests did you have?

We had a very small wedding of about 24 people. This was perfect for us and made the day feel completely comfortable and made the planning process more manageable.

What was your budget?

Starting the journey we didn’t really have a budget in mind, we just knew we wouldn’t want to spend the equivalent of a house deposit on one day.

As we started planning the wedding and got a feel for the expenses in Florence/ Tuscany, we began aiming to keep it under $30,000 (excluding the cost of flights). We managed to achieve this.

Tell us about your outfits.

I had a vision in mind from the moment Jackson proposed! I wanted a light weight, silk dress with a low back, I just had to find it. After countless days of googling and searching websites, I finally found the dress online from Mirror Palais which is a brand from New York and ordered it without trying it on. After very minor amendments it was exactly what I had pictured. It was also ideal for travelling over on the plane.

I knew I wanted a veil with a train; however, it wasn’t until I went veil shopping that I fell in love with a drop veil with a lace trim. I felt because my dress was so simple, I could get something with a bit more detail to it.

Shoes were by far the hardest item to pick. I was on the lookout for a pointed slingback and my mum suggested silver. I was sceptical at first, however it quickly became a favourite piece of my look. With hair and makeup, I just wanted to look like myself, so my beautiful sister was kind enough to do both for me.

Jackson went to a local shop in Geelong called Eddy Elias and they couldn’t have done a better job, it was such an easy, positive experience. Jackson wore a black dinner suit with a bow tie, white shirt and low-rise all black Doc Martens.

What was the most important aspect for you, in terms of planning your wedding?

The most important aspect was to keep things as simple and as stress-free as possible. Particularly with getting married overseas and planning it all ourselves, we didn’t want to overcomplicate the process. We both just wanted to have an intimate ceremony and then an informal and unstructured reception. We weren’t overly concerned about the details.

Were there any elements that were important for you to incorporate?

Having both my mum and my dad walk me down the aisle was incredibly special, it made me feel really proud to be their daughter.

Ensuring we were well catered with food and beverages was also incredibly important and we were happy to invest in this.

I was also lucky enough to have help from family and friends with aspects of the wedding like menu design and other stationery, as well as curated playlists.

Any tips for couples getting married?

To avoid getting carried away and blowing out budgets, I would recommend consciously asking yourselves throughout the planning process if it’s what you want or are you making choices based on other people’s expectations. The most important part of a wedding is having the people you love there.

I also personally found planning a wedding in a short period of time (6- months), made decision making a lot easier - Diamonds are made under pressure!

Are there any vendors that you would like to tell us a little more about?

Our photographer Mandy Wood Studio was beyond amazing. Jackson and I are not very comfortable in front of a camera and Mandy made the entire experience so comfortable. The photos turned out better than I could have imagined and are beyond treasured.

Our caterer Zenzero Cooperativa was also incredible. They were recommended by the villa host and did not disappoint. Not only did they put together an incredible menu and cocktail service, but they also helped coordinate almost everything including flower bouquets, table decorations, chairs, crockery, glassware and so on. We genuinely could not have pulled this wedding off without them.