Tell us a little about yourselves!
We met and fell in love in Perth and have now been living in Adelaide for the past five years. We both love nature and outdoors, exploring, the ocean, excellent food, wine, music and home pottering. Zoe is a professional contemporary dancer with Australian Dance Theatre and Tom is in both the fitness and hospitality industries. We knew very early on that our feelings for each other were something extraordinary and that we had found our forever person.
Why did you decide to get married where you did?
Adelaide is our home now, so it felt right to have our wedding here and invite our guests to share in part of our world. We love the Adelaide Hills and have spent many weekends there. We always imagined our ceremony and reception to be outdoors in nature and under the sky. When we drove into Villarica in Mylor it felt special. The Tuscan style architecture and the gardens were very magical. We dreamt of having our ceremony in the round, so when we saw the secluded space overlooking the valley we could picture everything so clearly. The dry hire venue allowed for us to really curate each space and the journey/experience of our guests to exactly how we wanted it to be.
We also loved that our families could stay in the home with us for a few nights either side of the wedding and spend quality time together. From shared breakfasts, family dinners and cheese platters, we totally indulged in the beauty of the venue for three nights.
How many guests did you have?
We had a total of 56 guests, including ourselves. We invited our immediate family and our nearest and dearest friends. We loved having an intimate wedding because we could see and spend time with everyone, it didn’t feel overwhelming or stressful at all.
Each of our guests were there for a reason and we wanted them to know that their presence was the most important thing to us. Being surrounded by our favourite people made the atmosphere of our wedding so joyous, electric and magical, a feeling we will never forget.
What was your budget?
We had incredible help and support from our families to turn our dreams into reality. We prioritised what was important for us to hire/outsource and where we could do things ourselves to help balance our budget.
We planned and styled our wedding ourselves which took time, but we wouldn’t have chosen to do it any other way. We spent time researching and choosing our vendors very carefully, we wanted to collaborate and work with people who we connected to and who had their own incredible artistry. Having the right team was so important and we will sing their praises always.
Some things we DIY’d, like our stationary, painting our Just Married sign with tins off the bottom, our wishing well vessel was a terracotta bowl I had hand made and we sourced lots of vintage glassware and silver dishes for our dinner settings. Maureen (Zoe’s mum) hand punched many many tiny love hearts out of gum leaves to make confetti to throw in our ceremony. The time spent in doing these things really elevated the personal touches on our big day.
Tell us about your outfits.
I travelled to Sydney and Melbourne lots for work in 2023 so I tried on lots of dresses. I always had an open mind to what I may wear, but when I tried on the Temptress gown by Corston Couture at The Ivory Room in Sydney I felt like a goddess. I have always loved a timeless, vintage, elegant look and the silk felt like butter. I knew I wanted to wear the same dress all night and I loved that I could wear the sleeves for the ceremony and cocktail hour and then take them off for the reception and dancing! I was back and forth on wearing a veil, but when I had my final fitting at Corston Couture I tried on the half length veil and it was an absolute yes. Again, the vintage lace was so elegant and really when else will I wear a veil! I chose my jewellery from Sarah & Sebastian, gold pearl earrings and a matching signet ring. I adore the organic nature of the jewels and am so happy with how it all came together.
With Tom’s mum being a seamstress the suit was always going to be important. Tom was deciding between an ivory jacket for his tuxedo, or going with the three piece and the three piece won out in the end. The horseshoe style vest was a conscious choice to keep the waistcoat just below the line of the shawl collared jacket. Double breasted also being intentional. Michael from Beg Your Pardon was a wealth of knowledge and made the experience so comfortable and personable.
What was the most important aspect for you, in terms of planning your wedding?
It was really important for us in each step of our planning to really make sure we were staying true to how we wanted our wedding to be. Not being swayed by how we believe a wedding ‘should be’ or what is normally the way. We wanted every moment to feel like us and just have the best time with our best people. We are so proud of how we stuck to this. We love good food and drink and an excellent dance floor. We had champagne on arrival to get the party started, Negronis at cocktail hour (which are our fav) and lemon tart for dessert! We spent time curating each space in terms of sound, mood and atmosphere so each part of the day felt seamless.
Were there any elements that were important for you to incorporate?
Absolutely, writing out personal cards to each guest was a must from the start, sharing our love for them and a little note that they could take home. The food and the wine was a hot talking point throughout the wedding planning process and curation of our drink and food menu was really important. Sam and the team from Kitchen and Catering by Sam were extremely adaptable to our flavour palate and workshopping the menu. From the Caprese salad canapés, the olive and pickles being on the table as a bit of antipasti, to Angie (Tom’s mum) hand making her biscotti for a little palate cleanser post dessert. We spoke to our favourite winemaker in Margaret River, (the team at Windows Estate) and ordered in their Chardonnay to be on our drinks menu, as well as collecting a unique liqueur glass for each guest over the past year for us all to toast with limoncello at the end of the night.
Any tips for couples getting married?
Stay true to how you want the day/days to be! The discussions/ideas/ brainstorms/drawings and random thoughts at all hours of the day for the year leading up to our wedding were all part of making our big day so precious. The time you get to spend together planning make your day uniquely yours.
Are there any vendors that you would like to tell us a little more about?
Our team of vendors were absolute superstars. We had known for a long time we wanted to have Sebastian Paynter as our photographer and he captured the emotion and sensations of the day spot on. Our photos feel like ‘us’ and we will forever be grateful to have these.
Chelsea our wedding coordinator from Status Official is a legend. Her commitment and eye for detail is second to none and she was the best decision we made. Chelsea put her heart into every moment and made the day run so smoothly.
Ashleigh at Bloom Town was excellent. Her care and passion for her craft is so evident and we will be forever obsessed with our wedding blooms.
Amy Harrison,our celebrant, is incredible at what she does. She set the mood for the whole day to follow and our ceremony was beyond incredible. We laughed, we cried and felt so trusting in her presence.
Morgan Sette has shot photos for performances at ADT and when I asked if she would be open to film our wedding it felt so right. I wanted someone filming who I felt comfortable around and she did such an epic job at capturing content that we will always treasure.
Photographer: Sebastian Paynter @sebastian_paynter_photo | Planning & Styling: Zoe & Tom | Coordinator: Status Official @statusofficial.au | Flora: Bloom Town @_bloomtown_ | Videographer:
Morgan Sette @morgansette | Ceremony & Reception Location: Villarica @villarica_estate | Celebrant: Amy Harrison @amy_harrison_ celebrant | Hire: White Marquee @whitemarquee, Modern Party Hire @modernparty, Linen from Found Collective @foundeventhire, Parasols from La Simplicite
@lasimpliciteevents | MUA: Millie Herd @millieherd | Hair: Son Studio @sonstudio_bridal | Catering & Beverages: Kitchen and Catering by Sam @kitchenandcatertingbysam | Cake: Alex Schubert
@blaqueinc | Stationery: Zoe & Tom, artwork by Billie Justice Thomson @billiejusticethomson, linen welcome sign by Paper Paper @paperpaper.co | Entertainment: Ruby Chew @djrubychew | Dress: Corston Couture @corston_couture | Suit: Beg Your Pardon @beg_yourpardon | Veil: Corston Couture @corston_couture | Engagement & Wedding Rings: Diamond Designs Studio @ddsdiamonds | Shoes: Viktoria & Woods @viktoriaandwoods (Zoe) & Aquila (Tom) @aquila_est1958 | Other Jewellery: Sarah & Sebastian @sarahandsebastian