Flowerdale Estate Wedding of Tara and Matt

Tell me about your The Beginning!
Matt and I met at a musical festival on the Mornington Peninsula. I saw him and his brother walking through the crowd wearing bright flamingo shirts that naturally caught my eye as I love flamingos. We started talking and realised we had heaps in common and had experienced many near misses up until that point (for example we were both teachers who had graduated uni on the same day, we had had uni lectures together, we had applied to work at each other’s schools, attended the same parties and lived only a short walk from one another). Matt and I spent the rest of the festival chatting, dancing and getting to know one another. I instantly felt safe and at home in Matt’s presence and knew he was a very special person so I was very excited when he slid into my DMs later that night asking to take me on a date! That was the beginning of our love story!

When and where did you get engaged?
It was a week after my birthday and Matt had planned a surprise weekend away for my gift so he hid it well!
We left straight after work on the Friday night and stopped at Sky High in Mount Dandenong for dinner. It was so beautiful and romantic and I started to wonder if Matt was going to propose. We got through the dinner then had a look around at the views before making our way to an Airbnb in Warburton. When nothing happened I completely blocked out the idea of a proposal and thought well if he isn’t going to propose at a romantic place like this it isn’t going to happen anytime soon.

Anyway the next morning we woke up after it had been pouring rain all night and Matt seemed fixated on the weather. He told me to get ready and to wear warm clothes as we were going to be outside for a few hours in the morning. I presumed we were going for a nature walk or going to see a waterfall as we often do when exploring country towns. So I got ready and came out to Matt wearing a nice shirt and chinos but still didn’t click as to why he was dressed so nicely.

We began driving and as we were driving it started hailing. Matt started to get slightly angsty and I was just thinking oh well if we get there and it’s raining we will just do something else no big deal!

We get to the location and I see we are at the Warburton Redwoods and I start to get really excited as I loveee the redwoods in the Otways where Matt grew up.

We get out of the car and at this point the rain has mostly died off so Matt opens the boot of the car and pulls out a massive picnic basket and I ask where that came from. Matt replies saying it’s from the owners of the Airbnb and they do this for all clients – I take his word for it and remain oblivious.

We begin walking into the redwoods and the rain picks up again so we quickly find a spot with moderate cover and Matt begins setting up the picnic and sits me down on the mat with a huge umbrella.

All the food is set up but I see Matt fluffing around in his bag. I just leave him for a few moments and then I ask him what he’s doing. He replies that he is trying to set up his phone to take a photo of us. No joke it felt like it took a good five minutes for him to prop his phone up against a tree. Meanwhile I’m thinking why is he going to so much effort we don’t need a photo in the pouring rain.

He then came over to the picket mat, asked me to stand up for the “photo”, got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I burst into tears straight away and barely mustered a yes and was too excited to eat the champagne breakfast he had packed for the picnic!

What style/theme have you chosen for your Wedding Day?
Timeless, classy and elegant – I want to look back on our wedding photos and not think oh god why did I decide on that colour or style etc.

What are you most looking forward to on the day?
Tara – I am most looking forward to our first look and having that time before the ceremony to take our photos and enjoy each other’s company before we go and greet all of our guests. I am also really excited to read my vows to Matt and see our flowers – I am obsessed with the flowers!

Matt – I am really looking forward to seeing Tara for the first time on the day. I am also looking forward to spending time with our family/friends and eating all the delicious food we have carefully selected.

Top Tips!
Easier said than done but try to enjoy the process of organising the day, don’t get caught up or weighed down by other peoples opinions/judgements, make decisions based off what you and your partner want and support each other along the way

Also try to be as organised as you possibly can so you can book in the vendors you have your heart set on and limit stress!