Coming up to 5 years in August.
What was the theme and colour scheme for your wedding?
I wanted everything elegant, simplistic & classic. White, Black & Purple were the colours used.
How did you incorporate your personalities into your wedding?
Writing our own vows was a big one, as well as designing the ceremony with Jennifer. Also Mark & I absolutely love coming down south & we spend as much time down as we can, so getting married down south was perfect. We also chose all our wedding songs which were very us.
Really every detail in the wedding was very us, right down to having our 2 dogs on our wedding cake.
What was the hardest part to plan for your wedding?
It all fell into place really easily, the only worry I had was if it was going to rain on the day at the secret garden, the best location to get married is uncovered. As it turned out though we had a beautiful day!
What was the one thing you weren't going to comprise on for your wedding?
Everything! Mark & I were very particular in everything we wanted for the day & found a way to make everything work.
How many guests did you have at your wedding?
65 including the bridal party.
When did you start looking for your wedding dress and how many did you try on to find the one?
I sort of started looking online maybe a year before the wedding & had a few ideas. However,I was looking through a wedding magazine and I turned to a page where a girl was wearing the Papillon dress & my heart stopped, I was breathless - I absolutely fell in love with it. For the rest of the night/week I had to keep going back and looking at the dress, I was so mesmerized by it. There was a story alongside the girl in the dress, which stated who made the dress & the name. I then looked up Australian suppliers & found 1 in Perth (Elle) & 1 in Sydney (Helen Rodrigues). The Perth store did not stock the Papillon, but they had other Jenny Packham dresses.
A few months after this, I made some appointments to go try on some dresses in Perth, including a visit to Elle. I think I tried about 4 dresses on, but then was over it as I knew I had found my dress.
I visited Elle & tried on some other Jenny Packham dresses, but my mind was made up. From here myself, my mum, auntie & best friend booked a trip to Sydney to try on the Papillon at Helen Rodrigues. Although she had many many dresses, this was the only one I tried on, and as soon as I seen it in real life my decision was made up.
The attire for your bridal party is gorgeous how did you choose this combination?
I wanted a simple, elegant look for the bridesmaids & white just came to mind! It was then finding a white dress which didn't look to bride like.
I fell in love with the bridesmaid dresses as soon as I had seen them. From there I decided to give them coloured flowers to stand out.
For the Grooms man we wanted them to look smart & classic. So black suits, white shirts and a touch of purple from the flowers was added to tie them to the bridesmaids.
Why did you choose to carry orchids on your wedding day?
Orchids are my favorite flowers. I was however absolutely blown away by how beautiful the bouquets were & how beautiful the purple orchids looked against the bridesmaids white dresses.
Tell me about the running of the day what time did you start preparing etc?
My bridesmaids & I stayed at Empire Retreat the night before the wedding & the wedding day started about 6am for us. We had breakfast together at Empire Retreat, then headed straight to the Secret Garden as that is where we got ready. There is a beautiful house on the estate that you can get ready in & Libby was already there when we arrived at 7:30am to start on our hair.
From there, our makeup lady & Zoe came to do our make up and nails. It was so much fun getting ready with all the girls & my mum. I had given them all a surprise gift pack, which included personalized bath robes and slippers, which we lounged around in all day while we were getting ready. The boys got together at Darby Park where they all had a cooked breakfast. They then relaxed for a while before getting picked up & taken to the Secret Garden. They were there by 2:30pm & 3pm the ceremony began.
What was it about Secret Garden Margaret River that made you choose this venue for your wedding ceremony?
I feel so lucky to have come across the Secret Garden. It all actually started with my favorite wine! - Being Verse 1. I googled the wine, which brought me to the Brookland Valley estate.
I then made the extremely happy discovery that Flutes was the restaurant on this estate as I had heard so many good reviews. After making my enquiry with Flutes, Dianne (the Flutes Coordinator)passed on information to me about the Secret Garden. Mark & I straight away made enquiry’s & went down to view the grounds & meet Pat. We both absolutely fell in love with it straight away & made a booking right there and then.
What were the first words your dad and mum said to you when they saw you in your wedding dress?
The first time my dad saw me in my wedding dress, completely ready for pre photos before the reception there were tears in his eyes & he had to take a moment before we could have the photos taken. That was really moving.
What were the proceedings for your wedding ceremony and what time was your ceremony?
We wanted a quick ceremony & Jennifer was excellent at suggestions and advice. The ceremony was to start at 3pm & would take about 20-30mins. Which was perfect for us.
What is running through your mind as you walk down the aisle to Mark?
I was trying my hardest not to cry, I was so emotional when I was walking down the aisle. The thing that got me through was waving to all my guests as I walked down.
What were the first words you said to one another as you arrived at the ceremony?
I really don’t remember!
Did you or Mark start to get teary at your wedding ceremony?
Not during the ceremony, for me it was walking down the aisle when I had to try my hardest not to cry! When we were up there together it was comforting as we were both there & making our commitment to each other. It was defiantly more happy then emotional.
Did you have traditional vows or something written yourselves?
We both wrote our own vows. Which we heard for the first time when we were saying them to each other at the ceremony.
Why and when did you have the butterfly release?
I love all things magical & absolutely love the legend about a butterfly. ‘That you can tell them any wish & they will carry it away to the gods’ We had the release after the vows & ring ceremony. Right before we signed our wedding certificate.
What did your guests do after your ceremony while you and Mark went off and had wedding photos?
They stayed at the Secret Garden, where they could wander around the gardens. We had the ‘Soul Survivors’ playing music & canapes & drinks were served.
Where did you go for wedding photos?
We stayed on the Brookland Valley Estate, there were so many beautiful areas for photos. Firstly we had photos right where we were married. Then we moved around the corner to a location with beautiful greenery/archways & water pools. From here we made our way to the top of the estate, where there was an old cottage. Then into the Vineyards & finally right outside Flutes Restaurant.
Would you recommend John Kuppens Photography to other couples and why?
Absolutely. Mark & I loved John from the first time we met him, he is so friendly & down to earth. Also takes beautiful photos, which I had seen on his web site. Leading up to the wedding, he just made everything so easy for me, any request I had, he accommodated. On the actual wedding day, he was just amazing & just such a lovely person to have around you. His wife was also helping him out & she was just beautiful too. And then obviously the actual photos! They are so beautiful & everything I had asked for.
Why did you both choose Flutes as your wedding venue?
It was all pure luck! We were so lucky that Flutes was the restaurant on the estate where the secret garden was, it just all tied in together perfectly. It is such a beautiful restaurant, perfect for weddings.
What were the decorations for your wedding venue?
I wanted to keep this all very simple & minimal also. The tables had a simple white linen table cloth, which was decorated with a clear round vase with orchids, pebbles & tea light candles.
What happened at your reception?
The reception was so much fun! We all had the time of our lives, we had speeches after each course of food was served, starting with myself, then Mark. Followed by our best friends, and then ending with both our fathers. I knew that my dads speech would have me in tears so I wanted to leave his until last. All the speeches were extremely heart felt & the bestmans speech was extremely funny. After this we danced the night away! I love to dance, so that is where I was for the rest of the night. DJ Macca did an amazing job with the music, suiting it to everyone’s taste & keeping everyone on the dance floor. It was so great to see all my family up there, my mum & dad dancing the night away, my uncle having a breakdancing competition with the best man & even my nan was up having a groove. It made me so happy to have so much fun with the people I love. At the end of the night, everyone did a good bye circle & Mark & I left first. We headed to Empire Retreat for the night.
What food was served at the reception?
Might I add all the food was delicious! In fact people still talk about the beef dish!!
Most memorable part of your wedding day?
What I remember the most about my wedding day, apart from the happiness I felt marrying Mark, was the love that we were surrounded with. Everyone at our wedding meant so much to us, either being family or best friends. You could just feel the love and closeness of everyone in the atmosphere.
Describe the look and flavor of your cake?
Our cake was chocolate torte, 3 layered with white icing. It was then decorated with Orchids & diamantes in a waterfall effect. Then my favourite part was the figurines, there was Mark & myself & our 2 dogs – Shelby & Latisha. Actually my dad took the figurines from the wedding, had them frozen dry & framed. They are now hanging in my entry way at home.
The cake would have been one of my favourite things of the day. We used the cake as desert which was served with cream & anglaise.
Did you make anything for your wedding?
Yes, I made our invitations & thank you cards.
Where did you spend your wedding night?
Empire Retreat.
How do you feel now that your wedding is over?
So happy & blessed to be married to Mark. Its amazing to be able to look back on the day in such admiration, it was such a perfect day filled with so much love & everything turned out exactly how I had hoped.
Were did you honeymoon?
We mainly travelled through Europe, stopping in Thailand at the end for one of my best friends weddings. My favourite place which we visited was Florence, Italy.
Advice for other planning brides:
Relax and enjoy the planning, seeing it all come together on the day is just so amazing. Also ensure you take moments during the day to stop & absorb what is going on around you.
When you look back what would you have done differently on your wedding day?
Absolutely nothing.
Melita & Mark's Margaret River Wedding 
