Scott + Stasha by Shots by M - Together Journal

When I first met Stasha I was a single dad with two young kids. Stasha fit into our family dynamic perfectly and became a strong female role model for the kids from early on. After being together just under a year we knew that we were going to spend the rest of our lives together and made the decision to buy our family home.

How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions?
Stasha – Scott and I met at the gym almost 5 years ago. My first impression of Scott after spotting him from across the room… “look at his arms”. I tried to play it cool and pretend that I hadn’t noticed him. It didn’t work. He approached me and started a conversation by asking me to borrow the foam roller I was using, even though there were four others in the corner of the room. The rest is history.

Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…
Stasha – Scott and I both work in government roles. We both love our jobs, but in early 2023, just two weeks after getting married, I had a near-fatal car crash. This was a life-defining moment. Although cliché, I realised that life is indeed short and can be taken away from you at any moment without warning. I had wanted to pursue a career in events planning and management almost 10 years ago but went down the law enforcement path instead. After my car crash, and with the support of Scott and some amazing suppliers in the Adelaide wedding industry, I decided to pursue my passion. Aston Lane Events was born and I now work part-time offering bespoke wedding planning and coordination to Adelaide brides.
Scott – We are an energetic couple and share a love for coffee, the gym, our two children and our golden retriever (oh and the golf course, but that’s just me). We have spent the past 3 years renovating our home. Our work and life can be incredibly demanding and always busy, so in our downtime, we love being at home surrounded by our family and friends with good food and wine. We love our home so much that we decided to host our wedding reception in our front yard.

Was there a proposal? Tell us a little about it…
Stasha – Scott proposed to me in November 2021. We were away on an overnight trip in the Barossa Valley. We had planned a day of e-biking, and attending various wineries. I had no idea that Scott had planned to propose to me at our first stop, Hentley Farm, which is one of my favourite South Australian wineries. We had settled in for a tasting by the fire. Scott was super fidgety and kept asking the staff when the gardener would be finished trimming all the hedges outside. I could not understand why he was so bothered by the gardener, but it all made sense now as he had planned to propose out in the garden. We continued our travels and attended a few more wineries, all too busy or not the right vibe according to Scott. We eventually rolled into Barossa Valley Estate. Neither of us had been there before but were blown away by the incredible botanic-like gardens. We settled into a stone booth at the bottom of the garden with a cheese board and a bottle of wine. There were rabbits on the lawn and we were the only ones at the winery. Scott popped the question and proposed to me with my dream ring from Louise Jean.

Tell us about the vision you had for the mood or style of your wedding…
Stasha – From the start of our wedding planning journey, Scott and I had decided we wanted to have our reception at our home in the front yard. We had put three years of blood, sweat and tears into renovating and both agreed that there was no other place we’d rather celebrate our love. From the start, I had envisioned a luxe, European summer-style soiree. My mood boards featured natural linen textures, an abundance of candles and bright florals featuring varying shades of pink, orange and lilac mixed with an abundance of greenery. We wanted our wedding to reflect our personalities and who we are as people. We were lucky enough to have the amazing Sunny’s Pizza serving woodfire pizzas to our guests out of “Elvis” the blue Bedford truck. Our guests were also treated to a beautifully curated charcuterie table and a selection of wines from Nepenthe (another one of our favourite SA wineries). Nikki & Danielle from SASH Events went above and beyond for us and ensured that my request to “dine under a sky of stars” (a fairy light canopy) was brought to life and the space was elevated by the floral magic created by Evie from EveBud.

The armoury courtyard at the South Australia Museum served as the perfect backdrop for our ceremony. Although in the heart of the Adelaide CBD, you could be forgiven for thinking you were actually in countryside Europe. It was such a stunning space that aligned with my vision perfectly. I decided that I wanted to have a runway-style aisle featuring paper fans and parasols for our guests. When the time came to walk down the runway my jaw dropped. Not only because my hunk of a husband was standing at the end of the aisle but also because of the magic Evie and the girls from SASH had created for us. It was everything I had planned and visualized and more.

Tell us about your main outfits, what was unique, is there a story?

Stasha – I knew the moment I saw Couture Love Madness’ Instagram page that I wanted Cristina Trident to make my wedding dress. Lace, tule & typical wedding dress styles did not feel “me”. I went to Cristina with a photo of a dress that Bella Hadid wore to the 2017 amfAR gala as inspiration and we designed my dress from there. I wanted a dress that reflected my style and made me feel amazing. Cristina and her team were incredible. My veil was a last-minute decision after I had completed writing my vows. I asked Cristina if we could have the final line of my vows, “Forever and Always”, embroidered onto the bottom of my veil. To my delight she made it happen for me. Cristina was with me the morning of the wedding and attended my ceremony. We had bonded over our love for Golden Retrievers during the dress-making process. At my final dress fitting, Hercules and Forest had a play date at the Couture Love Madness studio. We joke now that Cristina was the unofficial fourth bridesmaid in our wedding. After a small hiccup with the dog handler at the ceremony, she ended up subbing in and walking our golden retriever down the aisle.