We wanted it to be moody, romantic, but also fun and vibrant with splashes of colour.
Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…
We’re a couple from Sydney who live with our Golden Retriever Rupert. We’ve been together over 10 years and spend our time as a Teacher and Nurse, and love finding things to do outdoors. On a typical weekend you might find us getting coffee with our niece Maeve or taking our dog Rupert to the beach. We also love cuddling up on the couch and putting a movie on. Family and friends are super important to us and we’re incredibly lucky to have most of them all close by.
How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions?
We met working together at a bar with lots of mutual friends. Our circles overlapped and we ended up spending more time together, later finding out even our mums knew each other. Jason says my first impression of him was obviously that he was the funniest person I’d ever met. We kept in contact whilst Tamara lived in Canada for an exchange semester for 6 months and have never looked back.
When did you first realise that this was someone you’d like to spend the rest of your life with?
I think we both realised we were each other’s person when we got to the point where we couldn’t imagine our lives without the other in it. We’re each other’s best friend and the person we want to share all our wins and losses with, the person we want to spend all our holidays with, raise kids with, talk to over dinner every night. We’re both open to giving anything a go and always learning and growing, so it was a no-brainer really.
Tell us about the vision you had for the mood and style of your wedding. (theme, key styling elements, florals, colour palettes etc.).
Our vision was a micro wedding; just us and our favourite people at an intimate dinner party. We wanted it to be moody, romantic, but also fun and vibrant with splashes of colour. We invited 25 of our closest, including parents, siblings and our best friends and their partners. We wanted the centerpiece of the ceremony to be the stunning backdrop at Rippon and the main feature at the reception to be one long dining table with candles and striking florals, looking out that iconic Rippon window.
What styling and visual elements worked best for you? (could be things, the florals, particular hire products or your marquee etc., something the stylist created or simply just the scenic beauty of your location or the existing design of your venue).
We absolutely love everything Asta from Flore Studios creates, so it makes sense that we were blown away by her creation on the day. She put together artistic arrangements full of texture and colour as per the brief and added in lots of weird and wonderful fruits and vegetables for the table centerpieces. We loved how it all came together with drapey linens, tapered candles and hanging lights.
What did you enjoy most about the planning process and do you have any tips for couples starting their wedding planning journey?
Having a small intimate wedding gave us the freedom to pick exactly what we wanted down to every last detail. We loved that we had the freedom to make the day feel like ‘us’, without worrying about any external pressures or preferences. Our favourite tip is definitely to pick vendors who already align with your style instead of trying to mold vendors to your style! We loved the work of people like Kate from Splendour Visuals, Asta from Flore Studios, Robert Glen’s music and Fi from Wed by Fi so it made the rest of our planning so much easier being able to trust that we already loved everything they did.
Tell us about your main outfits, what was unique, is there a story?
Both of us usually like to have a bit of our personality in our outfits. Jase was never going to go for a plain black tux, instead he opted for a chocolate brown Peter Jackson suit with a paisley bow tie. I had to eat my words on that one; initially dismissing the idea of a brown suit but eventually realizing it suited him perfectly.I fell in love with the Mabel Gown from Olivia Rose the Label (now One Addington). I thought the silky pearl would perfectly complement bright florals and then also spiced it up with a cream suede hat from Lack of Colour and pearl drop earrings.
What was one, or two elements that were most important to you both that you were happy to spend a little more on? (food, photography, florals, the venue, your outfits?).
Our favourite element without a doubt that was worth the money was having such an amazing venue like Rippon. When you have a setting THAT stunning, it does the heavy lifting for you, it really allows for a ‘less is more’ approach to the styling as a result. Because we didn’t enlist a planner, having Kirsty Ussher coordinate our set-up and styling on the day was definitely a saving grace for our peace of mind, so we didn’t have to worry about any family or friends doing that for us. It really allowed us and our guests to be present and enjoy the day.
Did anything happen on your wedding day that you laugh about in hindsight (even if it was stressful at the time)?
The whole thing was so magical and stress free! We definitely have a few little things that we laugh about, like our niece yelling out during the ceremony and Jason spraying himself with champagne during our photoshoot (clearly his old bartending skills leaving something to be desired).
BRIDE @tamaragleeson LOCATION Rippon Hall, @ripponhall PHOTOGRAPHER Splendour Visuals, @splendourvisuals ON THE DAY SET UP Kirsty Ussher, @kirstyussher FLORIST Flore Studios, @flore.studios CELEBRANT Wed by Fi, @wed_by_fi ENTERTAINMENT Robert Glen, @robertglenmusic LIGHTING Entertainment Solutions, @entertainmentsolutions.nz FURNITURE Major & Minor, @majorandminorhire GLASS SLEEVES Tablelook, @tablelook CANDLES Heuseeka, @hueseeka TABLECLOTHS & NAPKINS Olive Linen, @olivelinen_nz CATERING The Platter Share, @theplattershare CAKE White Rabbit Cakes, @whiterabbitcakesnz STATIONERY Placecards by Love And A Little More, @loveandalittlemoredesigns ; DIY Menu SIGNAGE Stand/Frame from Hayley the Hirer, @hayleythehirer; DIY Welcome Sign ENGAGEMENT RING Sarah Gardner Jewellery, @sarahgardnerjewellery BRIDE’S MAIN OUTFIT Olivia Rose The Label now called One Addington, @oneaddington BRIDE’S SHOES Meshki Boutique,@meshki EARRINGS Amelie George Bridal, @ameliegeorgebridal BRIDE’S HAT Lack of Color, @lackofcoloraus HAIR & MAKEUP Alarna Taylor, @alarnataylor_hair_mua GROOM’S MAIN OUTFIT Peter Jackson, @peterjacksonau GROOM’S BOOTS Windsor Smith, @windsorsmith BOW TIE John Henric, @johnhenric
