MELISSA & MARK

Q & A WITH THE BRIDE
Who
Melissa Hindle, 28, Public Servant and Mark Hindle, 32, Public Servant/Communications Consultant
Location
Centennial Vineyards, Bowral, NSW
Guests
90
Theme
“Rustic with a little bit of vintage glamour”
The Wedding dress
“My dress for the big day was designed by Pronovias La Sposa (imported from Spain). It was a strapless, fishtail full lace gown in ivory with covered buttons down the back and a medium length train.”
Bridesmaids’ dresses
“My bridesmaid’s purchased all their beautiful dresses from Bridesmaid’s Only in Double Bay, Sydney. My girls all wore floor length gowns in different shades of champagnes and pinks with different styles to suit their shape and preference. Words cannot describe how beautiful my girls were on the day and all the colours complimented each other perfectly.”
Invitations
“Our invitations were designed and printed by Laura at ‘By Invitation Only’ on Etsy. We chose a blush colour for the trifold envelope with ivory cardstock and back calligraphy font. For something a little bit different we included a quirky RSVP card of humorous multiple choice answers. We had trouble getting some guests to return them as they wanted to keep them to show their friends – so they photocopied them instead.”
Flowers
“Our flowers were designed by the amazing Michelle at ‘Affair by George’ in Bowral, NSW. We chose colours that complemented the bridesmaid’s dresses in colours such as latte, champagne, ivory, blush and deep pinks. I chose a formal style posy arrangement for my bouquet which included roses, lisianthus and snowberries. I also had lace from my dress applied to the binding to bring it all together. My bridesmaids were carrying lace fans so we opted for simple corsages to match my bouquet. Michelle read my mind, I was amazed by the overall look – it was perfect!”
Ceremony
“When Mark and I first got engaged, we both wrote down 5 quirky things we loved about each other and we each sent them separately to our celebrate. By the time we got to the end of the aisle, we had completely forgotten what we had written! It was a nice surprise and nice to know that nothing had changed – we still felt the same as we did then.”
Reception
“Our reception was perfect from start to finish. Following the ceremony guests we entertained with live entertainment, champagne, canapés, oyster station and games to keep them entertained while we were getting our wedding photos. Instead of a traditional guest book, we asked our guests to place their fingerprint on our ‘wedding tree guest book’ – it is now framed in our house and I love it! You can find these on Etsy! We had an ‘Ad Libs’ activity sheet for the guests who were requested to fill them out before the main meal for our MC to read out the wittiest responses – this was definitely worth the effort and definitely got the crowd going! Our first dance was a little bit different….we found an acoustic version of ‘Never gonna give you up’ by Rick Astley. Half way through we mixed it into the original version in which my very uncoordinated husband and I performed a dance routine for our guests. People are still talking about it and I am very proud of my husband for nailing it on the night! Our photo booth was a little bit different too with a theme of ‘Almost Famous’. We bought a number of life-size cardboard cut-outs of famous people such as President Obama, Justin Bieber, Queen Elizabeth, Homer Simpson and Ron Burgundy…just to name a few. This was a lot of fun and will treasure the photos for a lifetime. ”
Decorations
“Our venue had natural rustic charm and character already which didn’t require much in the way of decorations. For the ceremony our amazing florist created a beautiful iron arch with tortured willow and spot blooms weaved through it. To top it all off we requested a chandelier to hang from it for a touch of drama. On the bridal table, I created a replica of the rose and dome from the Disney movie ‘Beauty and the Beast’ complete with glow berries to light the dome up in a light pink colour. It looked truly magical and was definitely my favourite touch.”
Favours
“Why did you choose them? I made my own favours for the wedding, which took some time so I suggest brides-to-be start this early. I made a bride and groom out of wooden clothes pegs, I found this idea on Pinterest. They were a nice touch and finished the place setting off perfectly.”
Wedding cake
“Instead of a cake, we had a cupcake buffet which was a hit with the guests! So much so, there was none left by the end of the night! We had over 100 including 12 different gourmet flavours. Our cupcake toppers were a little Lego bride and groom. “