Caitlin + Steve have been together for 8 years, so it was really important to them that their day really represented who they are, both together and as individuals. The most important things to them are their families + friends and they really wanted them to be super involved. I love that their day was relaxed with bright colors + fun details. Caitlin is an art teacher and her mother is an artist, so of course there are lots of great DIY details – including the super fun pinwheel arch they were married underneath. I also LOVE that she surprised Steve with a flashmob at the reception! So fun. :) Thanks so much to Louisa Bailey for the gorgeous photos!
Processional: Groom: Every Teardrop is a Waterfall by Coldplay; Bridal Party: Love Love Love by Avalanche City; Bride: Somewhere Over the Rainbow by Isreal Kamakawiwo'ol
Recessional: She Loves You by The Beatles
First Dance: An amazing salsa dance to Hey Mama by The Black Eyed Peas!
There were two very memorable moments for us. The first was of course when we first saw each other coming down the aisle. This was especially sweet because the rain held off until after the ceremony, so we didn’t have to change all our plans and decorations!
The second was when I surprised Steve by getting our family and friends to do a flashmob to ‘Love on Top’ by Beyonce! The look on his face was priceless!
Being from different religious backgrounds, Caitlin + Steve worked with their officiant to create a really meaningful ceremony which included elements from both a Jewish and Catholic service. From Caitlin, “We included a modern interpretation of the 7 blessings as readings, which we adjusted ourselves and had seven members of our family read them to us. My sister read ‘I carry your heart’ by e.e. cummings as it’s my favourite poem.”
We found lots of inspiration from wedding blogs, paper art and art books. We decided to create badges for all the guests so everyone could be included in the fun! Guests were invited to choose a badge whose word ‘spoke’ to them. They features words such as ‘Fun’ ‘Joy’ ‘Love’ and ‘Forever’. There was even a ‘Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’ one just for fun!
The Buniyong Town Hall was decorated by Caitlin, Steve + Caitlin’s family. They collected over 300 glass bottles in the months leading up to the wedding and filled them all themselves with flowers. They sewed their own table runners and made + painted all the decorations and the guestbook. Caitlin + Steve decided that instead of a registry they would ask for donations to their home renovation fund, as they had just purchased their first home together! Caitlin made a small ceramic moneybox version of their house as their ‘wishing well’.
The surprise flashmob!!
Having Louisa Bailey as our photographer was like having another friend with us for the day. (Some of our guests even thought she was our friend!) She made everyone feel so comfortable. And the photos speak for themselves!
Enjoy the process! And make sure you have a great support team. A husband whose exact phrase is ‘You do whatever you like, I trust you. I know it will be perfect!’ also helps a lot! :)
We also decided right at the beginning which things we wanted to splurge on (FOOD!) and which we would try to do ourselves in order to keep on budget.
photography: Louisa Bailey // venue name: Ceremony at Brim Brim Gardens, Buninyong, Australia; reception at Buninyong Town hall, Buninyong // wedding dress: Australian eveningwear designer Thurley // hairpiece: The bride made her hairpiece using silk and the leftover beads from the wedding dress // bride's shoes: I designed the shoes myself through the Australian website Shoes of Prey // hair stylist: Sheree and Ange at Exterior Motive // makeup artist: Catherine Louise // groom attire: Australian Designer Country Road // paper goods: The Bride // catering: Peter Ford Catering // floral design: Stems Flower Market // jewelry: The bride's sister, jeweler Claire McArdle // bridesmaid dresses: The Bridesmaid and flowergirl dresses were made by the brides mother. With fabric from D'Italia in Melbourne for the bridesmaids and Tessuti Fabrics in Melbourne for the flowergirls // invitations: The Bride
Wow, just lovely. And she has great taste in dresses–ALL those dresses, even the flower girls, are just amazing!!
The stationery is a thing of beauty. Super cute wedding. And I love the dancing!
I am in LOVE with the “card catalogue” guest book! My fiance and I are tying the knot June 2nd and I think it would be perfect for our big day. Any idea what d-z said?
I would also love to know this!
Yes, please share!!
Several members of both my family and my fiances family have been married for 15+ years, and I would love to have “guestbook” like that!!
Oh, I’m also looking for what d-z said. Have been searching for a long time without result.
I would love to know what the d-z is for the card catalog as well. please let me know! thanks :)
Yes, I’m dying to know what d-z said! I could use some inspiration! We are doing a similar idea for our wedding; brilliant way to get advice and input from loved ones.
I love to know what D-Z said as well! I am getting married in June and would love to have this as my guestbook.
I would also like to know what the last part of the catalog included- would like to do this for my wedding!
How did the bride make those beautiful invitations?! They are exquisite!
Very good article … I love this wedding
Love how they got the guests involved with the theme with the cute name tags!
Thanks for featuring this wedding today! It’s one of my all time favourites :)
Such a gorgeous wedding! Love how colourful it is and particularly love the brooch idea! So sweet and full of love.
I love that they just asked for donations for the home renovation. I am interested in the same idea.. we don’t want to do a registery and prefer a monetary gift only because we do not have a house yet together.. How does one ask for just money? You don’t print that on the invitation I’m assuming? Help! :)
Hi Alyson!
We just made a little card to put into the invitations in place of a registry card. It said: Cait + Steve are lucky enough to
already have a house full of things.
They even recently bought the
house to put them in! It is, however,
a little worse for wear. So they would
really appreciate it if you could make
a donation to their renovation fund.
{This can be done by putting it in
the ‘house’ on the night.} Thank you!
Everyone was very positive about it for us, and said they were all very excited to come over and see the house they had helped build.
Hope that helps!
Caitlin.
Hi Caitlin, your wedding was absolutely beautiful. I’m planning on using pinwheels int\ my wedding too, and I’m wondering if you could tell me how you made that amazing arch. I know how to make the pinwheels, I’m just wondering what you attached them to you and how you did it. Thanks so much, and I hope married life is treating you well!
Hi Caitlin- I just love your card catalog guest book. Would you be willing to share what d-z was? I would love to use this at my own wedding this summer and would definitely credit you on it!!
Hi Caitlyn! I see it’s been asked before but I figured it couldn’t hurt to ask! What words do you use for letters D through Z? I’ve got quite a few figured out but I’m stuck on some and not crazy on others that I’ve come up with. I LOVE this idea! It’s so creative and different from a more traditional guest book while still not being too out there! Any insight on the rest of those letters would be so appreciated!!
Love the color scheme and those gorgeous, unique invitations!
Absolutely love those invitations. Wow!
Beautiful wedding!
Thanks for all this idea
See you
The stationary is stunning, lots of attention to detail, love it.
Amazing how the paper pinwheel accent was carried so prettily throughout! Love her dress, too!
I love all the details on this one. Thanks for sharing.
I love you guestbook idea!! Would you be willing to share what you had for each letter? Thank you!!
love the pinwheel banner! what did you adhere it to? and how did you make it stay?
I am in love with the pinwheel decor. I really want to make a similar pinwheel arch for our ceremony; is there anyway to get a tutorial on how to do so? Thanks!
Beautiful wedding! I would love to incorporate a similar idea to your brooches/badges. Can anyone give more details about how they were made?
Probably should have mentioned I want to “incorporate a similar idea” into my own wedding, which is happening this May in NJ
Looks like this question has already been asked a few times with no response, but here’s hoping I can get some feedback.
Could you shed some light on what d-z says in the card catalog?
It’s beatiful..I wish I could see all these before my angagement party, I may have many inspirations. But I kind of did my best :)
http://zeynepharikalardiyarinda.blogspot.com/2013/07/kr-nisan.html
Hi Caitlin,
I would love to know how you did you invite? I have seen searching on ETSY for something like that with an oak tree but unable to find what I am after? We had wooden stamped magnets for the Save the Date which has a tree just like your invites. Is the tree laser cut so it pops out?
You may not see this since your beautiful wedding was posted in 2012, but I hope I hear from you
Cheers
Cas
I’ve looked at just about every guest book alternative and your idea is my favorite!! I just love it and would really love to make one myself to have at our wedding in June. Would you please be so kind as to tell me what each letter in the filing catelog stood for? i.e. A is for advice, B is for bets, etc. I’m trying to create them myself but my creative ideas just aren’t flowing today! Hoping you will respond and provide these to me! Thanks so very much
Hi Caitlin- I just love your card catalog guest book. Would you be willing to share what d-z was? I would love to use this at my own wedding this summer and would definitely credit you on it!!
I LOVE the catalog index card ideas!!! I would like to know what all the letters said!
LOVE the card catalog! Would love to know what the rest said!
I love everything about this wedding! I especially love the card catalog guest book! Can you give me the list of the ABCs you used for each letter? I’m obsessed ?
Fantastic pictures, love the overall theme that’s come through the sequence of images. Fantastic job, well done.
So beautiful photos.
Hi there I am absolutely in love with that card catalog idea. If there’s any way possible that you could share the advice catalogs on D through Z I’d greatly appreciate it