These gorgeous high school sweet hearts met when they were just 15 years old. Loredana and Tristan’s vision for their wedding was gorgeously outworked into their bespoke dream wedding and Loredana shares her extremely helpful tips with us! Both Loredana and Tristan feel extremely grateful to have been able to have their wedding before the Covid-19 gathering restrictions came in place.
#rcrealbride Loredana wore a Berta Privee Gown– A one shoulder, statement gown with striking sparkled lace and a split with tulle overskirt.
Photography by Dan Soderstrom Weddings
THE FIRST SIGHT
We were high school sweethearts and met when we were 15 years old. We went to brother/sister schools, Xavier and Genazzano. We have grown up together given we started dating at a young age.
THE PROPOSAL
Tristan proposed after 11.5 years of being together. It was sunset and we were enjoying a champagne picnic on four mile beach in Port Douglas followed by dinner at our favourite restaurant Nautilus. He did a great job at catching me completely off guard, I did not see it coming as I was completely oblivious to the fact that he had been saving for a ring!
THE VENUE
We chose to get married in a small country town called Merrijig, located in the Victorian High Country. Our venue was a private 130 acre hobby farm called Boxtree. Our marquee was set up in a former horse training (dressage) arena and the property had panoramic views of Mt Buller, Mt Sterling and Mt Timbertop. The reason why we chose to get married in Merrijig is because Tristan and I have spent our entire relationship frequenting the region on our weekends because they have a family holiday house on the Delatite River in Merrijig. We absolutely love this area as it has so much to offer. In the summer, we go fly fishing through the Delatite River and on nature walks over the Mountains. In the Winter, we go skiing and also love hiking.
FAVORITE MOMENT
Standing at the altar with Tristan looking around and soaking it all in, seeing that all our hard work had finally paid off and our vision come to life. We chose not to engage a wedding planner and instead create our dream / bespoke wedding ourselves. We spent countless hours researching and engaging vendors a year in advance. In the lead up to the big day, we spent a number of days setting up and then also packing up. Looking around and seeing 240 of our closest family & friends, who had all made the 2.5 hour trek from Melbourne to Merrijig to share our special day with us
Tristan and I resisted speaking to eachother on our wedding day, until 10 minutes before the ceremony when it decided to rain. At this moment we had to relocate the ceremony to inside the marquee. Although we were stressed at the time, it ended up being perfect. In hindsight, we feel very silly for worrying about the rain and extremely grateful given we almost missed out on having our 2020 wedding as it ended up being on the last weekend before the Australian government decided to place restrictions on large gatherings due to Covid-19.
THE DRESS
It was perfect. My dream wedding dress, it was a Berta Privee Dress. It was a unique dress that sparkled from afar. I had two different looks as I had an overskirt that I removed later in the night.
FINDING THE ONE
A very big thankyou to Claudia Greco from Raffaele Ciuca for helping me find my dream wedding dress. Her support throughout the process meant a lot to my mum, sister and I. She is a very old and dear friend of our family and it made it all the more special that she was able to source it for me. She went out of her way to make sure she was at every fitting and that the dress was altered to fit me perfectly. I cannot thank her enough and I will be forever grateful.
TIPS FOR ALL THE BRIDES TO BE
If you have the drive and desire to plan your own wedding, it is extremely rewarding when you see your vision come to life on your special day. Leverage off your network and ask for recommendations – I did this and it helped my partner and I create shortlist of vendors which saved an immense amount of time. Don’t let the weather forecast consume you in the lead up to your wedding day, you will find a way to work around whatever is thrown your way
Tip: My tip is to never forget that a relationship is made up of two people so it is important to always listen to your partner and compromise in order to work together as a team.
—YOUR LIST OF VENDORS—
Photographer: Dan Soderstrom
Venue: Boxtree Farm, Merrijig
Church/Celebrant: Father Wahid Riad
Coach Transportation: Mt Buller Bus Lines
Flowers: Edith & May
Hair: Cass Lusi
Makeup: Cass Lusi
Shoes: Gianvito Rossi
Event Stationary: Sketch & Etch
Suits: P Johnson & M J Bale
Band/DJ: Mee2
Saxophonist: Jarrod Brereton
Bridesmaid Dresses: Bec & Bridge, Hexie, Coco & Lola
Bonbonerie: Merrijig Mist by Fiona Lawrence
Rings: JGS Jewellers
Videographer: Anchored Cinema