Real Wedding - Annie and Al's Black Tie Farm Wedding

When Annie and Al decided to get married they settled on a marquee wedding at Al’s family farm ‘Pretty Tower’ in Western Victoria on a gorgeous Spring day at the end of October. It was a black tie affair with everyone turning up to celebrate in style. In true country style all their friends and family pitched in across the board to bring this special day together- from the talented bride doing all the invitations and stationary herself to friends chipping in doing all the florals.

Annie knew she wanted Paula Symons as their caterer and selected their date to fit in around her hectic schedule. Paula and her team smashed it out of the park serving up delicious hearty food for 120 of their favourite people.

They opted for classic white folding chairs and to add that rustic touch they paired them with our raw timber trestles and moss green linen napkins.

Tony Evans was there to capture all the special moments and you can see for yourself this was a cracking day. Relaxed but elegant and a real celebration of Annie and Al surrounded by their friends and family.

To see more of this stunning garden wedding scroll down here.

Annie and Al’s vendor list

Photographer - Tony Evans Photography Hire - The Little Black Sheep Hire Co Caterer - Paula Symons Catering

Flowers- Georgie Fraser and Annie Head-on. Marquee - Pure Vibe Hire Lighting - Tipi Tribe DJ - Rutherford Entertainment

Annie’s Dress - Anna Campbell Al’s Suit - Foster’s Mensland, Ararat

Country hall weddings- the reasons they make brilliant venues

Some of the old country halls in our area are absolute gems full of character that lend themselves perfectly for a celebration- just as they have done for years! Not only are they loaded with character they usually tick a bunch of other boxes such as having all the amenities right there (no need to worry about port-a-loos or a catering tent with no running water), electricity, air conditioning, oodles of parking…. the list goes on. Without a doubt though it is the character of the place that lends itself so well to a country party.

With country halls usually comes the feeling of country hospitality. They are generally very lenient when you can get access meaning you can get in and do the hard work early, hopefully leaving you and your friends and family to have a relaxing Friday afternoon to kick back, relax and enjoy a well deserved beer.

Image - Smith + Archer

Image - Smith + Archer

Image - Smith + Archer

They allow you to deck them out however you please with no limitations placed on you. This can include things like your furniture choices from what chairs you’d like, lounges, bar tables and stools, right through to hanging masses of fairy lights like the images of the Dean Hall here to make a cute hall completely magical.

Image - Smith + Archer

They can also be a lot lighter on the hip pocket- meaning you can either keep that in the bank, or you can make sure you get that freakin awesome band you were hoping to book or go all out on a caterer that is going to blow you and your guests minds. Ultimately it means you can look at your top priorities (be that food, flowers, photographer, band….. the list goes on) and know the money you saved on a venue can go towards those things that will make a massive difference to your day.

Image - Smith + Archer

For me personally, it is still all about the character that oozes from them. So maybe go for a drive and check out what halls are about. I’m sure the buildings themselves love being involved in another couples special day and if their walls could talk imagine the stories they could tell from all the celebrations over the years gone by.

Some of the cutest country halls in our area that we have worked in include the Dean Hall, Raglan Hall, Moyston Hall, the Cobb and Co at Buangor and the chapel part of Sterling Place in Dunkeld. I’m sure there would be a stack more hidden gems around! Part of the fun is unearthing them!