Wye River has always had a soft spot in Josie and Al’s heart, as they regularly ventured down the Great Ocean Road to Al’s family property in Apollo Bay. When they found Wye General Store, they fell in love with the relaxed and intimate feel and knew it was the place they would say their I-do’s at.

Check out the celebration below, captured by Timothy Marriage.

In a nutshell, how would you describe your wedding day?

Friends, family and fun. It was everything we hoped for, and so much more!

What did you expect was going to be your favourite part in the lead-up? What did it end up being?

Josie – I was honestly really excited about the whole thing leading up, I couldn’t wait for every aspect of the day – getting dolled up, celebrating my relationship with all my favourite people and dancing the night away. Looking back I’d say my favourite part was the ceremony – I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face and I often think back to how amazing it felt to make my love for Al official!

Al – I couldn’t really tell you one specific thing to be honest. From spending the week prior to the wedding by ourselves down in Wye River to eating and drinking with friends and family it was all great. If I were to pick one thing it would be seeing Josie for the first time in her wedding dress. I still remember it like it was yesterday, she looked stunning. We love Wye River and we’re so happy that we could get hitched in such a meaningful place to us.

Did you write your own vows? If so, what made you decide to do that?

We worked with our celebrant to decide the flow of the ceremony, picking and choosing the bits that felt right to us (and weren’t too traditional). Then wrote our own vows to sit within that framework. We both work in creative fields, so it was important for us to express ourselves in our own words, and make the ceremony personal.

What was it about your wedding venue that made you choose it?

We’ve always had a soft spot for Wye River, stopping there every time we ventured down the Great Ocean Road to Al’s family property in Apollo Bay. We wanted our venue to feel relaxed and intimate and Wye General was just that.

Now that you’re married, what’s your best piece of wedding-planning advice you can share?

Perspective! It’s easy to get carried away thinking you need this or that to have the perfect wedding, or to stress about every little detail. But all that matters is that you’re celebrating your love with each other, and all your favourite people. We had torrential rain and had to change up our ceremony plans the morning of the wedding, but looking back we wouldn’t change a thing. The happiness we felt that day couldn’t be dampened by any weather dramas!

If you had your time again, is there anything you’d do differently?

Honestly nothing! Except maybe keep Tim around for the entire night! Our photos are such a perfect snapshot of the day and we often look back through them to re-live different moments.

Finish these sentences: My partner is…

Josie (about Al) – My happy place.

Al (about Josie) – My rock.

The best thing we did at our wedding was…

See each other before the ceremony! We’re not big on tradition and the idea of seeing each other for the first time while everyone’s eyes were on us felt a little daunting. So we chose to see each other before the official stuff kicked off which was the best decision ever! Having that moment with just us two (and Tim!) was really special. It also took away all the nerves so we were completely relaxed and present during the ceremony, plus it meant we didn’t have to leave the party for photos – win win!

We splurged on…

Our wedding rings, and the band. One of the most important things to us was that our wedding was loads of fun, so live music was a must. We wanted the dance floor to be pumping all night, and it well and truly was! Then, at the end of the day our wedding rings are something that will represent our marriage and our wedding day for years to come so it made sense to splash out there.

We saved on…

Everything else! We did a lot of things ourselves, including the invitations, flowers and the dessert table (well for that we roped in family and friends!). In the end it made everything feel that little bit more special, and more like us which was an added bonus!

CREDITS: Photography Timothy Marriage // Venue Wye General Store // Custom Neon Signage Neon Republic // Bridal Gown Rebecca Vallance // Bridal Shoes Nine West // Earrings Lucy Folk // Bracelet Georg Jensen //Bridesmaid Dresses Mister Zimi // Groom Suit Reiss // Groomsmen Suits Politix // Ties and Bowties Ted Baker Politix  // Rings Georg Jensen Natalie Marie // Hair and Make Up Holly Harnwell // Music Luke Legs.

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