A Tuscan-Inspired Wedding Under The Stars in Victoria

On the grounds of a heritage mansion, Crystal and Andy exchanged vows surrounded by vineyards and engulfed by botanical gardens.

Romanced by the effortless beauty of Tuscan weddings, the couple recreated an Italian-inspired celebration in their hometown of Victoria Australia. Transporting guests to the rolling Tuscan countryside, a magical reception structure was created in front of the mansion, strewn with fairy lights for a decadent evening under the stars.

The bride’s bespoke wedding dress was handmade by her mother – a voluminous off-shoulder silhouette in painterly florals. In elegant contrast, the groom wore a black tuxedo and guests were invited to dress in all white – a beautifully classic dress code that made for timeless wedding photographs.

Capturing the day was The Lane recommended photographer, Jenna Fahey-White.

Our Story

Names / Crystal Kimber-Peters & Andrew Peters

Wedding Date / January 30th, 2021

Guest Numbers / 135

How We Met

I met Andy through a mutual friend at a Member’s event at Flemington Racecourse – a place still incredibly special to us. It was not until another 10 months later when we were reintroduced, that we went on our first date. After the best first date, we were inseparable.

Our Engagement Story

It was the coldest, rainy day of 2019 and Andy thought it was the perfect day for a cliffside proposal! The day started recreating one of our favorite dates – a Friday off work and a long lunch by the fire at Polperro Winery. After watching the extreme winds and hail across the vineyard, Andy suggested after lunch we should go to our special spot on a cliff at the back beaches of Blairgowrie. I thought he was a little crazy given the weather but went along with it with one request – that I could change out of my heels. When we arrived at the spot, the sun came out for about 10 minutes so we sat there enjoying the view and after a few minutes, he said okay let’s go back to the car. I stood up, he then said Crystal, I turned around and he was there on one knee. A huge surprise to me! We were crying and jumping around then had to run back to the car in the pouring rain. It felt like we were in the Notebook.

Marriage To Us Means…

It’s about wanting to learn and grow together whilst sharing our love, support, and commitment to each other.

The Details

Wedding Location

When we were selecting a venue, we wanted to pick a place special to us and our relationship. Over the years, we have spent a lot of time in Nagambie – we have 2 businesses up there and have been friends with the owners of Noorilim Estate for years so we couldn’t have imagined anywhere else for our wedding. Noorilim Estate is incredibly special and unique – It features a heritage mansion, botanical gardens, and a vineyard all on the one property so we imagined showcasing all the beautiful areas of the property to our friends & family. We love Tuscan Weddings and really wanted to bring that little piece of Italy to life in regional Victoria.

Preparation

The night before the wedding, we had welcome drinks in the art gallery of our hotel – Michelton (due to torrential rain we had to move it from our wedding venue) so afterward my bridesmaids and mum came back to my room to hang out before an early night. My mum also then stayed the night.

On the day, I woke up to the knock at my hotel room door from my maid of honour who had written a very special poem and a gold locket to put on my bouquet with a picture of my dad inside. After a years worth of rain the day before, as I was reading the poem the sun came out and we knew it was going to be a very special day. I then went to have breakfast with my mum followed by getting ready with my bridal party.

Overall Style & Inspiration

A Tuscan white wedding under the stars.

Our wedding dress code was White Cocktail and we designed an Italian-style food menu to support it. The reception was open air, under a light structure in front of the mansion. We really wanted to transport our guests back to Italy.

“We love Tuscan Weddings and really wanted to bring that little piece of Italy to life in regional Victoria.”

Ceremony Décor

We wanted to keep our styling simple and elegant, ensuring the beautiful gardens and lake behind us could be the showcase. The ceremony flowers; plinths and isle arrangements featured a lot of greenery with pink and white flowers to compliment my dress. My bouquet in dusty pink quicksand long stem roses and bridesmaids with white long stem roses. All the furniture was white to match the white dress code. We also had lawn games set up with white cocktail tables for a cocktail hour afterward.

Reception Décor

We first drew inspiration from previous weddings and wanted to create a day that was unique and special for our guests whilst personal and very us. We opted for something a little more unique – an open-air light structure in front of the mansion. It was actually the first time Harry the Hirer had created one so we all had some fun planning this element. We kept all décor in whites and neutrals; from the white dancefloor, candles, and the table florals, which meant my wedding dress and the groomsmen’s would stand out.

Photography

Jenna Fahey-White. I was always a fan of Jenna’s work as she captures those beautiful natural in-between moments that are so special. I’ve never been a big fan of really staged photography and Jenna really understood the aesthetic we were after. I would describe Jenna as a little ninja, you don’t notice her but she was there for every moment! We just adore all of our photos.

Videography

Vosue Films. We really wanted to capture those special moments with audio but also the epic dance floor, as our friends are pretty wild! Vosue’s video really captured the day perfectly in the space of a 6-minute film. We love rewatching!

Fashion Notes

Bride’s Dress

For me, I never imagined getting married in a white gown as I love exploring fashion and wearing something a little unique. I always dreamt of a floral print; I love statement sleeves and lots of volume so I could immediately envisage the dress straight away and the only person I wanted to make my dress was my incredible Mum – Gail Taylor.

What proved difficult was finding the right print, it was a good 6 months of searching and chatting to some of our favorite fabric shops around the world before we found the suitable print at Mood Fabrics in New York. After I finalized the design with my Mum, she started bringing our creation to life. It was such a special process with Mum – she is incredible. She then made a second dress – a fun short feather dress.

“I never imagined getting married in a white gown… I love statement sleeves and lots of volume so I could immediately envisage the dress straight away and the only person I wanted to make my dress was my incredible Mum.”

Bride’s Shoes

Gown: Gold snake textured Saint Laurent Heels with square toe

Second Dress – white feather slingback heels by Amina Muaddi

Wedding Rings

Bride: Engagement Ring – Benjamins Jewellers. Yellow pear diamond with diamond halo and band.

Wedding Band – Family Heirloom. The simple slim gold band which my mum wore when she married my Dad

Groom: Wedding Band – Benjamins Jewellers. Simple platinum band.

Accessories

I love simple accessories with a point of difference so for my ceremony look I wanted the dress to be the statement and bring in gold accessories to compliment.

I spent 10 months sourcing a specific vintage Chanel Barette to wear with my veil, as I thought it would be special to wear a piece that could become my own family heirloom one day. From there, I wanted to pair it with a fine statement pearl earring which after many purchases discovered, I already owned the perfect pair from Tasmanian jewellery brand – Francesca. All pieces I could wear again.

Groomsmen Attire

The groom and groomsmen wore black Tuxedo from Suit Supply and Shoes from Harrolds, Melbourne. Although the guest’s dress code was white, we wanted the boys to stand out in black.

Hair & Makeup

My hair was in a low textured bun with front sections out to frame my face. Simple and something that would last all day in the heat. Caterina Di Biase from Heading Out Hair has done my hair for the last 10 years so I wouldn’t trust anyone else.

I like my makeup quite natural so I wanted something a little more glam than usual but still look like myself. We opted for a light brown smokey eye with a rose lip – we actually never did a makeup trial. I work with Janice quite a lot so I had full trust in her and she knows what I like.

Style Notes

Stationery & Invitations

As COVID meant weddings were always up in the air, we sent a Save the Date via Paperless Post in case. My wonderful bridesman and his girlfriend actually designed our wedding invites through Etsy and sent them out. We were opening a restaurant at the time so they were an absolute savor rushing to send invites out for us! The design was simply white and black to align with the dress code.

In terms of on-the-day stationery – we had a simple welcome sign, seating chart – ‘Find your destination’ featuring 6 destinations special to us which our MCs navigated our guests through, and personalized menus with each guest’s name.

Flowers & Bouquets

We wanted to align the florals to the white dress code whilst complimenting the outdoor venue so kept to whites, light pinks, and greenery. Alison from The Petal Project looked at a lot of photos of the venue and made recommendations aligning with my inspiration.

My bouquet was dusty pink quicksand long stem roses to match the floral print dress, the bridesmaids had white long stem rose bouquets and the bridesman had a white rose lapel pin. For the ceremony, we had plinths and isle flowers in a mix of white and pink roses, and on our reception tables, we had a mix of white hydrangea and white roses.

Wedding Songs

Bridemaids isle: Falling like the stars – James Arthur

Ceremony aisle song: Noah Reid – Simply the Best

After Ceremony: Jack Johnson – Better together

Reception entrance: Jungle Giants – Feel the way I do

First dance: John Mayer – No Such Thing

Celebrant

Natalie Drum – was the celebrant for another friend’s wedding and when we met with her we knew she was the one. She has the most beautiful demeanor and her ceremonies are so personal and special. She really understood what we were wanting from a ceremony, captured our story beautifully, and integrated my late father in perfectly.

My memorable moment involves Natalie later too.

Food & Beverages

Keeping to the Italian theme – we designed a menu with our business partner David for the evening. He put together all of our favorite Italian dishes for a sit-down 3-course dinner. We also had a cocktail hour with canapes

Cake

A simple 2 tiered white chocolate raspberry cake (my favorite) with white textured icing and flowers on top. The amazing head chef, Adele from our restaurant Eighteen Sixty made it for us. We love all of her desserts so it felt special having her as part of our day.

Special Details

Sources of Inspiration

Pinterest, previous weddings, and Instagram were probably my inspiration. We knew what we both loved from previous experiences at weddings but also wanted to create something unique and different for our guests.

A Memorable Moment…

One of the most unexpected and special moments of the day would be the dragonfly flying over our celebrant, Natalie Drum during our ceremony. My Dad passed away when I was quite young and for our family, the dragonfly has always represented my Dad and one tends to show up at special times in my life. Our wedding was one of those special moments.

One Thing I Wish I Knew Before I Started My Wedding Plans…

It’s hard to keep to budget! Once you start planning, there’s so many things you could do but work out the important elements for you as a couple and any additional elements are a bonus. For us, our priority was the ceremony, food & wine and the entertainment.

If I Could Give Other Brides To Be One Piece Of Advice…

Enjoy the process – It is such a special time! If you find it stressful, try to break down each element so you don’t get overwhelmed and deligate elements to friends or with suppliers that you trust. The best investment we made, was booking an on the day coorindator who just has everything covered and means you can enjoy every moment of the day!