Real Wedding // Melanie & Nathan’s Byron View Farm Wedding

Melanie & Nathan’s dreamy wedding day at Byron View Farm was spent with their nearest and dearest enjoying an afternoon full of food, cocktails and love! The intimate setting was everything they had envisioned and styled to perfection with soft blushes, whites and hints of black. This gorgeous day was such a pleasure to be a part of alongside an incredible lineup of talented suppliers. Read on to hear more about their magical love story.

Tell us about your story, how did you meet and where did the proposal happen?
Nate and I ran in the same circles, and I was friends with a few of his best friends so it was inevitable that we would meet. We officially met one night out in the city and hung out at one of our favourite bars. It would be a few months until Nate reached out to go for a coffee, and the rest is history!

Nate whisked me away to the Hunter Valley for a weekend and proposed the day we arrived! He had booked a villa and had organised a picnic to be set up in an orchard on the property. I wouldn’t say I was surprised (his poker face isn’t great), but it was so special and still warms my heart whenever I think back to that day.

What were the reasons for choosing Byron View Farm as the venue for your special day? 
We were originally going to get married in Santorini, but Covid had other plans for us.  I remember the day where Australia had a record number of cases, and the state borders were shut so we quickly decided to bring the wedding back home.

Byron View Farm was always a venue that I had loved! The 360-degree views, the trees and the intimate setting were exactly what we had envisioned for our special day.

What style were you striving for with your table settings, florals and reception? Was there a certain look or vibe that you wanted to create? 
We had changed our plans from having a huge wedding to a very small, intimate one and we loved the idea of romanticism and subtlety. We wanted our style to be soft and minimalist while being romantic. Our colour palette included whites, soft pinks, ivories and flecks of black, and we were sure to incorporate as many soft lines and textures as we could throughout the styling.

Were there any vendors that you particularly loved working with and why?
This is going to sound so cheesy, but we really loved working with all of our vendors; in fact, I think we’ve made a couple of lifelong friends!

I guess the ones that really stood out were our celebrant, Andrew Michael, he was so calm and so invested in our day that we knew he would take care of the day for us. I also love our photographer, Tessa Shannon, we met via Instagram (and had grand plans for her to photograph our wedding in Greece), and she has such great and creative ideas. We really let her take the reigns for the photos and we are so glad that we did

What were your favourite parts of the wedding planning process with Byron Bay Weddings?
Our wedding planner, Maddie was lovely! She too was a calming presence and stepped up when she knew Nate and I were struggling to find the time to plan the tiny (but important) details of our wedding. I loved the meetings we had and having the ability to email or call Maddie when necessary was great!

Kate (Manager) and Sarah (Day Coordinator) from Byron Bay Weddings were great to deal with and super insightful, they gave great tips for the overall running of the day and which areas of the property worked well for the different stages of the day.

Tell us what were the most important aspects of your wedding day and which moments really stood out to you?
The most important aspect of our wedding day was that our guests felt comfortable, were fed, and always had a drink in their hands. The staff on the day were amazing and made sure that everyone was having a great time. We really wanted our parents to feel special as well, and all of our vendors, and the staff working on the night made sure that they were well looked after. We really can’t fault the service.

What would be your biggest advice to other couples currently planning their wedding?
Enjoy the process and do what suits you and your partner most.

We loved every second of wedding planning, and we loved coming up with new ways to spoil our guests.

We faced a few big hurdles, the main was of course the pandemic and then having to shrink the wedding from 250+ guests down to 28. There was of course push back, but Nate and I wanted to get married so bad that we went down our own path and we are so happy with how everything turned out. Every decision was made with love, and we believe that that was reflected on the day. We understood that of course, the wedding was for us as a couple, but because of the intimate size of the wedding, we wanted our friends and family to feel like they were an integral part of this new chapter; because they were!

Melanie & Nathan xo

Suppliers
Venue: Byron View Farm // Hair: Petula Jade Hair Stylist // Makeup: Marley Hammond Makeup // Celebrant: Andrew Michael // Photographer: Tessa Shannon Photo // Florals: Wilderness Flowers // Musician: Niall Lochhead // Cake: Eat Cake Byron Bay // Transport: Steve’s Transport // Catering: Fig Tree Catering // Lighting:  Byron Audio // Furniture & Styling: The Wedding Shed // Planning & Coordination: Byron Bay Weddings