‘Surround yourself with good people, and good things will happen’ is Leanne’s motto.
An experienced event manager, marketer and self-confessed details person, Leanne managed her Springfield wedding to Don herself, and said "it was just what we wanted: intimate, relaxed and fun”.
"We didn’t want a traditional ‘wedding wedding’ with all the frills; we felt like celebrating with a cocktail party for a tight knit group.
"Having often worked with Ruth on various events, I could not imagine anyone else catering our wedding, and Don agreed. Springfield was ideal for us. It was all very personal: we chose exactly what we wanted and it was simply a delicious, wonderful day. We loved every minute of it!” she smiled.
"Ruth and Paul are the pinnacle of catering and event management, in our view, so we had absolute confidence in them. Ruth was incredibly supportive, as were her staff, and everyone was full of extra little ideas and suggestions to make our late afternoon wedding flow smoothly.
"I put a lot of time into getting the details right. That was sheer fun for me, and important; a rare chance for total freedom to do as I liked to create lovely surprises for our guests. I even surprised Don by having personal commemorative cufflinks made for him.
"I believe that if you make good decisions about the big things, everything else falls neatly into place. My vintage 50s-look two-piece outfit set the scene for colours and style. My stepmother helped me find the dusky blue, silver bugle bead and pearl lace for my jacket and designer Alison Blain created the look from that inspiration.
"We wanted the day to be incredibly organised yet feel spontaneous. Everywhere we looked people were laughing and having fun, which was perfect for us. I walked into the ceremony with my gorgeous father to Bette Midler’s Chapel of Love, and Don and I danced out again together toYou Make Me Feel Like Dancing by Leo Sayer.
"Our celebrant Pinky Agnew’s beautifully crafted ceremony also blended our lives perfectly, with just the right balance of humour and emotion.
"The Springfield setting was simply beautiful, and ideal for our smaller group. The ‘one stop shop’ of food, event management and venue was important to me, and we were happy to leave the food decisions to Ruth.
"She met our "keep it relaxed and informal” brief perfectly with lots and lots of tasty passarounds, with a chicken barbecue station and hand-held fish tacos served after the speeches. Tea and coffee were served later in the evening with and macarons and wedding cake. Not your normal wedding reception fare, but perfectly suited to us!”
Guests were greeted with a very special glass of Rosé champagne on arrival, and it kept flowing all night.
Produced by a boutique family-owned vineyard in Champagne near Reims, Jean Marc Vigreux-Frère Champagne is imported by Don directly from the small village.
As photographer Simon Woolf commented in his blog, "Not every bride and groom can say they had their very own champagne at their wedding! It was a wonderful touch.”
The champagne also featured in the layers of jelly within the Vanilla and Rose Geranium Layered Cake made by one of Ruth’s talented chefs. Each layer was decorated with pearls, and the cake was topped by a 1950s pearl brooch with a grape theme that Leanne sourced from overseas.
"Our wonderful florist Ingrid Pritchard of Scent supplied flowers for the cake and throughout the venue and garden.
"The whole evening went without a hitch, and Ruth’s staff was superb. They are very well trained yet retain their own special personalities -nothing was ever any trouble. Our function manager Jo, for example, was everywhere making sure the details were taken care of, and she even looked after the barbecue at one stage.
"Don and I look back on our wedding day with happiness and satisfaction that we achieved exactly the special experience we wanted for ourselves, and just as importantly, close friends and family,” Leanne reminisced.
The final word goes to Simon Woolf, who has seen many a wedding. "The occasion was filled with fun, laughter, warmth, and a whole heap of love.
"Leanne and Don are the full package, and the day was both streamlined and spontaneous (as all weddings should be!) Not one ounce of stress was involved on the day, and boy did everyone have a truckload of fun.
"Fun was an integral part of the occasion along with many other important elements, like the stunning champagne,” he wrote.
Photo Credit: Simon Woolf