Matt and Laura’s Acacia Ridge wedding

After 8 years together, Matt and Laura took the next step in front of their family and friends on a balmy January day. With blue, white and green as their wedding colours, the wedding at Yarra Valley’s Acacia Ridge was the perfect way to celebrate nearly a decade of love.

For Laura, this day was it. It was her wedding day. She had dreamed about it since she was a little girl. Meeting Matt when she was 17, it was two years later that the two started dating. When Matt dropped down on one knee, they just knew their wedding had to celebrate their eight-year love story—familiar, long, and full of memories. “Timeless and sentimental” were the two words they wanted to focus on for their nuptials.

Acacia Ridge was the first venue they looked at. Laura went in with no expectations and wanted to play ‘hard to get’ but as soon as she turned the corner and saw the venue, she had to blink back tears. 

“From the gorgeous landscape overlooking their vineyard to the most incredible reception with a clear marquee and gorgeous chandelier, it felt like we were outside without being outside,” the bride explains.

Wedding planning was a full-time job for the young couple who were also renovating at the same time. Getting everything organised seemed impossible at times, but it was worth the effort. The day before the wedding, Laura and her special ladies (including mum and nan) went out for a winery lunch and then stayed in an Airbnb watching Bridesmaids – could there be a more perfect wedding eve?

The wedding day itself was 25.1.25, “it looked beautiful” says Laura. It also guarantees the newlyweds a long weekend every anniversary – a smart move.

Waking up on her wedding day, Laura was greeted with the normally volatile Victorian weather not just behaving itself, but perfectly. “Let me say this, the wedding was a paid actor,” Laura laughs. “28, sunny, slight breeze.” Some people are just lucky!

A calm morning with a bit of Beyonce and bubbles flew by and it was time to go to the ceremony. Shelley from You’ve Got the Love officiated the wedding. “How magical did she make our day! I wasn’t nervous at all until we got out of the car,” Laura explains. “Shelley came over to give us a run down and she made us super comfortable, including the junior bridesmaids.”

Overlooking world-famous Victorian vineyards, Laura and Matt exchanged sentimental (with some peppering of humour) vows. The crowd was swelling with love. 

Following the ceremony, canapes and cocktails were served to pass the time while the key people took pictures with Love & Other. 

Then at 5.30 in the afternoon, reception kicked off. “The energy was electric, the love overflowing and I think I’ll dream about that moment for the rest of my life,” Laura says.

The magical night was complemented with delicious food and pumping music. Laura, Matt and their friends and family danced the night away to celebrate a special love that some only dream of. 

Following the wedding, the newlyweds whisked away to a Bali vacay. Island hopping around, the travel industry Marketing Manager knew all the places to go to relax, vibe out and just enjoy the start of the rest of their lives.

What would she do differently?

There’s not much that Laura and Matt would change about their perfect day. “Maybe I would get a content creator for the day! It was so great to watch everyone’s social media posts the following day, but it would have been amazing to see some of that content that a creator would do.” Laura explains. But besides that, the only other piece of advice the bride passes to future brides: take the whole week off work. “I took three days in the lead up but could have easily had another few days up my sleeve.”