Creative couple deliver signature wine at vineyard wedding

Saying ‘Will you marry me?’ with a gift is a cute idea. Delivering it on a puppy is the ultimate!

Lee Amer took her beau Nathan Brown away for a surprise birthday weekend. Little did she know, the 33-year-old was planning his own surprise for his girlfriend, also 33. “He organised a Pandora bracelet that spelt out ‘marry me’ to be delivered to me by our beautiful puppy who came bounding into the kitchen holding the little package in his mouth,” explains Lee.

The couple married at their vineyard wedding on March 26, 2016 in front of 100 guests. A ceremony at Pialligo Estate gardens in Canberra was followed by a reception in the venue’s glasshouse. “We loved making our wedding ‘our wedding’ by creating unique items and experiences throughout the day,” says the bride. “We incorporated a ‘wine ceremony’ into our wedding where we combined two local Canberra wines, a red and a white (which we regularly promote amongst family and friends) to symbolise a new life.”

But a signature drop wasn’t the only clever and personal element on the day. The couple made their own bouquets and boutonnieres out of buttons, upcycled jars with fresh herbs from their own garden as centerpieces and used old wine bottles with fairy lights for table numbers.

“Our cake was our pièce de résistance,” smiles Lee. “We made it ourselves choosing our favourite cheeses.”

Photos courtesy of Tracy Lee Photography.

The modern-look groom was dressed by Black Tie By Xavier in a navy suit and light grey vest with his groomsmen in reverse colours.

“Nathan and I love wine and are avid learners about the differences in grapes, wine varietals and regions they reflect,” explains Lee.

Says Lee, “We wrote our own vows, my favourite of which was promising each other we would kiss hello and goodbye every time we entered or left the house.”

“The favours were homemade flavoured salts using ingredients we had grown, reflecting our foodie culture,” says the bride.

“The name tags I made were chatterboxes that you make at school filled with fun trivia about us as a couple and weddings in general,” says Lee.