Bride: Melinda Ellis
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Bridegroom: Travis Bodilly
Wedding date: January 10, 2015
The meeting
We had known each other for several years through a mutual friend (Sam, our best man). When Sam and Trav were living together we got to know each other more and things went from there.
The proposal
Trav caught up with my parents and asked for their permission. Apparently he was thoroughly warned that there was a no-returns policy! We went to a friend’s engagement party on a Saturday night. When we got home Trav dropped to one knee and asked me to marry him, holding a purple ring box. I thought he was pranking me so made him get up and open the box to prove there was actually a ring in it before he got back down on one knee and asked again.
The wedding day
We got ready at our house. The bridesmaids arrived as we were playing videogames together. One of my childhood friends, Tarni from Swift Scissor Co, did the hair and makeup for myself and my two bridesmaids Hilary and Emily while the boys played games in the loungeroom. It was very relaxed with everyone getting prepared together. When it was time for me to get dressed, Trav had to lace my corset as I had taught him how to do it the way I wanted!
It was the weekend where Bendigo flooded, and it had rained all morning. It lightened off as we were getting in the cars to go the the Big Hill Winery. We had most of our photos before the ceremony so we had more time to spend with friends and family. We decided to have the ceremony outside as it was thankfully not raining on that side of the hill.
The reception was also held at the Big Hill Winery with a total of 74 guests.
The bouquets were made by Miranda at The Eternal Vase. We also hired our table centres and decorations from her.
The dress
I designed and made my own dress. I had tried on a few different dresses but found the colours did not work well with my pale skin tone and I couldn’t find a design I liked. I’ve always loved sewing so this was a great excuse for a big project. It took two months for me to draft a pattern and play around with how I was going to construct the dress and how much fabric I would need. I got my fabric from Tylers Fabrics in Melbourne; I needed 27 metres of silk organza for the skirt ruffles alone! The fabric colour is “truffle”.
It took me almost a year to create the dress; I spent most weekends working on it. The skirt ruffles were time-consuming as each ruffle was cut from a spiral shape, then fishing line that had been set into small curls was sewn into the outer edge of the ruffle. These were sewn together with strips of organza between each ruffle. There are 40 ruffles on the skirt, with a total of 36 metres of fabric, 1.5km of thread and 150m of fishing line!
The bodice was made from pure silk satin with a corset back and beaded belt at the hip.
The cake
The cake was made by Julie-Anne at Cakewalk. It was three tiers that were lemon, choc marble and caramel.
The photographer
Caroline Duncan did our photos. She has fantastic photo packages and as a part of our package we had an engagement shoot, seven hours of wedding day coverage and wedding album credit. Her website is at www.carolineduncan.com.au
The honeymoon
We went to Kuala Lumpar in Malaysia for two weeks for our honeymoon. We had a great time shopping, sightseeing and experiencing a different culture.