1940s Vintage Wedding Dress & Daisy Bouquets and Lots of DIY For An Outdoor Tipi Wedding

How do vintage fabrics and old Volkswagen buses end up in the same wedding? You’ll have to read more about our next couple to find out! George and Alyce hail from the land Down Under and created a combination rustic, DIY and vintage wedding that brought together all the elements of their love story and their lives together. They first met when she contacted him to enquire about a Kombi (minibus) he had for sale and they now run a business called Hire A Kombi together!

Alyce says, “ We both love restoring old furniture and reusing fabrics so we ended up with a wedding styled from all second-hand materials from Op shops and Garage Sales.” Starting with her dress, Alyce up-cycled a 1940s French lace wedding dress from the Mill Market and utilized the tailoring skills of a friend to alter it perfectly for her. Be prepared to gasp when you see this gorgeous dress and the amazing blossom in her bouquet! She even sewed bunting from found vintage materials to create a pathway for guests to enter the wedding area, which they created in their yard using rustic tipis.

The groom and his groomsmen are the epitome of strapping Australian men in their simple attire and stylish brown shoes, though the groom ditched his at the last minute during the ceremony because he felt he needed to “feel the energy” of the atmosphere. And there was plenty of energy in the air, because gale-force winds took over the day, causing the couple to rethink some of the more fragile decorations. But in the end, with a backdrop of their own vintage VW buses and some furniture they restored together themselves, George and Alyce said “I do” in one of the most unique weddings you’ll ever read about! Check out the great photos from photographer Fabio Oliveira for more of their creative style.

Our ceremony was supposed to be at the beach however due to the insane weather we had to change it to the Tipi which ended up being better as it felt more like us and the kombi’s provided a beautiful backdrop to how we began. We wanted to keep it a small wedding so had around 100 guests and we wrote our own vowels however we George said his on the spot as he forgot to write them. Our celebrant Jo Betz created such a sweet ceremony.

My dress was a 1940s original french lace wedding dress from the Mill Market. I saw it and could instantly see the beauty! I had a gorgeous seamstress, Tarryn Viglione alter it for me. We pulled all the lining out and took in the lace slip to fit like a glove which was then extremely difficult to get into without ripping as it was so delicate. I wanted a low back and to see as much lace without lining as possible as it was so beautiful without the lining.

The reception was also on our farm under the Tipi. It was great having the fire place in the middle as everyone got to meet each other over a warm fire and a drink and the music was under the Tipi Hat and we ensured our big oak tree also met in with the tipis so we had a dance floor under the tree with fairy lights and Luke could sing to everyone in all directions. The tree allowed us a little more room and protection from the rain.

We looked into a few venues but we had a aha moment of why don’t we just have it at home! Everyone could stumble home across the road to the Bellarine Big4 and the kids could play free and there was no better place than home to show all our friends and family what we were creating as a lot had come from Qld it was a beautiful way to show them where we come from now.

All the colours of the kombi’s, the tipi and greenery provided such a bright, natural and sweet surrounding to marry in and using all handmade and vintage materials/object just fell into place.

From the bride…George and I met when I contacted him to buy a kombi that he had for sale on carsales. I was living in Bowen, Qld at the time and always wanted a kombi and I had a few months to travel Australia. He told me it was innapropriate for me trip and he had a camper but he wanted to keep it to start his business Hiring kombis.
So I thought well I probably won’t hear from him again but he called back and said I just feel like I need to build you this van. So I flew down to Melbourne as I had a sister that lived in the same suburb and I instantly fell in love with the van and I thought he was a sweet man but it was the 4 months of phone call after phone call about the kombi that made me think, um I think I actually have a bit of a crush on this guy.

He delivered Applejack my kombi to the Whitsundays and I went on my soul searching journey. We spoke daily and our friendship kept growing.

After my trip and a few months of decision making I ended up at his doorstep and a year later we started our business Hire A Kombi which we still own and operate today from the Victorian surf coast.

George proposed to me on my birthday 2 years ago. He had been away for a week with kombi business and he said on his drive home he thought I can’t see why I wouldn’t marry her so when he arrived he handed me a birthday card, got down on one knee and said will you marry me. Just receiving a card from George was a milestone moment let alone getting a proposal from him. I didn’t believe him for a while as it’s just not a George thing to do but I was extremely happy. We actually had to wash vans and deliver them to another wedding that afternoon so the whole romance didn’t last long as it was cold and raining and we were scrubbing kombis.

As we hire a few of our vans out especially for weddings I was following a few Instagram wedding companies and I always loved the simple and effective styled weddings. I think less is more sometimes. We really hadn’t spoken of a wedding and I still didn’t even have an engagement ring from George (yes he is as you would have guessed, hopeless). I had spoken about my 30th with friends and said to George I really want to have a 30th but if we are going to go to the effort of organising something we might aswell just throw a wedding into the mix. So we had about 4 months to organise it. We both love restoring old furniture and reusing fabrics so we ended up with a wedding styled from all second hand materials from Op shops and Garage Sales. We used our line up of vws as our main backdrop and worked in with our front yard. We had a tipi in the centre of our yard, 25 kombis behind it and as the weather on the day was gale force winds and rain we didn’t get to put any of our table decorations out. An old timber ladder hung across the centre of the tipi wrapped in dried flowers we had thrown out the week before and was on a burning pile, gum leaves from our trees and festoon lights. For us it was simply perfect. I sewed enough bunting out of vintage material to create our border and entry way for guests to follow into the tipi. Everything was hand made.

Vendors:

Photography: Fabio Oliveira – Highly recommended as he was really sweet and seemed to take amazing photos without anyone noticing. We felt like it was all really natural, fun and he used our surrounds and lighting to perfection. He told a beautiful story through his photos.

We also had Dijana Risteski who also made us feel so comfortable and captured the day beautifully.

Hair: Kahlo Hair and Beauty, Ocean Grove. Once they saw a pic of my dress before it was even finished they knew exactly the look I wanted and they went above my expectation. They were a beautiful team of girls who were really kind and listened to what we wanted.

Makeup: Cheyenne Dandy, She came to us and in the trial I had given her a terrible description and she made me feel so comfortable to be completely honest in what I wanted and on the day me and the girls were blown away with how beautiful her makeup was and she is a really sweet person.

Styling: Me and my family helped put out what we could as the weather ruined most of my plans

Flowers: We bought from the Flower Farm on the Bellarine Highway but me, mum, sister and friend put the bouquets and button holes together in kitchen night before.

Stationary: I made invites on Vistaprint and was happy with how they looked and they arrived so quick and such great price

Celebrant: Jo Betz – I can’t say enough of this woman. She asked all the right questions to create the most beautiful ceremony and it was so funny and sweet. She kicked off our wedding with such a vibrant energy

Transport: Hire A Kombi – I drove myself to our wedding in one of our vans and the photographers and videographers drove another. It was so much fun and yes I can’t speak anymore highly of us..haha

Music: Luke Legs – He was fantastic and everyone kept commenting for days after how great he was. He fit in perfectly on our night

Catering: Kombi Burgers and Trailer Made Food and The Drysdale Pub Portable Bar, all these guys were fantastic! The food trucks worked in together to ensure we had a great variety of sliders, canapés, mains and desert. Everyone again said how nice it all was and no one went hungry.

Cake: Meaghan Cook, The Gutsy Baker, she not only made a delicious cake but it looked spot on. Simple and effective exactly what I wanted

Rings: Celeste Twikler Jewellery, this young woman saved our bums with these cute rings. Excellent to deal with.
Flower girl Dress: Dainty Blossoms, she hand makes these vintage dresses and rompers for all occasions.

I highly recommend everyone that we had to help us create a really relaxed, fun and easy day.

As a young couple with kids and creating a business we really didn’t want to take out loans and create a wedding that we couldn’t afford so this is why we kept it simple. People say but it looked detailed but I truly believe that’s because everything complemented each other so it all stood out. My dress complimented the bridesmaids and the flowers were just a few natives that stood out and the colours and patterns of our surroundings all worked in with the tipi. The majority of what I had planned got thrown out the window with the wind so it’s best to go with the flow.

The next day you realise how quick it all goes and everyone goes home so I think the last thing you want to have to then deal with is a massive debt. The tipi and food was most important to us so smaller things like invites and decorations we kept within our means. It was a brilliant day and the only thing I would have done differently is remembered to put the tea and coffee out!

Photographer : Fabio Oliveira @fabiooliveira  | Flowers: Bride and family, flowers from Bellarine Highway Farm celebrant: Jo Betz | Transport: Hire A Kombi Alyce and George’s company | Music : Luke Legs | Catering : Kombi Burgers and Trailer Made Food and The Drysdale Pub Portable Bar | Cake : Meaghan Cook, The Gutsy Baker | Rings : Celeste Twikler Jewellery | Flower girl Dress : Dainty Blossoms | Stationary : Vistaprint | Hair : Kahlo Hair |
Makeup: Cheyenne Dandy | Brides accessories : ASOS | Bridsemaids : Dress – ASOS | Accessories : ASOS | Shoes : Famous Footwear | Grooms: Everything from Oxford