Kiesha and Daniel

The Man From Snowy River was a source of inspiration for Kiesha and Daniel. Set in the high country between Mt Buller and Mansfield, Kiesha and Daniel's journey to marriage began when Daniel proposed at the summit of Mt Stirling. Boxtree Estate was the perfect blank canvas to host such a special day with scenic views of the mountains behind. Add in swags of colour, horses, helicopters, Rue De Seine gown and you have yourselves a breathtaking rural wedding.

Tell us about your proposal! When, where, how?

We were staying in Merrijig, as we do every year. We decided to go for a hike up to the summit of Mt Stirling, after walking for about 2 or so hours, we made it to thetop of the mountain. Once at the top, Daniel got down on one knee … The views were amazing but we didn’t linger for long as it was so windy at the top!

For the whole hike we didn’t see one person, expect for when we were coming down from the summit and we saw an elderly couple, who had a company drive them up in a 4wd to the mountain top. I thought this was a really lovely omen as we both said we hope that is us in 30+ years, still coming up to the mountain and enjoying the amazing place that it is.

What was the inspiration for the style of your wedding?

We wanted to have something a little different to all of the weddings we had been to. Colour and the mountains, that was our theme. If I liked something, I got it and thankfully it all just came together. I was mindful, particularly at the ceremony, that I didn’t want to go over the top with decorations etc, as I wanted the mountains in the background to be the key decoration!

How did you go about choosing the venue/s?

I have loved the movie Man From Snowy River since I was a child and it was filmed in Merrijig but I had never actually been to the area until I met Daniel. We have since been there every year for the past six years and it has become our little tradition. Daniel proposed during our trip to the area in 2016, which confirmed that it was the right place to have the wedding.

We looked at one other venue before Boxtree and once we saw it we loved it immediately! What made us choose Boxtree was the amazing views of the mountains, Mt Buller particularly and also it was a blank canvas so we could have our wedding set up any way we wanted it and any where on the property.

Are there any other special details that you would like to tell us about?

Flying up in the helicopter up to Mt Stirling for photo at Craigs Hut. Craigs Hut is the hut built for the Man From Snowy River movie. I had never been in a helicopter before, so that was an experience in it self! And then the views - they were amazing!!! There was just mountains as far as the eye could see!! It was also nice to just get away and be just Daniel and I after all of the hype of the morning and ceremony, it was really good to just be together.

Any special details that you would like to tell us about? (Walking down the aisle, getting ready, a funny moment during speeches etc etc). Please elaborate.

Flying up in the helicopter up to Mt Stirling for photo at Craigs Hut. Craigs Hut is the hut built for the Man From Snowy River movie. I had never been in a helicopter before, so that was an experience in it self! And then the views - they were amazing!!! There was just mountains as far as the eye could see!! It was also nice to just get away and be just Daniel and I after all of the hype of the morning and ceremony, it was really good to just be together.

Were there any details that you (and friends and family) made yourselves?

A lot of our wedding was DIY. We handmade bracelets with all of our guests nick names, which acted as the place cards on the tables. We made over 300 coloured hearts to line the isle with. The pallet with the table seating plan on it. Dipped all of the table vases in gold glitter and paint. Made table runners from material from Spotlight. Put together the backdrop of the marquee from lots of bits and pieces we found at cheap shops and Poppies for Grace. Made signs. My dad made the teepee for the ceremony.

Funny story…

Daniel loves playing guitar and I love horses, so we thought for the backdrop at the reception we would have a horse and guitar helium balloon at the center of it as a bit of a personal touch. When we walked into the reception, the first thing I notice is no horse and a half limp guitar just floatingoff to the side. Because the marquee acted like a hot house, the helium didn’t last and the horse was no where to be seen and some how the guitar was half a float. Not sure what the guests would have been thinking!

Do you have any words of wisdom for couples planning their big day?

Don’t expect everything to go perfectly! I had everything mapped out in mind as to how I wanted the day to go there are a few this bound not to go right on the day, you just have to embrace it.

Originally we were a little unsure about having our wedding in Merrijig as its about a four hour drive from home, so our guests had to make a bit of a trip to get there… but I am so happy that we did as the place is so special to both of us and I would have really regretted holding is somewhere just because it was closer for our guests!

Special mention to these amazing stand out from our day:

Lisa from Edith and May Flowers and the Unusual …the only brief I gave to her was that I wanted flowers that were really colourful and un-constructed. What she put together was so perfect and I wouldn't have changed a thing.. she was so easy to deal with!

Megan from the Kitchen Door catering was like a wedding planner, not only did she provide the most delicious, well presented food.. but also gave us heaps of tips on all things wedding and the logistics of the day!

Nicole from Light and Type and Stevan from Life in Light films also fit our brief perfectly, which was to take natural, non-posed photos and video. They were so easy to work with and didn’t interfere at all, we hardly even noticed they were there!