Sam and Ethan married at Stonebarn on 26th October 2024. In this Q&A session Sam & Ethan share their Stonebarn wedding experience with us, along with the amazing photography by Anna from Little Smiles Portraits.
How did you find out about Stonebarn (e.g. Google search, facebook, word of mouth, etc.)?
We first came across Stonebarn through Instagram. We knew we wanted a long table dinner and the pictures we had seen of Stonebarn looked like the perfect setting for this type of event.
What made you chose Stonebarn over other wedding venues?
We had been looking around at some other venues near Perth but couldn’t quite find somewhere that suited what we wanted, this led us to looking at some venues in the southwest. We looked at some more venues in Margaret River, but again nothing felt right until we visited Stonebarn.
We fell in love with the grounds and the venue as soon as we stepped out of the car. We also loved the flexibility that Stonebarn gave us. We were able to choose our own vendors and create the perfect day, no beverage packages, restrictive food menus, or bump in times to restrict us.
The veranda also made for the perfect long table dinner setting. There was no venue that could have compared to that setting alone.
We were also drawn to Stonebarn because of the LGBT couples that we had seen get married there. We knew it would be an inclusive place to get married and we wouldn’t feel “othered” like some of the other places in the Wedding Industry had made us feel while planning in those early stages.
Which wedding package did you have?
We elected to have the 5 night package. We had thought our wedding would be one of the most stressful events in our lives. However, having the 5 nights made setting up and packing down stress free. We had plenty of time before hand to set up the venue as we wanted, and plenty of time to relax and unwind with our Groom’s Party before the wedding day. We were often told that the wedding goes so fast, with the 5-night stay we were able to live in wedding bliss a bit longer than most!
Did you travel down the day before the wedding?
We travelled down on Thursday, and held our wedding on the Saturday evening. Plenty of time to set up, relax and enjoy our time with our favourite people.
Where did you hold your ceremony?
We held our ceremony at the Upper Clearing. We were blown away by the view the first time we saw it and knew our guests would think the same. The Upper Clearing provided the best ceremony photos and was a very calming place to stand together and share our vows.
Where did you hold your reception?
We held our reception on the Veranda with the dining room used as the dance floor. We had flexibility with the furniture Stonebarn offered to set up some seating areas in the dance room for our guests who didn’t want to be up on their feet all night but wanted to be a part of the party. The Veranda seated a long table style dinner for 58 guests very comfortably.
Which wedding vendors did you use?
Caterers: Soul Cocina for catering https://soulcocina.com.au/
We elected to have a Latin inspired menu as we wanted a consistent theme to the menu from the Canapes all the way through to dessert. We had tapas style food served at pre-dinner drinks, and large share plates for dinner. For dessert we served Churros. Everything was a hit and the team at Soul Cocina did an amazing job! They even threw together a beautiful menu board for the tapas service to make sure the dietaries knew what was being served. Natalie did this at the snap of her fingers and it fit seamlessly into the décor. The feedback from our guests was amazing.
Bar and Additional Hire Items: Mint Events Collective and Hire in Style
For the bar and hire items like the chairs and additional wine barrels we used Mint Collective. They set up a caravan bar at the end of the veranda. We really wanted a gin bar with a selection of gin’s and garnishes, and Mint Collective set this up so perfectly for us. All we had to do was supply the alcohol but this was great for us as we were very picky about the type of beverages we wanted served.
Hire in Style provided our crockery and cutlery, as well as the finishing touches to our event styling.
Live Illustrator: For Keeps Illustration – Kirsty Wyatt
Kirsty provided live illustrations of our fabulous guests from pre-dinner drinks through to late in the evening. Kirsty took photos of our guests and turned them into works of art, surprising them throughout the evening with their drawings. Some of our favourite interactions with our guests at the wedding was talking to them about their keepsake which they were overjoyed with.
Florist: Manjimup Florist
The flower arrangements were beautiful. We asked for a selection of vibrant natives and proteas which fit seamlessly into the décor of the wedding.
DJ and MC: DJ Emma
Emma was amazing to work with from the very beginning, she kept the vibes up throughout the evening and even stepped in at the last minute to MC when our original MC fell ill.
Audio Guest Book: The Message Co
This was a super easy process, everything gets delivered to you, is easy to set up pack down and send back, and our guests loved leaving us messages!
Were there any stand out moments? If so, what were they?
Getting ready together in the beautiful rooms. This was such a special moment and the backdrop made for the most stunning photos.
Walking down the aisle together on the Upper Clearing was really special. We chose to have bubble kids instead of flower girls and page boys, and gave them giant bubble machine guns which we painted gold to match the styling of the wedding. This really set the tone for our day, and helped us relax as we took that walk together!
The long table dinner was even more beautiful than we had imagined. And really makes the most of the amazing setting, overlooking the grounds.
The commercial kitchen at Stonebarn got a massive workout over the 5 nights! I assembled our wedding cake and decorated it in the kitchen which, after dropping it on the bench on the Thursday night, was able to rescue it quite easily on the Friday morning. A reminder for us not to drink and decorate. This also made for a great story from the MC for our cake cutting!
Using the firepit together on the last night was the perfect way to finish our time at Stonebarn. We sat around the fire, under the stars, roasted marshmallows, had a wine and reminisced over the last few nights together.
What made the wedding so amazing?
Setting it all up with our Groom’s Party, we all worked together over the days prior and it was perfect. Exactly what we needed for a couple of control freaks! But we also had such a fun time together, and spending those days with our closest friends was really special.
Saying our vows together at the upper clearing was just the most perfect moment.
Thank you so much Sam & Ethan for sharing your Stonebarn experience with us and for your kind words about Stonebarn. We wish you both a lifetime of love and happiness. Let the magic continue!
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