Former Wiggles star marries Woodford beau in private country ceremony

Best known as Emma Wiggle from Australian children's entertainers The Wiggles, the popular former Yellow Wiggle and her musician, composer and producer partner, were married at Longmeadow Estate in Tyrendarra on Sunday.

Brian is originally from the south-west, attending school at Brauer College. His family is from Bushfield and Brian proposed to Watkins in Woodford last year on the Easter long weekend.

The pair met when Brian joined The Wiggles in 2018 and they confirmed their romance in 2019.

The high-profile wedding, and the local vendors have gained national exposure this week via a Vogue online article. They were also mentioned on Watkins' social media, which has almost 89,000 followers, with south-west businesses tagged into images from the day.

Warrnambool photographer Josh Beames captured all the couple's special moments throughout the day.

He said it was a surreal experience and Watkins was exactly how she appeared on television.

"She's so gentle and kind and humble," Beames said. "You wouldn't even know she's a Wiggle."

He said the couple was relaxed despite the changing and uncertain weather conditions and it was a beautiful celebration.

"She does a lot of work with the deaf and for every part of the wedding day there were people there doing sign language," Beames said.

"Everything that was spoken was in sign language. It was amazing. It was so incredible."

He said it was great to see the number of local providers involved in the event.

"Every part of the day, from the tents, to the food, to the flowers was from Warrnambool or within reach or from Portland."

He said it was humbling to be chosen as the wedding photographer from so many who worked in the industry nationwide, with his images sent to news organisations across the country.

"I've gotten a few wedding bookings since she shared my stuff," he said. "It's been pretty crazy. It's definitely got some good reach. It's been pretty awesome."

Portland Party Hire owner Lisa Sealey said they were thrilled to be involved and supplied the marquee, lighting, trestle tables, cable reels and seating and umbrellas.

"It was a beautiful, elegant wedding," Mrs Sealey said. "They were so easy to work with. Longmeadow (Estate) is a beautiful setting and there's a nice big house where everyone can stay.

"It was a real family affair. It was just beautiful and they were lovely."

Mrs Sealey said it was really nice to meet the family. "They were really good fun. We had a lot of laughs setting up. They were just a really beautiful couple. Ollie being a Warrnambool boy, he knew some of the people I knew from Warrnambool."

Warrnambool's Wyton Events and Catering owner Daniel Myers said he didn't make the connection when he first received an email from an Emma Watkins.

He said about 10 staff worked on site, catering for the 100 adults and 20 children invited. Mr Myers said it was a pleasure to be involved.

"It was well done. It was a great venue," Mr Myers said.

Using local produce where possible, he designed a roaming entrée of fingerfood which was enjoyed by guests after the ceremony. This was followed by Wyton's shared platters for the main.

He said he chose local wines including drops from Hamilton, The Grampians and Coonawarra region.

"With the food and the drink, they don't drink, they just said 'can you look after that?' and we very rarely do that.

"I didn't get anything other than local stuff," Mr Myers said. "I thought why not use local wines? They're the ones I like because it's such a great region. It's unbelievable."

"It's always good to be involved in something like that and they were great people," Mr Myers said. "Some of the nicest people you'll meet. They were just genuinely nice people."

Mr Myers said it was great to be back doing weddings and events after months of COVID-19 restrictions and lock downs and the uncertainty that it brought with it.

South-west based creator The Sweet Baker, Mel McDonald, made the wedding cakes.

Warrnambool's The Bloom Bar and Co owner Jessica Advincula said it was an honour to be a part of the day, with her son Harley and nephews growing up watching Watkins on television as Emma Wiggle.

The Bloom Bar and Co did all the floral arrangements from wedding bouquets and button holes, to cake toppers, arbours and vase arrangements.

She's a beautiful person," Mrs Advincula said. "She left it up to us. She said 'do your thing'.

"She sent me a picture of her dress and we built around that theme and her new character Emma Memma, which is pinks, peaches, apricot - very pretty and feminine. There was some sage green and touches of white too."

The arrangements included a mix of roses, dahlias, stock, chrysanthemums, hydrangeas, lisianthus and Phalaenopsis orchids.

"It was just good to be a part of," Mrs Advincula said. "She just trusted us completely to do what we do."

Rustic Wedding and Party Hire owner Lisa Suter said they provided bench seating for the ceremony and 'mix matched' seating for the reception.

"She's a bit quirky and the chairs being mix matched went with the vintage theme they had," Mrs Suter said. They're all different colours and styles.

"We were absolutely thrilled to be a part of it and they were the most down-to-earth couple. Emma even helped unload the truck.

"They were just amazing, absolutely lovely people. Everybody was just awesome and they couldn't help enough. They were just gorgeous people. It was great.

"She never once didn't have a smile on her face."

Longmeadow Estate sent the couple their best wishes with a photo and message on social media.

It said: "A huge congratulations to @emmawatkinsofficial and @oliverbrian_music on tying the knot at our private country estate. To say we're thrilled you chose Longmeadow to host your special day is an absolute understatement."

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