Once groomed (pun intended), fed and handsomely dressed, Michael took his place outside Mindaribba House in the Hunter Valley and waited patiently, alongside photographer Ben Adams, for his beautiful bride to arrive. And arrive she did, dressed in a simple, elegant gown from Simple Elegance Boutique, she sure was a sight for sore eyes.
“I had two dresses, one that I ordered from China (yes, bad move) but my mum who was a professional bridal beader in a past life was going to bead it for me… however it arrived too small and I didn’t like it. I bought this dress off the rack two months before our wedding, it’s a Peter Trends Bridal dress and I loved every second of wearing it”, says Bella who still can’t believe what her and Michael managed to pull off.
“We hand designed all of our stationary, each invitation had real gold leaf hand gilded by my beautiful mum on it… We also hand decorated the venue, with lights, paper hearts, olive branches, fresh flowers and salt!” Their DIY list also included their bouquets, hand written place cards, flower crowns and wedding favours – an assortment of percussion instruments purchased overseas.
“For us, a wedding is a perfect opportunity to bless, honour and appreciate those people who have loved, supported and cheered us on over the years”, says Bella whose Grandpa spontaneously started playing the harmonica and to everyone’s surprise, didn’t sound half bad. “It was amazing, everyone laughed and cheered and clapped and danced!”
CREDITS Photos Ben Adams // Bridal gown and veil Simple Elegance Boutique // Shoes Tony Bianco // Flowers Belflora // Rings Melville Jewellery and Renaissance Jewellery // Bridesmaids dresses Asos and Seduce // Flower girl dresses BuratinoBoutique via Etsy // Grooms suit Asos // Grooms shoes Industrie // Groomsmen suits Roger David // Bow tie Bartek Design // Ceremony and reception Mindaribba House, NSW // Catering Wheelie Great Pizza and Sourdough Baker // Cake Redhead’s Quality Bake // Decorations LaMiaCasa via Etsy // Hair Hardy’s on Hunter // Makeup Keira Naylor and Sophie Thomas // Celebrant Pastor Ryan Croxford // Cinematographer Unravel // Photobooth Instant Photobooths.