Jodie and Tim’s vision for their wedding was clear – a country-chic day with a tonne of DIY. After stumbling across Wildwood at Kangaroo Valley, the pair knew straight away that it was the place for them. How could you not with those views?!
“We just wanted it to be a super laid-back, relaxed day. Initially we weren’t going to have many traditions as we thought they were silly (including speeches- what were we thinking!?) but as we got closer to the day, we realised how important they were – and the speeches were definitely the highlight.”
With a do-it-yourself to do list that seemed never ending, the bride took on quite a few projects including making the cake, the flower arrangements, the name tags and even the bow ties for the groom, groomsmen and dog. Despite the hours of hard labour, Jodie advises other couples to ‘DIY as much as you can!’
“We didn’t so much DIY to save money (although that was definitely a positive side effect) but it was super fun and made the wedding more ‘ours’ – practising cake making in the lead up, hand sewing the bow ties, icing the cake two hours before the ceremony started with my hair in curlers, spending the day before with my bridesmaids and mum putting together flower arrangements was honestly not stressful at all and actually really fun!”
Unlucky for Jodie and her two piece bridal outfit, it was a week before the big day and she was still topless (with no shirt to go with her beautiful BHLDN skirt)! “Finding the right dress was a complete disaster! My sister insisted (rightly) that I go dress shopping about 6 months before but I like to leave things to the last minute so I wasn’t ready. Lucky we found the perfect top in Zimmerman, paid millions of dollars to get it altered and it was ready just in the nick of time,” she explains, though choosing rings from Hello May favourite Grew & Co was easy peasy.
Though Jodie initially considered eloping, Tim was keen for the wedding and the couple sure is glad they went ahead with it. The turn out? A fun day that made them feel loved and allowed them to see family and friends from near and far – a day they won’t soon forget thanks to photos by Daniel Milligan Photography.
“He was awesome- not only did he drive 1000km (one way!) to come and photograph our wedding, but he was super laid back and fun to take photos with (and put up with one of Tim’s groomsmen’s highly inappropriate jokes!).”
CREDITS Photos Daniel Milligan Photography // Bridal gown Zimmerman and BHLDN // Lingerie Victoria’s Secret // Shoes Mollini // Hair and makeup Nikita Lauren Makeup Artist // Rings Grew & Co // Bridesmaid dresses Review, Zimmerman and Rodeo Show // Bridesmaid shoes Merchant 1948 // Groom and groomsmen jackets and pants Ben Sherman // Groom and groomsmen shirts Country Road // Shoes Stacy Adams // Socks Kathmandu // Stationery DIYFabulous via Etsy // Printer Officeworks // Ceremony and reception Wildwood at Kangaroo Valley, NSW // Catering Gabby’s // Other desserts Cream of the Coast // Entertainment Nowra Wedding DJ // Celebrant Greg McCallum // Transport Mini Bus Hire Sydney.