Eleven years may seem like a long time to wait to get married but for high school sweet hearts Tara and Andrew, it simply meant that by the time their wedding day did roll around, it was perfect. Held at Peppers in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales Tara says her gorgeous Amanda Garrett gown helped set the tone of their day. £I envisioned it to be like an overgrown, vintage fairytale. It was very much based around my dress as it was quite twenties glam so I didn’t want the wedding to be crafty country as it wouldn’t suit my dress!
It helped that Tara and Andrew were willing to take on most jobs themselves, and therefore able to do as they pleased. A graphic designer and owner of Dream & Do, Tara recalls their to do list as casually as a teacher doing roll call. £Andrew made the fairy light canopy. I did the invites and stationery. The table settings were each different, scouring markets and second hand stores for vintage books and anything copper. Our bomboniere were Penguin Books which we had individually stamped inside with a thank you note and then we created name tags using a vintage stamp kit. And that was just the beginning. A team of her nearest and dearest also arranged all the flowers, styled tables, made copper signs and served popcorn and homemade shortbread.
Though forever grateful for everyone’s efforts, one of their favourite moments took place shortly before their band The White Tree kicked off the celebrations. £Our favourite moment of the day was when it was just the two of us taking our photos with our amazing photographers, The Robertsons. There had been a fire in the Hunter Valley earlier that day and they took us up to a hill with the most magnificent purple sunset and it was just the two of us, looking at each other beaming with pure happiness and in that moment we just smiled and knew, this was the moment we had always dreamed of.
CREDITS Photos The Robertsons Photography // Bridal gown and veil Amanda Garrett // Shoes Miu Miu // Rings Temptation by Protea // Bridesmaids dresses Peta Lawrence Bridal Designs // Grooms suit Zimma Tailors // Grooms shoes Russell & Bromley // Groomsmen suits Saba // Bow ties Burberry (groom) and Hugo Boss (groomsmen) // Ceremony, reception and catering Peppers Hunter Valley, NSW // Cake Mannis Creations // Stationery Dream & Do and The Distillery // Hair Styled by Rachel // Makeup Zena Hatem // Music Atlas Bound and The White Tree // Celebrant Greg Crowe // Transport Exclusive Vintage Wedding Cars // Cinematographer Alexander Leeway.