For Jenna and Trent, picking a venue was a piece of cake. It was “love at first sight” when they visited Bawley Vale Estate. “It was so symbolic of us – lovers of wine, beach and country. We were on a vineyard, by the sea, surrounded by acres, miniature highland cattle and llamas.”
The pair took care of the official bits in a small, legal ceremony two days prior to their big South Coast party, which resulted in a lot less stress and a lot more bridal looks (gotta love that!) “I had four [dresses], and I am soooo sorry, not sorry about it!” The groom was lookin’ like a million bucks too (we clocked our mates M.J. Bale in the mix), and lens lady Hayley Rafton did what she did best, capturing the loved-up day including the gorg cake made by Jenna and her mum! Enough from us; get a load of Jenna and Trent’s “whimsical” nups below.
FAVE DETAILS “I loved that we were married legally two days prior, as it took a lot of stress out of the main day, and having my brother and friend deliver a really personalised and hilarious ceremony was so fitting and special. I had a lot of anxiety around physically walking down an aisle and having everyone’s eyes on me, so I ended up walking into the front of the ceremony, which meant that I still had a ‘walk-in’ but without the intensity of ‘parting a crowd’. We chose to put our bridal table in the middle of all the other tables, and because there were five long tables, we could have parents, siblings and partners of the bridal party all at the same table. I also loved how the venues looked with the menus and place settings I made. And THANK GOD, the cake turned out! First time working with fondant, was a big risk, but even I was impressed with how it came together.”
THE DRESS “Being able to have multiple looks spoke a lot to my personality, and it was so fun getting to find and wear four dresses. The main event was my grandmother’s [dress], which she wore when she married my grandfather in the ’50s. My grandfather had passed away not long prior to the wedding, and we had hoped my grandmother would make it, but she was not well enough to travel the distance. A very special moment of our ceremony was when my friend called my grandmother (unbeknownst to me) and incorporated her words and advice into her speech. I was dry-eyed until that point! But really, it was a dress I had loved forever and a dress I knew I would love forever when looking back, so it was it!”
LITTLE LOL “We had decided not to do vows because we were both struggling with what to say (we did speeches instead), and I told my friend Zoe to announce in the ceremony, ‘And I will now hand over to the groom to give the vows he has prepared’. Needless to say, he looked like he had just passed glass.”
MEMORABLE MOMENT “I loved getting ready with the girls and seeing how beautiful my mum felt when she was all gussied up. Meeting some of Trent’s family that I hadn’t had the chance to. Seeing friends that I haven’t been able to spend enough time with, and honestly, the speeches and ceremony.”
STANDOUT VENDORS “We loved all of our vendors. The food was hands down some of the best I’ve had. Clare (our wedding planner), I would have died without. I was planning to do it all alone, but seriously, save yourself and enlist a wedding planner. My mum – she is the best and helped me make a bomb wedding cake. The Bawley Vale team were INSANE. They ran interference on would-be-biffs I didn’t know were brewing, delivered stragglers back to their accommodation off-site, set up and cleaned up most of our mess, and even reset the accommodation in between getting ready and Trent and I retiring for the night. And, of course, the beautiful Hayley, who is a master photography artist and a beautiful soul to boot. She captured everything in a way I wanted and couldn’t articulate, and she has next-level clicker skills. Such a gorgeous person who made all of the shoots feel natural and kept perfectly to her brief of not putting us in awkward poses. So many candid shots that when can now shuffle through and bring all the memories of the day flooding back.”
We are obsessed with all of Jenna’s bridal looks! If you’re envisioning mid-party-costume-change for your special day, get inspired by some of our current fave frock options here. Then jump over to the Directory and give M.J. Bale’s snazzy suits a browse. If “vineyard by the sea” had you sold, then reach out to the lovely Bawley Vale Estate team here and don’t forget to slide into Hayley Rafton’s emails while you’re at it to tick kick-ass photographer off your list. Wanna meet some vendors in real life? One Fine Day Sydney is just around the corner – we’ve got a cheeky discount for you here.
CONTRIBUTING VENDORS Photographer Hayley Rafton Event Planner Clare Nyholm – South Coast Wedding Planners, Jenna Brown (Bride) Stylist & Stationary Jenna Brown (Bride) Florist Gypsy Carmen Ceremony Venue Mollymook Beach Reserve (Private Ceremony), Bawley Vale Estate Reception Venue Bawley Vale Estate Catering Rabbit & Co Caterers, Table a Plenty Cake Jenna Brown (Bride) & Mother of the Bride Entertainment Metuisela Fa’oa (Ceremony), The Misses Might Like It (Reception) Celebrant Amanda Gill – Married by Mandi (Private Ceremony), Matthew Brown (Family) & Zoe Joseph (Friend) (Large Ceremony) Rings Oval and Pear (Bride) & London Engraver (Groom) Transport Kennedy’s Tours THE BRIDE Private Ceremony Bridal Gown Designer Shona Joy Large Ceremony Bridal Top L’eto bridal Gown Restoration The Emergency Button Reception Dress L’eto bridal Dancefloor Dress ASOS Shoes Sante + Wade via Wolf & Badger (Private Ceremony), Loeffler Randall (Large Ceremony), Keeyahri via Etsy (Reception) & Only Maker (Dancefloor) Accessories Etsy, Sportsgirl, Amber Sceats Hair Shauna Simpson Makeup Teneille Basile – Teneille’s Beauty, Kristina Pirello – Face Beautique Skin & Aesthetics Aescend Aesthetics Bridesmaid Dresses Sheike, Zara, Shona Joy, Dissh, Second Summer Bridesmaid Gifts Francesca THE GROOM Jacket Peter Jackson Shirt M.J. Bale Pants & Shoes R.M. Williams Bow Tie OTAA Watch Corniche Groomsmen Shirts Industrie
