Nisha & Josh's Northern Rivers wedding

Meet newlyweds Nisha and Joshua. Coupled up for a decade, this duo didn’t have a particular theme in mind for their ‘I do’s. It just had to be somewhere gorgeous that gave off destination feels (sans the looooong flights!) Enter Nutting Hill – a magical wedding venue nestled in New South Wales’ Northern Rivers, where the groom grew up.

“More than anything, we wanted it to be a fun day showcasing our love with all the people who have helped us to get to where we are, shared Nisha and Joshua.

The spot: divine. The details: equally delightful, and below the lovebirds dish on their end-of-night fireworks, ‘walk down memory lane’, sand ceremony and much more. They also told us that all their vendors went “above and beyond,” but particularly raved about a coupla standouts, including coordinator Panorama Events, who kept the day worry-free and photographer Focus First Studios (explains why the wedding album is #OnFire!)

What’cha waiting for? Catch this destination-esque dream day below…

THE PROPOSAL “We had been trekking through the Himalayas for 10 days. We’d had no showers, were physically exhausted, and Nisha’s shoes had started to fall apart. We had made it to the base camp of Annapurna just before it started to snow. I dropped down on one knee, and thanks to our trekking guide, we got the best engagement photo ever.”

FAVE DETAILS “There are so many. There was a small 50m walk to our reception area through the macadamia trees from our cocktail area. Along this walk, we had printed and mounted on easels photos of us from each year we were together. We loved that we could show our guests how much we had grown together, from who we were when we met to the couple who’d just promised to spend the rest of their lives together. Our wedding itinerary was laid out like a newspaper, full of fun facts about us and our guests. We also had a chair reserved at the reception for Nisha’s father who had only passed away a few months prior – it was very important we had a part of him there. Finally, I loved Nisha’s fusion of a classic wedding dress with Indian jewellery (bangles and maang tikka – headpiece).”

MEMORABLE MOMENT “The day naturally is massive and comprised of so many beautiful moments, but I think getting our photos and video was a lot of fun. Our videographer (Colin Jeffs Wedding Films) and photographers (Focus First Studios) were the perfect addition to our day and seemed more like guests than a service. We’d never done anything like it before and were not used to being the centre of attention, but it was such a great experience. We never felt rushed or uncomfortable, and they allowed us enough room and time to just appreciate the day and take in key moments together.”

COOL CUSTOM “We had a sand ceremony in which sand and dirt was brought from each of our families’ properties and placed into a jar for us to keep to symbolise the union of our families.”

WE’RE GLAD WE “We were so glad we did the fireworks. They were phenomenal and such a perfect way to wrap up the formalities and kick off the party. We were umming and ahhing about this, but it really made our night.”

STANDOUT VENDORS “Everyone went above and beyond. Hiring our wedding coordinator was pretty last minute, but oh boy, if we didn’t have Panorama Events on board, the day would not have moved so seamlessly. We also loved our photographers Focus First Studios and videographerColin Jeffs Wedding Films), who made us feel so comfortable and provided us with the most beautiful photos and memories of our day.”

Located in Brisbane (but “shooting love everywhere”), contact First Focus Studios if you’re after someone awesome to immortalise your day. Need some help crossing ’t’s and dotting ‘i’s? I.e. full planning, partial planning, coordination, or styling? Say G’day to Panorama Events here. Planning your own Northern Rivers fairytale? Here are NSW vendors we love.