Clare and Jay’s long-awaited day was made even sweeter by the fact that the couple’s three daughters (all under five!) were on hand for bridesmaid duty. No wonder Clare walked down the aisle with her buttons undone! Luckily Hello May fave Nat Sproal Celebrant was there at the end of the aisle to keep things running smoothly, despite the giggles. Now, without further ado, please do scroll down for lovely lens-lady Elsa Campbell’s captures…

THE VENUE “After looking over tonnes of options from wineries to holiday homes, Hawaii to Broome, one day I said to Jay, “why don’t we just have the wedding here, at home?”. We had just finished building our house and rather than spending money on a venue we decided to put that money into our landscaping. Jay’s parents have a beautiful property that looks over the Cathedral Ranges. We took a drive up to the top of their hill one day with the kids and thought yep, why would we do it anywhere else? From that day on there was no more questioning, it felt right. It was perfect with kids too, they kept themselves busy while mum and dad had a blast!”

FAVOURITE DETAILS “Our little girls Oma had been taking the girls off to her house for a very special project in the weeks leading up to the wedding. They were very good at keeping this little surprise a secret and on the day Jay and I were so happy to see what they had done. On the hill leading up to the wedding ceremony, they had hand-painted signs saying ‘Mum and Daddy’s wedding’ and then on different trees leading up to the hill were their names along with their little cousins painted on signs. It was so so beautiful seeing how much work they had put in and how proud they were. Little Blossoms!”

REFERENCES “We found our wonderful celebrant Nat Sproal via Hello May. She was our first contact and everything just rolled on from there. She recommended Fidel and Sarah for our band who were such fun professionals. I also found Elsa Campbell via Hello May. In particular, a wedding she did at a cactus farm in Victoria. We loved her work and thankfully she was free for our wedding, what a win! Everything else was mostly found by google searches in our surrounding towns and reading their reviews. We nailed it as everyone was AMAZING!”

LITTLE LOLFidel and Sarah came up with a great alternative to the traditional first dance. We all played a game of musical chairs to The Whites Stripes ‘Hotel Yorba’. It was so much fun and our families got to witness our first incidence of competitive marital bliss. Jay and I were both locked on the same chair which I pushed my way through to claim. Either I’m way stronger or he was being polite, I’m taking the title.”

STANDOUT VENDORSNat Sproal our celebrant set a relaxed, easy-going tone for Jay and I. Nothing for her was a hassle and she offered up great advice and ideas. We still stay in touch to this day and she has become a friend. And of course, the lovely Elsa Campbell who I’m pretty sure seconded as a baby-sitter for my little girls whilst I was getting ready. Elsa has captured the most special moments of the day. She was a true professional. These photos are beyond what we could have imagined and I could not recommend her highly enough. She was by far the stand out for us as her work has created stills of all of those lovey-dovey feels.”

This family-oriented big day was first published in the 2019 Hello May Real Wedding Special. If you fancy a good time and 250 pages of pure real wedding goodness then you can nab yourself a copy (and a spesh bonus issue!) right here. Happy planning!

CONTRIBUTING VENDORS Photographer Elsa Campbell Photography Florist Anouk Flowers Stationery Paperlust Venue Private Property Catering & Cake Locavore Catering Hire Items Mansfield Party Hire Entertainment Fidel and Sarah Celebrant Nat Sproal Celebrant Rings Cerrone BRIDE Dress One Day Bridal Shoes Grace Loves Lace Earrings Cerrone Flower Girl Dresses Mia and Ma via Etsy Flower Girl Shoes Arabella and Rose GROOM Suit Hugo Boss Shoes Country Road Barber Telliesh Hair Studio Page Boy Zara