Real Weddings

Article by

Brielle Sykes-Couling

Posted on

07/03/2023

Posted in

Real Weddings

Nicola and Alex’s “Great Gatsby meets Bridgerton” themed day was so perfectly curated that they even grew their own florals for the occasion. “Having never grown dahlias before, [my Mum and I] spent a lot of time together building, planting, and pruning the dahlia bed,” Nicola tells us. “It was very carefully timed so that it would be in full bloom on the wedding day and feature in our marquee as a living floral arrangement for our bridal table.” See what we mean? The impeccable details don’t stop there, from the photography provided by Tess Follett and cinematography by Annette + Dani Films, right through to that custom Jason Grech gown. Now, enough from us, scroll on to hear from the couple themselves…

THE VENUE “We both knew that we wanted to get married at my [Nicola] Mum’s house, even before we got engaged. We didn’t even consider any other venues, we just put all of our focus and attention into helping Mum build her garden to perfectly suit the wedding.”

THE DRESS “Before I even started looking at dresses, I knew I wanted something classic with a bit of drama and I had always envisioned a big bow! As soon as I stepped into Jason Grech‘s studio, I knew it was where I was going to get my dress. Jason’s eye for design and detail is impeccable, and I trusted him completely from day one.”

DIY “Almost the entire wedding was DIY! From the moment we got engaged my Mum and I [Nicola] started planning the garden and the house around the wedding. Mum spent months planning and sketching out the entire garden, planning exactly where every garden bed went and carefully selecting each plant to suit our March wedding date. We built garden beds and paths, stone retaining walls and feature a timber wall for the bar. We painted all the fences and the verandah.”

FAVE DEETS “Of course the flowers! Both those that Josie [Paddock to Posy] created for us, as well as those we grew ourselves. Probably our favourite was the bathtub filled to the brim with roses and hydrangeas! The arbour was hand built by my [Nicola] Grandfather. He built it for us so that we can put it in our own garden and show our kids one day. Standing under something that was built with so much love was really meaningful to both of us.”

REFERENCES “Hello May magazines – yes, multiple – were my first source of inspiration and the blog was a real life saver. That and a lot of Instagram!”

STANDOUT VENDORS “Jorgia, our celebrant, was just phenomenal! She helped create a beautiful atmosphere for our ceremony which was filled with so much love and laughter. It goes without saying that our photographer, Tess, and videographers, Annette + Dani, were clear stand outs! Not only did they capture our day so perfectly, but they were honestly so much fun to be around, we almost forgot we had to go rejoin our friends and family. Our florist Josie from Paddock to Posy who worked tirelessly for many, many hours to bring our floral dreams to life. And of course, Nicola’s mum Bec [The Farmer’s Wife], who not only hosted our wedding, but put blood, sweat and tears into making every aspect of our day perfect.”

If you want to take a leaf out of Nicola’s book when it comes to finding inspo, head to our online store and stock up on a few issues of Hello May Magazine. The couple also sourced cinematographer Annette + Dani Films from our Directory here, and makeup artist Makeup by Stephanie Jane here. But first, let’s check out those flowers, shall we?