Hunter Valley Gardens | Hunter Valley
Laura was an absolute vision in her Madi Lane Bridal dress with amazing custom made lace sleeves and tulle to die for – she actually looked like a Disney Princess.
She could not stop smiling all day and we were honoured to catch a glimpse of why – she was getting married to her best friend in the whole world, surrounded by her closest friends and family.
Jack was full of nervous excitement and couldn’t wait to say “I do”. They wrote their own vows and there wasn’t a dry eye in the garden that day.
Laura and Jack got married under a stunning wooden arbour in the beautiful front garden at Mercure Resort Hunter Valley Gardens. Winter was right around the corner but it was still warm enough to get married outdoors. It had been raining all week leading up to the day and we were anxiously looking at our weather app to decide if we needed wet weather gear. We were lucky for most of the day, all the way until the end of the ceremony.
The big red chair at Hunter Valley Gardens was the real reason Laura and Jack wanted to have their wedding here. They have an adorable photo together sitting on that very chair three years earlier when they first started dating and they wanted to recreate this magical image on their wedding day.
The sunlight was peering through the last of the autumn leaves in the garden and we were very excited to start their portrait session. We had carefully scouted the location and planned each shot we were going to take – so we were absolutely blindsided when the weather dramatically turned for the worse – it felt like the temperature dropped about 10 degrees and everything went dark. The wind was howling and at one point, Simon tried to shield it from Laura and Jack with his body – a feeble attempt to say the least.
Poor Laura was so cold that the colour drained out of her face and there was nothing we could do – we barely had any portraits and were just getting started. We were so lucky that we had a golf buggy and driver with us so we could stay dry and so grateful that Laura and Jack continued to have smiles and trusted us and soldiered on. It was definitely worth it in the end!
Overall, their celebration was very relaxed and fun because most of the guests were staying overnight at the resort.
We knew that day that we met two of the kindest, most loving and caring people in the world and we are so honoured to be a small part of their lives.
