Susannah and Marty

I see an Australian country wedding like today’s and my heart swells with pride- this is our beautiful country where we can dress up in glam dresses and have a BBQ to celebrate our marriage. The backdrop of the rusty fences, the laughter of loved ones- this is perfectly Australian and completely beautiful.

Susannah and Marty have a sweet love story and an even sweeter engagement! Susannah recalls “We’ve known each other for many years but we made it official about 5 years ago. I had a second job at the local pub in the evenings and Marty would be at the pub some nights after taking groups of backpacker’s wake-boarding on the lake. We fell in love and the rest as they say, is history!

Two days after Marty proposed I found out I was pregnant with our second child! The wedding was organised in about 12 weeks, as we both wanted the date 10.10.10.”

As always it is incredibly exciting to have a photographer make their polka dot debut- today it’s Jeremy Beasley who has captured today’s wedding with such beautiful, beautiful shots- the atmosphere is relaxed and joyous and that’s exactly what the photos capture.

Susannah and Marty married in the country at a friend’s home. “We were married at “Cloyne” Homestead, just outside of Cooma, NSW. Our good friends Tabatha and Mark kindly let us use their property for the celebrations.”

There was a sense of history and love to each piece of jewelery Susannah and Marty wore on their wedding day. “Marty wore cufflinks from his great grandfather and a fob watch from the early 1900s which is also a family heirloom. I wore an antique silver diamante bracelet handed down from my mother, and a dark green tourmaline and diamond ring from my mother. My best friend Rachael gave me a silver ring from Tiffany & Co which was part of the something old something new tradition, she had it engraved and with a message we’ve always shared, she bought one for herself too!  Earrings were a lucky find!””

Susannah wore a gorgeous strapless gown. ” It was a gathered chiffon empire style gown (which covered my pregnant belly nicely!) From Nouveau Riche Bridal Wear in Queanbeyan; ostrich feather bolero – a great ebay find! I have to make special mention of my hair – my good friend Jo agreed to do my hair for the day. Hairdressing is not her chosen profession, but I think she missed her calling because she did a sensational job with my short hair! Thanks Joey!”

Susannah and Marty had a different start to their wedding day and included their daughter Frances. “It was very relaxed, Marty met Frances and I at the house and we walked to the garden together as a family. It was a nice moment for us to have just before the ceremony.”

Susannah and Marty married in the rose garden on the property. Susannah says “The beautiful rose garden was once a nursery and in its heyday it was hired as a venue for weddings and celebrations. It hasn’t been used like this for many years, so we were very privileged to have our wedding there.” The couple were married by Cherie Hearne of Jindabyne Weddings.

There was no bridal party. “Our daughter Frances was our only ‘attendant’. I made her cute polka dot tulle skirt with satin underskirt. It stayed on for about 10 minutes – she put on quite a performance taking it off midway through the ceremony!”

A beautiful buffet of cake and biscuits was set up. “The cake was made by Kim Neville, Lifestyle Cafe Jindabyne. The top layer was a vanilla cake with fresh raspberries and white chocolate and the bottom layer was a very rich chocolate cake; covered in delicious butter icing decorated with sugared grapes and fresh roses. “

Susannah added her own touch to the stationery making it all herself.  “I designed and printed the invitations on brown card and I found a beautiful stamp that was in the shape of a heart filled with roses; quite fitting as we married in the antique rose garden on the property.” Susannah and Marty used the Polaroid guest book idea. “We bought a Polaroid style camera and asked the guests to take photos and stick them in the little book with a love note to us. It’s a really beautiful memory that we have and I’ve looked at it nearly every day since!”

Susannah says “My bouquet of gladioli’s with a thick long satin bow (which I made) was inspired by my late grandmothers. (White gladioli’s were supplied by Tara Burton Floral Designer and my sister Alison brought some pink and mauve gladioli’s from Sydney that we mixed together to make the bouquet).”

The relaxed nature of the wedding led to guests enjoying outdoor games. “We found in the old sand stone cottage some ‘props’ that have come up really well in the photos. The lamp, the old suit case, the old chair, an old milk barrel – which already had the sporting equipment in it!  We also found an old croquet set that Marty and I had a quick game with!”

Other handmade touches by Susannah and her family completed the day. “The bunting was all handmade – my friends Jo and Sal and my sister Caroline and I worked together to put it altogether! Some of the flowers were picked from friends’ gardens; the bottles on the tables were Marty’s that he’s been collecting for years. My mum supplied the beautiful table linen and the knife that we cut the cake with.  We were very fortunate not to hire anything; chairs and tables, BBQ’s knives and forks, glasses, plates, were all gratefully gathered from friends and family.”

Susannah and Marty didn’t have a first dance. “It just wasn’t that kind of wedding,” she says. “There were no speeches, just lots of fun and laughter!”. The music was compiled of ipod playlists put together by Marty.

Susannah’s favourite moments included being surrounded by her loved ones “We are so grateful to our fabulous friends and family who helped put it together at such short notice. We had such a fantastic day and our amazing photos from Jeremy really have captured every moment.”

Congratulations Susannah and Marty! Thank you for sharing your beautiful wedding day with us on Polka Dot Bride! Thank you also to Jeremy Beasley for sharing today’s photographs with us!

Photos by Jeremy Beasley