Sarah and Simon

A wedding in the Australia country always always makes me happy. Nothing beats the landscape, the light, the community feel and the touches that are just so Australian. Sarah and Simon had a contemporary, elegant  atmosphere for their country wedding, held in the town of Inverell.

Sarah and Simon met through Sarah’s brother! “Simon is my brother’s best friend, we met when still at school. We kissed for the first time at the my formal and then did not get together again until 11 years later. My  brother was one of the best men at our wedding”.

Today’s photographs are by Jonas Peterson who is so incredibly talented with the way he can see a wedding and capture it – from the silent glances, to the details and everything in between – these photos take you to the wedding day as if you were there, a part of it.

Patto Productions filmed the wedding day.

Sarah’s makeup was done by  Kalee Cassidy [[email protected]] and her hair was done by Shabu Hair On Byron.

Sarah wore “A modern fitted white Alex Perry gown. I saw the dress in a fashion parade and bought it from Sydney without trying it on.” She accessorised with a cuff from Chelsea De Luca, a blue sapphire ring (for something blue) of her mother’s and her grandmother’s wedding ring on her other finger.

Sarah’s nieces were the flower girls. They wore  sweet white cotton summer dresses with silver ballet flats and white headbands with white flowers.  The bride’s nephew was page boy with  black pants and open white shirt.

Sarah and Simon were married at the Inverell Catholic Church.

Sarah walked down the aisle to one of her and Simon’s favourite songs, ‘Just a Boy’ by Angus and Julia Stone. Sarah says “We also had our favourite songs playing in the church before and after the church ceremony just to lighten the mood.”

Sarah recalls, “The priest was a special friend of my father. Father John McHugh made the day just so special and made us feel so comfortable.”

Post ceremony, guests celebrated with champagne and canapes on the front lawn of Sarah’s family home. Sarah says “We chose to have the reception at the my parent’s home as it holds a lot of great memories for both of them and is an incredible setting.  The house is a Federation two storey home which has been renovated throughout by my parents.  They had also done extensive work to the grounds and gardens in preparation for the wedding including planting white flowering shrubs and plants including white double passion petunias.”

Sarah’s bridesmaids wore black silk cocktail dresses above the knee with a silk black sash from Ultra Suite with black heels from Jules and Roc and chunky beaded bracelets. The groom and best men had back suits from Oxford with shoes from Aquila. The groomsmen had black ties and the groom had a white tie to match the bride.

Sarah carried a bouquet of white roses, the bridesmaids had smaller versions of  her bouquet.

Sarah notes “We had a friend who is a DJ (Kiaz from Probably) do the music at the beginning of the wedding while we had champagne and canapés in the front garden.”

The reception was held in a white marquee in back garden of Sarah’s family home. Sarah and Simon designed the wedding logo. They then collaborated with Wetdog Designs to create the invitations, menus and name cards. The couple even had a website to help guests with their plans! Sarah says “Simon built the website as we wanted something very modern and creative. We used our nicknames for website and logo. “

Sarah and Simon had two cakes. They had one made by ‘Sugar and Spice’ in Inverell. It was a three tier dark chocolate and white chocolate cake with white icing. The other cake was a fruit cake made by the groom’s mother and iced by the groom’s aunty. Both were delicious.

The marquee was decorated with white princess lilies in small rectangle vases. The table names they chose to use were qualities they believed are needed to ensure a happy relationship such as Love, Romance, Respect, Passion, Compromise, Trust, Laughter all spelled out in Scrabble letters.. They also used scrabble letters in scrabble letter racks to highlight special items in the wedding marquee such as present table, family photo table and cake table.

For decorations, Sarah and Simon hung new and vintage chandeliers on the rotary clothesline and in between the house and a large tree along with white paper lanterns hung in trees. A path from the front of the house where the champagne and canapés were being held to the marquee was set out, which at night had tea lights to light the way.

Katrina O’Brien from Relish Catering catered the wedding. Sarah says “Katrina O’Brien did a fantastic job. The meal included canapés then Entrée of Warm Duck Salad with Beetroot and Marinated Feta with a Pomegranate Dressing or Seared Scallops with Avocado served with a Gazpacho Dressing. Mains were Salmon Fillet on a Bed of  Beetroot Risotto & Horseradish & Chive Cream Sauce or Peppered Eye Fillet of Beef with Baked Field Mushrooms, Roasted New Potatoes served with a Rich Red-Wine & Mushroom Jus”

Sarah and Simon’s first dance was to Ingrid Michaelson ‘The Way I Am.’

Sarah and Simon hired local Inverell DJ (Andy Cowperthwaite) to play in the marquee until the early hours.

At midnight, guests were escorted  to the cellar for port and cheese.

Before returning to dance the night away… Sarah and Simon had a special dance later in the night to ‘their’ song Bloc Party  ‘Ion Square. ‘

Congratulations Sarah and Simon! Thank you for allowing us to share your wedding day on Polka Dot Bride! Thank you also to  Jonas Peterson for sharing today’s images with us!