Claire and John

A windy, beautiful Hunter Valley wedding is the flavour of today on Polka Dot Bride. It’s intimate, very special and the magic of Mother Nature made for some beautiful memories.

Claire explains how she met John. “We met in November 2008 in London while I (Clare) was traveling back to see friends in London. I can honestly say that it was love at first sight for the both of us. For the first year of our relationship we traveled to see each other (I’m Australian and John is Danish) and in November 2009 I moved to London.”

Photos today are by Tom Greenwood. I love how Tom embraced the conditions and created beautiful photographs for Claire and John!

Claire and John were married at La Toscane at Sweetwater Vineyard in the Hunter Valley. Claire explains “We used a venue called La Toscane that resembled a Tuscan hall. It was wonderful. We hired the venue empty, bar a few rustic features and so had to organise for all the elements to be brought in for the day (chairs, tables etc). It looked out over Sweetwater vineyard and a lake.” For her walk down the aisle Claire recalls “We had a string duo playing, but I honestly can’t remember the song as I was very nervous!.”

Claire wore a Jenny Packham gown and hairpiece with her mother’s earrings. Peter Herd Florist styled the floral arrangements for the day.

Claire remarks “The special part about our wedding day is that it was intimate and Tom did a great job at capturing that. I think the photos reflect all the love that was radiating between everyone, which is the most important and special part of any wedding.”

The day went just as the couple planned. Claire recalls “Luckily it all went quite smoothly. I did manage to slam my finger in a car door two days before the wedding (hence the photos where my finger has a mighty band-aid!) and my father got my birthday wrong by one day, but nothing outrageous to share.”

Claire remembers her wedding day as “a beautiful day filled with lots of love, laughter, wonderful friends and family, good food and great wine.”

Joanne Norrish made a cupcake wedding cake for the couple.

The first dance was all about fun. Clare remembers “Our first dance was to ‘You’re just too good to be true (can’t take my eyes off you)’ by Frank Valli and the Four Seasons. It was just fun with everyone getting involved.”

Congratulations Claire and John! Thank you for sharing your wedding photographs with us today on Polka Dot Bride! Thank you also to Tom Greenwood for sharing today’s photographs!