Lauren & Henry

You know the wedding photos where you want to jump into the picture and pull up a chair? Perhaps sit down and grab a bite to eat, fill your glass and toast the couple and watch on as they perform their first dance? This is one of them. A beautiful, relaxed wedding with such a sense of fun and elegance. I’m almost not sure what I like more – the bride’s fun and flirty dress, the stunning chandeliers hung from the rafters of the woolshed or Henry’s laughing face. Lauren and Henry married on Henry’s family’s property just outside of Canberra near Lake George and turned their celebration into a family affair.

Lauren tells the story of their relationship. “We met through mutual friends at a birthday party 7 and a half years ago where it was love it first sight for both of us. After only 5 months together Lauren moved to Japan with her work for almost a year. It was difficult for them to be apart but Henry called her every day and it was this separation that really cemented their relationship.”

Photos today are by David Robertson Photography. I love David’s fun, whimsical captures. They make the most of the fun of the wedding day without missing any of the crucial details, moments or atmosphere.

Lauren wore a tea length fifties style gown by Justin Alexander from Annabelle’s Bridal Studio. She paired it with shoes from Panache Bridal. She added earrings from De Vine Goddess, a Swarovski bracelet and a hairpiece from Tina Jeffrey Australia.

Lauren’s bridesmaids wore gowns from Lisa Ho. Lauren remarks “My sister was my maid of honour and I couldn’t have been more happy for her to share in all of the joy with Henry and I. She put in so much time and effort for months to help us with all of the planning. She was amazing.”

The ceremony was in the garden of the property’s homestead. Lauren explains “Henry’s mother worked tirelessly for months preparing the garden by weeding, planting, watering and mowing 5 acres of garden. We borrowed church pews from a small local church to use as seating for the ceremony to and complement our church service.”

Lauren walked down the aisle to David Grey’s “You’re The One I Love” sung by Mary Quinlan accompanied by an acoustic guitar. Lauren says “We wanted music to play an integral part of our day. Right before the ceremony it started to rain. But right as I turned up the weather cleared and stayed beautiful for the rest of the day. We were blessed that we could have our ceremony outside in the garden as we had planned”. Lyn’s Floral Studio created Lauren and the bridal party’s floral arrangements.

Lauren added sentimental touches to her wedding day look. She explains “I wanted to allow family who were sick or had passed away to still be remembered on the day. I wore my Nan’s brooch on my bouquet, Henry’s grandmother’s brooch on my dress and my grandparent’s chandelier hung in the woolshed.”

Lauren remarks “Walking down the aisle and seeing Henry’s face is something I will never forget. We were both quite emotional. We held hands tightly throughout the entire ceremony.”

Lauren notes “Having the wedding at the place where Henry grew up and where we both live makes it all so much more personal and meaningful. It is also nice to know that your wedding is completely one of a kind. We chose places for our photos that have meaning for us, and now when we look at them forevermore, we will be reminded of the best day of our lives.”

Of their photographer, Lauren says “Our photographer David was very relaxed and professional. He completely suited the style we wanted to achieve. He had a clear creative vision that matched our own ideas seamlessly, and then surpassed all expectations.”

The couple held their reception in the property’s 100 year old woolshed. To add to their rustic chic vibe, they introduced plenty of chandeliers. Lauren explains “We came up with the theme of the chandeliers early on. This was inspired by a chandelier I was given from my grandparents’ home when they both had passed away that was now hanging in our house.

We used the chandelier theme in our invitations, and used chandeliers inside the shed. We had six in total- my grand parent’s chandelier, two that we bought (the outdoor chandelier was purchased from Village Antiques Bungendore) and three others that we hired which hung above our dance floor. The lighting created a great ambiance. We also bought a wrought iron chandelier to hang outside the reception.”

Parts of the woolshed were even used to serve guests, just another few handmade touches prepared by the couple and their family! “We cut, routed and sanded left over hardwood floor boards to use as antipasto platters on all of our reception tables. We collected and cleaned vintage silver cutlery that we bought in antique and recycling stores.We made all of our own invitations, place cards and order of service from scratch (using supplies from Pulp Creative Paper).”

Preparing the woolshed for a wedding wasn’t an easy task admits Lauren. “The preparations started at least 6 months ago on the woolshed with the help of family and friends and numerous working bees. We did everything from replacing countless rotten floorboards, rotten posts, some of the outside walls and parts of the roof. We always tried to replace everything with recycled materials to keep the integrity and rustic nature of the shed. We even pulled down an internal wall in the shed and laid a floating floor over the sheep grating to make a dance floor.”

The couple even handmade favours. “For our favours we had jam jars as we wanted to carry through the country theme. Henry made the jar labels and his mother made homemade marmalade. We searched through old buildings on the farm and found old glass jars which we cleaned out and used as candle holders.”

The cake was made by Cakes By Casey, a white chocolate masterpiece. Lauren explains “Flowers for the table were bought from a wholesale supplier (Capital Flowers Plus). All of the flower arrangements around the reception were made by Henry’s mother and a friend from flowers and foliage from her garden. We used old stock water troughs from the farm as flower boxes and planted flowers months in advance to add lots of soft colour.” The couple hired their chair covers, sashes and indoor chandeliers from Reardon’s Hire Temora and plates & glasses from Goulburn Party Hire.

The couple made sure to leave a lasting mark on the restored woolshed. Lauren recalls “Instead of a signing book, Henry’s dad made a huge message board which hung in the reception. All of our guests left messages for us which will hang in the wool shed for ever.”

Lauren and Henry made sure to look after their guests “We also organised accommodation on our property and a neighbouring farm for over 70 people. This meant paying lots of attention to unused shearing huts which had to be cleaned out, broken windows replaced, doors painted, stairs made, and enough beds found. This process started almost a year ago.”

One of Lauren’s favourite parts of the day occurred during the reception. She explains “The speeches were entertaining, humorous, emotional and deeply personal. Good speeches can really enhance a wedding reception and give such an insight about the connection with friends and family. We had so much feedback about how much everyone loved the speeches.”

Lauren and Henry chose a song for their first dance that allowed them to drink in the moment. Lauren explains “Our first dance was to Coldplay’s “Fix You”. It has been “our song” for years. We decided on a slow waltz for our dance so we could really take in the emotion and enormity of the moment.”

Lauren says “We also hired a band to play at our reception to help with the party mood and to get everyone up and dancing.”  Something Like This kept guests on the dance floor to the early hours.

Congratulations Lauren and Henry! Thank you for sharing your wedding day with us! Thank you also to David Robertson Photography for sharing today’s beautiful images!