David and Emily's Gorgeous Barn Wedding

David and Emily

David and I first met through a mutual friend in 2005, but it would be almost five more years before we would start dating! We ended up working together a little after we met, but I left soon after to travel overseas. We stayed in touch over the next few years, but somehow never saw each other in person. He would arrive at a party not long after I had left, or I’d drop into a bar and he would already be in a cab to the other side of the city. This went on until 2009 when that same mutual friend organised a dinner with the three of us, and we hit it off almost immediately. We were together not long after that. A year after we got together we moved to New York City, and were married at the end of 2013.

Wearing a slightly unexpected colour was really special for me. I didn’t intend to be a “different” bride, but the surprise on everyone’s faces when I emerged in a grey dress was really exciting and a great talking point.

We live in New York but wanted to get married back home in Australia. The wedding was held in Berrima, NSW, in the Southern Highlands. We have always loved the highlands and were so excited to spend a weekend away with all our family and friends. We travelled from New York to get married, and friends from all around the world came to be with us. This never ceases to amaze us when we think about how lucky we are to have such great friends and family.

Bendooley Estate was the last venue I visited on a whirlwind trip back to Australia, and even though the barn was in full renovation mode and they hadn’t hosted any weddings yet, we booked it on the spot. It’s hard to find words to describe just how gorgeous this venue is; with its rolling vineyards, rose garden, and original homestead. The estate is also home to the Berkelouw Book Barn, a stunning and unique bookstore offering thousands of new, rare, and antique books (with a fantastic restaurant, to boot). It was perfect.

I walked down the aisle to Heartbeats by Jose Gonzales. One of our favourite songs of all time.

I highly recommend Written By Hand for signage. She was outstanding.

We chose a book theme for our wedding and had a talented illustrator friend create a book logo for us. This logo appeared throughout the wedding—on the invitation, the website, the place cards and the ceremony signage. It was a lovely, subtle touch of continuity and tied in perfectly with the book barn reception venue.

It’s no secret amongst my friends that I am a huge polka dot lover! As a special surprise, David emailed every male guest ahead of the wedding and asked them to wear polka dot socks on the day. It was such a lovely touch to see literally every guy proudly displaying his socks just for me.

David’s sister styles weddings in her spare time and we couldn’t have pulled it all off without her. Although Sally lives in London, she made the seating and place cards herself, sourced all the signage, found our florist, and worked tirelessly on all the fine details. My Mum is also a very talented quilter, and she made all of the bunting by hand. She sourced fabrics in our wedding colors of dusty pink, grey, cream and green, and hand-made every last piece.

Our photographer, Michelle Johnson, is an old friend and colleague – we worked together at Marie Claire many years ago. Michelle’s romantic, vintage photography style is absolutely beautiful. She has shot a number of friends’ weddings over the years and I always knew in my heart we would have her shoot ours too. Michelle is always cool, calm and collected, and you barely notice she’s there on the day.

The venue was breathtaking. Paul and Katja are the most amazing hosts and I wish I could get married at Bendooley every year. It’s so beautiful!

My advice to brides – Enjoy the day, (eat breakfast!) and take a moment to step away and take in the celebration as a newly married couple. This was very special advice that was given to us, and I’m so very thankful. The moment was something very special and helps stamp the memory in our minds.

Our wedding was an absolutely unforgettable day filled with love, laughter, and more feels than we ever thought possible

Images by Michelle Fiona Photography