Outdoor Winery Wedding - Polka Dot Bride

Tammy & Andrew

Not a week goes by where we don’t hear about the desire for a wedding under the stars here at Polka Dot Bride! Well Tammy and Andrew managed to pull it off for their outdoor winery wedding with the most romantic of details. The newlyweds wanted their guests to feel like they were enjoying a delicious dinner party. They chose Hannah Photography to come along for the ride.

Tammy tells the story of how she and Andrew came to be. “We met through mutual friends as we both worked for the same company.We actually worked for the same people in the same store just not at the same time. We actually got together at a work Christmas party. It was a fancy dress – dress as your favorite TV character our company throws pretty big parties and this was my first one as I was new in the company. Andrew was dressed as Mr Bump with a cardboard cut out over his shoulders. I kind of liked him but I thought he did even know my name, we got talking and I told him I liked his shoes and he kissed me, to my surprise then he ran off. It all started from there.”

Tammy chose a wedding gown from Stella York , she notes, “To be honest I hated wedding dress shopping!. But I did find a dress that I absolutely loved. The detail of the bead work was amazing and the drop waist suited my body great. The dress was originally a strapless and had a sweetheart neck line, I got some cap sleeves added to it that created a keyhole back which is want I wanted from the beginning.

There were so many things that I didn’t want when I started looking. I was adamant that I did not want a train, no tulle and I definitely didn’t want a veil, however I ended up with a three layered tulle dress with a train (it was a sweep actually) and a floor length cathedral veil. Despite all that I loved every inch of the dress.”

Sommerton Limousines with driver David transported the bridal party, Tammy noting, “He was like my third bridesmaid – he made sure I was calm gave me water and when I was about to walk down the aisle he made sure my dress was perfect and he hugged me. He was getting guests food and drinks, he left us with a framed photo of Andrew and I standing up through the sunroof with our wedding party beside us. It was the little things that made David awesome.”

Tammy and Andrew married at O’Reilly’s Canungra Valley Vineyard. “The venue was only the second one we looked at however I knew from the second I got out of the car it was the one. The venue has such a great feeling to it. There is a big fig tree next to the creek and I knew that is exactly where I wanted the reception. The creek running through the bottom of the property was perfect for our photos and created a relaxed atmosphere.”

For her walk down the aisle, Tammy notes, “I chose “How long will I love you” by Elle Goulding – I just love that song and it makes me cry every time I hear it.”

Jaime Thompson performed the ceremony, Tammy noting, “We wanted the ceremony to be relaxed and comfortable for our guests. We didn’t have any readings however we had a hand fasting which I loved.

We lit a candle for Andrew’s family who are no longer with us. We also left three seats spare for Andrew’s mum, dad and brother. I had both my mum and dad walk me down the aisle as I felt they were both responsible of raising me into the person I am today.”

Of their photographer, Tammy remembers, “Hannah was just a pleasure to work with we thought of her as a part of our wedding and not just one of our suppliers. As soon as I described what I wanted she understood straight away. Our photos turned out perfectly and exactly what we wanted. Her enthusiasm for what she does is infectious and it radiated throughout our wedding and our guests. I loved the fact that she stayed with us the entire night to capture all the fun and craziness of our reception. She is down to earth however so professional and the images she captured were more then perfect.”

The reception was held under the stars, Tammy remarking, “I have to hand it to Canungra valley vineyards they never said no. They advised me that they had never done a full sit down reception outside however they were willing to give it a go. I actually feel for them as I was pretty demanding. I did not want a alternative drop menu , so I asked them to create a share platter menu which they did, no problems. All the staff there were really accommodating to what I wanted, and they did everything I asked for. They were great, the ceremony and reception were perfect.”

Tammy remembers, “The major details of our wedding we had professionals take care of as we just didn’t have the time, both working full time. However we did create our own invitations. As we did not have any seating plan for the reception we created “Name Tags” for our guests by writing their names on them and then hand writing a personalized message on the back of it. The message was why they were important to us and why they were invited to the wedding.”

Guests received favors made by the bride’s mother, Tammy tells, “My mum made all the bombonieres, we spent 18 months making jams and chutneys to fill bottles that would be the gifts for our guests. These were all different, some people got strawberry jam some got Mulberry jam and come got quince paste and chilli jam.”

Of their wedding style, Tammy notes, “We had a relaxed rustic theme. We wanted a nontraditional wedding and it to not be a “production”. We wanted the atmosphere to be that of a family dinner that all our friends and family were invited to.”

The couple chose a cheese wheel cake using cheese wheels from Farmgate Cheeses, the bride telling, “One item that was very important to me was our cake – we didn’t actually have a cake we had cheese. We had 5 wheels of different cheeses put together to make a cake. We had this on a table with fresh figs and different pastes and jams as accompaniments. We love cheese and I think having this as a centrepiece for our wedding really represented as couple.”

Of their first dance under the stars, Tammy remembers. “Our first dance was to “She” by Charles Aznavour. This song meant so much to Andrew as his dad used to sing it to his mum. It also makes me cry every time Andrew sings it to me.”