Romantic Queensland Winery Wedding

Laura & Jaeden

I love the intensity to today’s romantic Queensland winery wedding and by intensity I don’t mean that the details were dramatic, or even that the colours were bold. The intensity of Laura and Jaeden’s wedding is all about the emotion, the carefully thought out moments and plans that happened along the way that led to their memories being beautiful, romantic and so very special. They chose Finch & Oak to capture their wedding day.

Laura tells the story of how they came to be. “Jaeden and I met through our local church. He said he was interested in pursuing me, I said I was interested in pursuing God… and now we’re married!”

Laura wore a wedding gown by Made With Love , explaining “I knew that I wasn’t interested in a particularly ‘bridal’ looking gown, and didn’t want to patrol every local bridal store trying to find ‘the one’. So after ordering a wonderfully hideous dress online, (because it was cheap!) I went to the Made With Love boutique and tried on their Maddy dress. I instantly knew it was the one for me, and the girls were so helpful and accommodating to make it (made to measure) with less than 3 months notice!”

The couple met before the ceremony, the bride remembering, “Jaeden and I knew that we wanted to pray together before our wedding… but we still wanted our ‘first look’ to be as I was walking down the aisle towards him, in the presence of all of our friends and family. So, with the help of our wedding co-ordinator, we met in Sirromet’s Merlot House.

As I arrived first, I was waiting inside with my eyes tightly shut. (I didn’t sit through two hours of hair and make up to have it ruined before I walked down the aisle!) My dad met Jaeden outside and fitted him with a blindfold. Paul, our photographer, then captured the moment so perfectly as my dad walked Jaeden into the room and joined his hands to mine (another beautiful shadow of the significant role my dad played in giving me away to my groom).

When we had finished praying together (and exchanging nervous giddiness!), Jaeden was led out of the room by my dad and driven down to The Laguna, to wait at the altar. I followed shortly after and hopped into a limousine full of my five favourite girls, who had graciously accepted to be my bridesmaids, and my parents, who were waiting to walk me down the aisle and into the arms of my best friend, my husband-to-be.”

Laura tells, “I walked down the aisle to “I’m Yours” by The Script. We love the rawness of the emotion in that song, and feel that it perfectly captures the essence of our love for one another.

As my parents and I were traveling to the venue on the morning of my wedding, they asked me whether it would be okay if they both walked me down the aisle, as they each wanted to experience the culmination of joy and love within that moment. Of course, I said yes, and I’m now so glad that they did! One of my favourite photos from our wedding is the shot Paul, our photographer, captured of both of my parents walking me down the aisle, because I know how much that moment signified to them.”

Laura and Jaeden chose Sirromet Winery for their wedding, telling, “We knew that we didn’t want to spend our hard-earned pennies on simply a standard white function room; we wanted our reception hall to reflect some character! So after much research, we went and visited Sirromet Winery in Mount Cotton.

As soon as we drove onto the grounds, we were gasping at the beauty of the venue. We strolled through the grounds and down to The Laguna, a little floating arbour nestled between green rolling hills and a picture-perfect lake, and knew that was our ceremony location. It was so serene! After speaking to our wedding co-ordinator about the warmth and character we wanted to experience at our reception, she showed us Sirromet’s Barrel Hall. We were blown away. Being downstairs, there was not much natural light, which afforded the warm glow of candlelight to softly feature the polished wood, exposed brick and high ceilings of the room.

Upon walking in, we were hit with the sweet, rich smells of wine brewing in the many barrels that filled the space, and we knew this Hall had all of the rich character and quirkiness that we wanted!”

Robyn Wagner Celebrations (the bride’s mother) officiated the ceremony, but not before a very special blessing. Laura remembers, “We wanted for our ceremony to reflect the heart of our marriage, of course, and for us as Christians, that means we wanted to honour and exalt God as the author and perfecter of our faiths.

A very close friend of ours, who is also our Pastor, opened the ceremony in prayer, and led into a short message about the origin of the term ‘tying the knot’. He then showed us, by that given logic, that we will only be as strong as the last knot that we tied (whatever milestone we achieve in our marriage). He then counseled us to instead tie ourselves to God, as ‘a cord of three strands is not easily broken’, as it is written in Ecclesiastes 4:12. He was encouraging us to weave our lives in and through God as our centre, so that every time we pray with or for one another, or read our Bibles, or speak the truth in love to one another, or to others in our lives, we are again entwining the cords of our lives around God, and thus are being made stronger and more secure. It was a really beautiful moment.

We then shared our vows, which we had written ourselves, and my mum, being a marriage celebrant, was able to officially marry us. The whole ceremony was filled with such raw, deep emotion. It was a stunning display of love that we will always hold dear to our hearts.”

“As we stood at the altar, we felt so engulfed by love and support on every side, as we had each of our five siblings (Laura’s older brother and younger sister, and Jaeden’s younger brother, younger sister and brother in law) included in our bridal party, along with some ‘forever friends’, who we’ve known for years. That was a really powerful moment; realising that everyone you love so deeply, who have unwaveringly supported your relationship, are together in one place, witnessing you become husband and wife. We definitely weren’t prepared for the overwhelming presence of love and joy in that moment!”

Of their photographer, Laura remarks, “Paul, from Finch and Oak, was amazing. He captured all the key moments of the day with an eye for detail and incredible skill. He is particularly skilled when it comes to lighting and managing group photos, as well as professionally working with people’s idiosyncrasies. (Of which there were a few in our families!) There were also a lot of actions shots that he took on the dance floor, that look really amazing. These were certain moments that we both would have missed, but thankfully Paul got his boogy on and so was able to capture them for us. We so highly recommend him! Thank you again, Paul from Finch and Oak!”

Guests gathered for a reception at long tables in the barrel room. The bride noting, “We cannot recommend Sirromet Winery highly enough! From the first time we met with our wedding co-ordinator, Nicola, she assured us that there was nothing too difficult to be done for us. This over-and-above style of service continued on our wedding day as well, as all of the waitstaff were so friendly and helpful. Oh, and the food! The food was impeccable!”

Laura remembers, “We took a few moments, as our guests were being served dessert, to retreat to a dimly-lit lounge area, tucked away in a little alcove upstairs, which softly dimmed the merry noise of our being celebrated. Looking back now, I’m so glad we did! We made sure that we paused to reflect on all of the beauty we had experienced so far that day, and also to fill one another in on the hours we had spent apart that morning.

Being both introverts, I think those few stolen moments alone may have been necessary for us, but even if they weren’t, we would recommend that every bride and groom sneak away for a few minutes to invest and pour into one another on their wedding day. After all, the whole day is kind of about you.”

Laura tells, “Our speeches were hilarious. And heartfelt. And I cried. A lot. Throughout every speech. And it was beautiful.”

Of the first dance. Laura remembers, “For our first dance, I began dancing with my dad to “I Loved Her First” by Heartland, while Jaeden looked on, before approaching us and asking my dad if he could have my hand for this dance. The moment reminded us of only months before when Jaeden had sat with my parents around their old, wooden dining table and asked for my hand in marriage. (My mum fondly says that she will never be able to part from that dining table now, as we have gathered around it for many joyous family meals, a marriage blessing, and even shed a tear or two there, over the years). Jaeden said he looked on to that moment with a great sense of honour that my parents had entrusted him to now take on the role of protector and provider in my life; roles that they had undertaken themselves until that day.”