Madeline & Craig
There is a dreamy chic style to the elegant Somersby Gardens Estate Wedding of Madeline and Craig. Understated, beautiful bouquets and floral arrangements. A quiet yet momentous ceremony, stunning backdrops all still somehow make sure that the focus is on Madeline and Craig and their love for each other. The couple chose EVENT Photography and Videography to capture their day.
Of how they met, Madeline tells, “I met Craig at the Beach Road Hotel in Bondi. He had walked through the door and his smile blew me away. A friend of mine had told him I thought he was cute. When I came down to the dance floor he was there smiling, we had a dance and a sneaky kiss and 3 years later were married!!”
Madeline chose a lace gown from Alfred Angelo, telling, “I had planned to wear a completely different style. I found this dress in a small bridal shop on the mid north coast. I had been shopping with my mum and decided to have a quick look at dresses. The experience was daunting but the ladies in the boutique made me feel relaxed. I remember trying on maybe four dresses before. I tried this one on and fell in love instantly. The open back and subtle chapel train made it that little bit more special.”
Gareth Hudson Music played live music for the wedding, starting with the ceremony music, the bride tells, “We had live acoustic guitar playing as I walked down the aisle – the song was Fire and the Flood by Vance Joy. We had our Acoustic singer Gareth Hudson played Kiss Me as we had our first kiss and signed our marriage certificate. He played Stolen Dance as we walked out to our family friends as husband and wife.”
Madeline and Craig were married by Tara Rennie . “We wanted our ceremony to be simple but meaningful. We chose Tara Rennie as our celebrant. She captured the love we had for each other throughout the ceremony. Craig and I both surprised each other by writing our own vows. We had a good friend of ours read ‘On your wedding day’ – it was such a beautiful poem.”
Miss Adams Florist created the floral arrangements for the day, the bride noting, “Miss Adams Florist did such an amazing job with our bouquets. I had given her a few ideas I had in mind but she blew me away with how stunning the bouquets turned out.”
Of their photographers, Madeline tells, “Emanuel and Mary were absolutely amazing. They were so professional and made us feel so relaxed. We can’t thank them enough. They are such wonderful people and we were so happy to have chosen them from day one. They went above and beyond to capture all of the secret places the venue had to offer. I even went rock climbing in my dress and heels to get to the beautiful rock that overlooked the valley.”
Madeline and Craig chose Somersby Gardens Estate for their wedding, noting, “Our wedding was held at Somersby Gardens Estate. We fell in love with it as soon as we saw it. We loved that you had to drive through a small creek crossing to get to the venue. It seemed like we were in another world. Our ceremony was held at the amphitheatre located at the bottom of the property. It was surrounded by beautiful gardens. We wanted to make the most of the beautiful stone pathway that led from the house to the ceremony so we used that as the aisle that the bridal party entered.
Our reception was at the Pavilion on the top of the property. It was such an elegant space the captured the countryside so perfectly. We knew we didn’t have to use a lot to decorate the space as we didn’t want to take away the amazing views the property had to offer. The Pavilion was definitely the selling point for us. The corrugated barn like feel with elegant chandeliers hanging from the ceiling was just magnificent. We loved that our guests could enjoy the sun going down whilst enjoying a few drinks and playing lawn games. We then lit up the back area with festoon lighting to dance the night away.”
“The venue was a blank canvas that we meant were able to create our own space. The place was so beautiful to begin with so I didn’t want to take away from it. Most of our wedding was DIY, from our signs to our table decor, from stationery to lighting. We have some pretty amazing friends and family who helped us create the most amazing wedding day. The eucalyptus garlands which were created by my beautiful bridesmaids were my absolute favourite. The gold tea lights added that touch of romance as the sun went down. We had our beautiful friend make the most amazing homemade wedding cake.”
Of their first dance, the bride remembers, “We had been practising for this dance for months. We have never laughed so much in our lives. Craig wasn’t much of a dancer. We chose ‘never tear us apart’ by INXS. We felt that the song had so much meaning to both of us and reminded us of the first time we met. When the time came to have our first dance we were so overwhelmed that we forgot half the steps and just went with it.”
“I surprised my dad with a Father and Daughter’s dance. He had no idea that I had organised this. I had Gareth play Horses by Daryl Braithwaite. Dad always used to play this song to me as a child. He was brought to tears.”
“We loved that we used local vendors for almost everything at our wedding. We love to support local people. Our wedding was the best day of our lives and we were so grateful to share it with so many amazing family and friends.”
Congratulations on your marriage Madeline and Craig! Thank you for sharing the day with us! Thank you also to EVENT Photography and Videography for sharing today’s celebration with us.
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