Erin & Michael’s Sweet Flowerdale Estate Wedding

Erin & Michael

There is so much country charm to Erin & Michael’s sweet Flowerdale Estate wedding. The couple, choosing to pair things right back and include only what mattered to them worked with Loco Photography  to capture their day with what was truly a beautiful country celebration that lasted three days!

A garden ceremony, a marquee with the cool breeze blowing, dancing shoes for sore feet, signs that guided guests along the way – the wedding was heartfelt and very much handmade.

“We chose to have no bridal party. It was really lovely having so many people pop in and share in the excitement whilst we were both getting ready. It was truly something sharing this intimate moment with so many of our friends rather than having to make a decision between them.”

Erin chose Baccini and Hill to make her wedding gown, remembering, “Wedding dress shopping was the most stressful part of the entire process. I almost didn’t make the appointment at Baccini and Hill and if it wasn’t for my mum dragging me along I might almost have stayed in bed and not gone. It was love at first sight when I cast my eyes upon the made to order gown. Sherrilyn and the ladies at Baccini and Hill made the entire dress experience so personal and relaxed and I truly thank them for their professionalism and kindness that they showed me. To me, the dress was classy, sophisticated and elegant. It was everything that I’d like to be and it was exactly what I was looking for. I felt like a princess wearing it.”

“We wanted a back to back wall photo together before the wedding. We didn’t want to see each other but we wanted the anticipation to be seen in our photos. Our photographer Theo really captured some special emotions in these photos which are telling of our love for each other.”

“Some of our guests described our wedding as a rustic fairy tale. It was country farm meets DIY rustic. The entire weekend was perfectly relaxed with love and laughter filling the air.”

“We like to do things with a bang. We hired three Pacific Islander singers to serenade me down the aisle singing “Somewhere over the Rainbow” with a freestyle flair.”

Erin and Michael were married at Flowerdale Estate, the bride telling, “Our wedding was a three-day affair. We wanted to have a relaxed weekend-long wedding. Michael found the venue by accident. I wasn’t sold at first but upon arriving for an inspection I knew that Flowerdale Estate was the perfect place for us.

Flowerdale Estate was built in 1840’s and was originally a sheep station. It’s recently been renovated and operates as the perfect retreat for anyone who wants to experience pure decadence. Given that I’m from the country it was only fitting that I had some of my country roots included in our wedding. The staff were simply amazing. They catered to everyone and everything we requested. It was simply magical from the old ballroom, cigar room, piano room, the suites and the dining room not to mention the stunning grounds and all the hidden gems they have to offer.

We spent three days at Flowerdale Estate. We had our rehearsal dinner there, our wedding brunch, wedding games, ceremony, reception and photographs. It was perfect.”

The couple celebrated with guests over champagne and cheese and a very big surprise, the bride explains. “Michael and I have a grand love of champagne and cheese. Everyone who knows us knows that these were the two things that brought us together, the two things Michael included in our engagement. Our engagement party was even champagne and cheese themed. The beautiful Maria from Flowerdale Estate presented us with the biggest bottle of champagne I have ever seen during our champagne and cheese hour before the reception. It was amazing.”

“Michael created the story of us table with old photo frames that we collected in the lead up to the wedding. We created fresh rose petals in hand rolled newspaper cones instead of confetti. We had our order of service cards printed on paper fans for the ladies. ”

Erin created much of the decor herself, noting, “I’m a teacher so have plenty of time during the holidays to get my hands dirty or should I say get my hands planning and mouth instructing others to help. I purchased a book to keep all my notes in and I did DIY everything. We recently built a house so have loads of timber around. I had my mother in law paint all the signs for us. I printed thank-you cards myself to tie to the wedding favours. I mixed and matched items from home and Flowerdale Estate to decorate the marque.”

Of their first dance, the bride remembers, “We had two dances. First, Barry White “Can’t get enough of your love”. It was our entrance song at the opening of the reception. It certainly got the party started. Our official bridal waltz was to Rod Stewart “Have I told you lately?” Michael fancies himself a Rod Stewart. He often sings this to me. It was the perfect song for us.”

“We had our lovely friend Denise plan, organise, book and present our mystery honeymoon to us at 8.30 on the night of our wedding. We had no idea where we were going until then and we were ecstatic to learn that we were going to Mexico and San Francisco. We left one day after the wedding and spent two amazing weeks exploring, soaking up the sun and enjoying our first two weeks as husband and wife without the pressures of the real world. The anticipation of the announcement was electric.”

Video Boutique filmed the day, the most beautiful capture of the relaxed day.

Congratulations Erin and Michael! Thank you for sharing your day with us! Thank you also to Loco Photography for sharing today’s celebration!