Danielle & James

For Danielle and James, a classic olive grove country wedding allowed the bride and groom to focus on their style. From a statement gown to a stunning tent at sunset, we love the simplicity of this gorgeous day! Milina Opsenica Photography was on hand to capture every detail.

The bride and groom met at work, but had to keep their romance a secret. Danielle tells, ”For anyone, first impressions are important, and James nailed it! He came across as thoughtful, considerate and of course handsome. The excitement of our new relationship was heightened as we kept our romance a secret while sitting next to each other at work. We quickly fell in love.”

The bride ended up wearing a gown quite different to what she was expecting, sharing, ”At my first bridal appointment I tried on dresses which were simple and straight, but still formal. As I tried them on, I just didn’t feel like a bride. I asked the consultant if she had anything more dramatic and mentioned one I’d seen with loads of tulle on the rack. She pulled out the Enzoani gown for me and when I put it on I thought ‘This is it, it’s perfect!’ I adore my dress and wish that I could wear it again!”

Danielle walked down the aisle with her father to ‘La Vie en Rose’, played by Animata String Quartet. The couple wanted a simple ceremony, sharing, ”We didn’t want a long ceremony. The brief to Chris Johnson, our celebrant, was to keep it is short as possible without it just being the legal vows. We didn’t have any readings and we both had very simple vows.”

James decided that he would keep things traditional with a twist within their black tie theme. He shares, ”I wanted there be some individuality, so in the end I went for the darkest navy possible from Oscar Hunt. At a glance the suit appeared black however in the sunlight there was a definite blue tone. Everything else was very simple and plain – black patent shoes, simple silver and black studs and cufflinks.”

Choosing Milina Opsenica Photography was an easy choice for the couple, with Danielle sharing, ”We knew from her portfolio that Milina’s style suited exactly what we wanted. When we met online, we couldn’t have felt more comfortable with her. Milina is warm, friendly, creative and such good company that she was the perfect person to work with. When we were staying at the farm for Christmas, Milina came over to explore the property. On the day, she was so comfortable to be around and knew exactly what we needed. At times we felt that she wasn’t even there and that we were perfectly alone. At other times, we felt her excitement about different ideas, it was really heartwarming and fun!”

Having a stunning venue within the family made the choice of location easy for the bride and groom, with Danielle telling, ”The venue was James’ parents olive grove. They started Stones Throw Olives about 7 years ago as a side project. We tossed up various ideas but most venue options felt too impersonal and we lacked any sort of connection to them. We ended up choosing the farm as we both love the place and stylistically it suited what we were going for. We chose a beautiful tent from Katalane which also suited the formal style.”

Danielle was relaxed about the blooms chosen for the day too, sharing, ”We were pretty simple about the flowers we chose from Tillda Flowers. We simply wanted clustered blooms with olive and eucalyptus foliage to bring in an element of the location. The lighter colours came out beautifully.”

Wanting to make sure their guests were comfortable, and with Danielle having a keen eye for detail, the bride and groom added extra touches to their day. Danielle shares, ”We made sure that the kids table was styled just for them so that they felt quite special. From the letters for their place cards, to top hats for boys and sparkly crown headbands for the girls. And as we were on the property, we also needed to use portaloos, which felt a bit out of context for the formality of the dress code. We bought luxury hand wash and diffusers, and put tables outside with trays of mints, perfumes and colognes.”

Danielle and James took some time to choose the song for their first dance, sharing, ”We danced to Bing Crosby’s version of ‘Dream a Little Dream of Me’. This was a really hard choice and we spent months disagreeing about songs. Danielle suggested this and it felt like a good compromise. When the bus arrived at midnight to take the guests home, everyone on the dance floor kept shouting ‘one more song!’ They just didn’t want to leave! It was simply an excellent party and we couldn’t stop smiling.”

A very special thank you to our lovely bride and groom for sharing your day with us, and congratulations on your beautiful wedding! Thank you also to Milina Opsenica Photography for your gorgeous photographs.