When Madeline and Tim chose a classic country wedding at Mali Brae Farm to celebrate making it official, they were inspired by the country setting of their venue. The rolling country fields, stunning trees and lake were exactly what they wanted to show off to guests. Both having grown up in the Southern Highlands, the region held a special place in their hearts, and it was with this that they welcomed their guests for a weekend-long celebration, captured beautifully by Tealily Photography.

These high school sweethearts met over eleven years ago, but it was on their tenth anniversary together than Tim proposed to Madeline. Choosing one of their favourite Sydney beaches in Balmoral for the occasion, the couple enjoyed a gourmet picnic on the sand. “It wasn’t without its hiccups…” tells Madeline. “We are both petrified of birds, and at one point we came close to calling it a night as an aggressive kookaburra continually swooped down from its tree, trying its best to enjoy the spoils of our cheese board! After a slight shift in the location, we had a wonderful evening, which ended with Tim dropping to his knee and proposing.”

Madeline added her grandmother’s navy blue nursing pin to her bouquet as her “Something Blue”. “My something old was a hat pin which I wore in my hair which also my grandma’s. My something borrowed was my mum’s heart charm which she wears every day and was attached inside my pocket and something new was from Tim the day before our wedding he gave me a Tiffany key with my new initials engraved on it, it was attached into my other pocket.”

The bride chose a ballgown with a classic silhouette and gorgeous bow detail by Moira Hughes Bridal Couture. She tells “I was lucky enough to have the talented Moira Hughes design my wedding dress, It was elegant and classic. I remember the first time I saw it I fell in love! My gown was beautifully made and I just loved wearing it. It was comfortable, lightweight and it fitted me perfectly, I felt amazing in it. I had so much fun going to the dress fittings. Moira was so lovely to work with! It was made with raw silk, which came in at my waist and then went out with this amazing train and a massive statement bow on the back (my favourite part) it also had pockets!!”

Sue Jackman officiated proceedings, Madeline remembering “We wrote our own vows which were fun and special, we also had to write five things about each other which were very entertaining and created many laughs which made for a more personal ceremony! It did help we knew our fabulous celebrant Sue Jackman! We also had our mums sign the registry which was lovely and it made them feel a lot more involved in the day!”

“We wanted to make a rustic but elegant feel. We had a beautiful outdoor wedding and perfect weather, which was very lucky as it, had rained all week leading up to the day! Our stylists of Mali Brae, Cass and Shell, set up some eclectic chairs and a white rustic door which our florist made an amazing floral design on and it looked stunning I remember walking down the aisle and thinking WOW this turned out just perfect!! “

Jess of Botanica Style Co styled the floral details of the day. “I really appreciated the time Jess took to discuss every little detail. She was incredibly helpful and had wonderful ideas, which worked in perfectly with our theme! Jess made our wedding day even more breathtaking then I could have imagined!”

Guests celebrated the union with a champagne picnic. Madeline explaining “Our lovely stylists Cass and Shell organised a picnic for our guests to enjoy while we had photos! They made a picnic area under this gorgeous gum tree on the farm and placed picnic rugs and pillows on the ground and also had tables and chairs, which fitted our simple yet classic rustic country theme perfectly! They also set up outdoor games for our guests to play. It looked absolutely stunning!”

Mali Brae Farm set the scene for the celebrations, the bride telling “Mali Brae Farm was the first venue we looked at and from the moment we saw it, we knew it was exactly what we wanted. We knew it would provide a lasting memory not only for ourselves but our guests. Shelley and Greg were amazing to work with and I cannot thank them enough for the incredible job they did in making our wedding come together the way it did.

We both grew up in the Southern Highlands, so really wanted to show off the picturesque area to our guests. We had a friend of the family tell us about Mali Brae and from the moment we saw it we knew it was exactly what we wanted! It was the first venue we looked at! We knew we wanted the whole day to be at the one place, we wanted an outdoor wedding with a rustic country feel and when we saw Mail Brae it was perfect! We were lucky to be the only wedding that weekend and had the farm to ourselves, which made it all very relaxing!”

“Trish was amazing! Perfect mixture of professionalism, talent and fun. We received (and are still receiving) so many compliments about how amazing our photos are, and we couldn’t be happier with them!” says Madeline of the couple’s photographer.

 

Guests dined at long tables at a sit-down feast catered by Violets and Vinegar. The bride remembered “We had shared platters down the middle, which allowed our guest to interact! The food was just amazing, we had so many of our guests compliment the food and said it was the best food they have had at a wedding! Violet and Vinegar also created the most beautiful dessert table, as I am very fond of desserts I was in heaven! The cake, also created by Violet and Vinegar, was a three tier white chocolate and vanilla with passionfruit curd, which was to die for!!”

The couple chose The Baker Boys for the dance floor, noting “We opted for a three-piece band consisting of a lead singer/guitarist, bass and drums which was just perfect for our venue and had everyone up and dancing. We also had Liam (the singer/guitarist) play a couple of sets during our outdoor picnic (between the ceremony and reception) which really just tied everything together beautifully! We received (and are still receiving) so much great feedback about from the guys from our guests and would highly recommend them to anyone.”

Congratulations Madeline and Tim! Thank you for sharing the beautiful stories of your day with us. Thank you also to Tealily Photography for today’s stunning photography.