Hayley & Cameron

Set in a gorgeous garden, this relaxed and rustic wedding centred completely around the couple and their love for one another! Celebrating with close family and friends, the bride and groom chose native flowers and DIY touches to adorn their day. Laura Slade Photography captured every beautiful moment.

Hayley and Cameron met at a social gathering through mutual friends, and continued spending time together following the party. The bride shares, ”After years together Cameron proposed on my birthday and for the next 12 months we planned our special day. The wedding planning experience was so much fun! I had such supportive people around me that helped me personalise everything make it individual and special.”

Wanting her bridesmaids to be comfortable was of utmost importance to Hayley. With navy in mind, the bridal party found sequinned dresses from Review.  The bride tells, ”I had picked out my wedding dress online within a month from Luv Bridal. I didn’t want to try it on straight away in case I found something else I liked more, so we spent a few weekends trying different dresses from different stores until I just had to go and try on the one I originally found. As soon as I put it on, I knew it was the one I wanted. Getting hair and makeup done with Rachel and Natasha from Allure Bridal Stylists was so relaxing and easy going on the morning of the wedding. Natasha created the exact style that I wanted and Rachel made the makeup perfect for all us girls. They were so fun and relaxed it removed all the nerves and created a fun and exciting morning.” The groom and groomsmen wore outfits from Myer.

Walking down the aisle to ‘Falling In Love With You’ by Elvis Presley, the bride and her father walked towards an arbour decorated with native blooms. The bride recalls of the ceremony, ”Having Cameron’s sister sing with his two cousins created a special memory, as well as his other sister reading a poem in the ceremony. We surprised both our mothers by acknowledging them during the ceremony and inviting them to sign our marriage certificate as the witnesses for our day. We wanted to do something special for our mothers, as they have done so much for us throughout our lives.”

Continuing the rustic theme of the wedding, florist Woods & Bloom used a mix of native and luxe blooms on the day. The flowers were put together in hues of burgundy, dusty pink, nude, blush and ivory, with soft grey green and khaki foliage. Hayley shares, ”The flowers used were a variety of locally grown roses and cymbidium orchids, with Australian natives such as banksia, strawflower, tea tree and pink protea for added textural interest. They were the most beautiful flowers I have ever seen! Catherine first met with us when we had absolutely no idea what flowers we wanted. She asked us what our budget was, showed us a combination of previous floral arrangements she had done. We showed Catherine what colours and styles we were using for the wedding and allowed her to use her creativity to make our flowers and they were nothing short of amazing! Such a lovely, incredibly talented florist with such a huge love and passion for flowers!”

Capturing the day amongst the gardens was Laura Slade Photography. Hayley and Cameron were thrilled with their work, telling, ”The most important aspect of our wedding was the photography. We looked into so many photographers, trying to find someone that had a style of photography that matched the theme of the wedding and us personally. We were both so lucky to have all our grandparents together so wanted a photographer that could capture these special moments that we can cherish forever. Laura was incredible, she made the photos feel so relaxed and just took time to allow us to enjoy the moment and take in everything that was going on. While we had time to do this, she was taking sneaky photos that really captured the moment and our life together. The photos came out amazing, I am so proud to be able to show them to any and everyone and there are always positive comments on how amazing the photos are! She was friendly, down to earth and understanding. Honestly, couldn’t recommend her enough.”

Choosing a wedding venue that would be relaxed and rustic, Hayley and Cameron knew they had found the one when they arrived at Flaxton Gardens. They remember, ”We went to four wedding venues prior to Flaxton Gardens. As soon as we pulled up in the car park we knew that was where we wanted to get married. We were able to style our ceremony with very simple ceremony décor because the venue itself was so beautiful. My sister surprised us with a personalised timber sign for the ceremony that added a bit of a personal touch. We added floral arrangements to the arbour as another feature. Everything else was just kept simple to accentuate the simplicity and beauty of the venue. The reception was styled with flowers, wine barrels, lanterns and candles to create an elegant, rustic effect. I created the invitations, menus, seating chart, and wedding run sheet for guests. My grandfather created a large timber LOVE sign for the ceremony and a timber frame for our seating chart.”

Thank you to our stunning bride and groom for sharing your wedding day with us, and congratulations! Thank you also to Laura Slade Photography for your beautiful images.