Courtney & James

You know how much we love stories around these parts, and what could be better than telling the story of a sweet couple’s engagement AND wedding? It’s the best of both worlds! Courtney and James so generously shared their engagement with us, and today? It’s the culmination of it all in their lovely Wonganella winery wedding. And indeed, if there ever was a wedding that was “lovely” it is this one. A dessert table piled with treats and baked by friends and family, a gorgeous relaxed ceremony that included a reading from the bride’s grandparents 50th wedding anniversary and a couple who are madly in love and the photos by Muse Photography to prove it. We can’t wait for this one to unfold!

The pair met while working as teenagers at a local supermarket, the groom to be (as we told in their engagement story!) surprising the bride on a trip to Thailand to propose. Courtney tells  “On our first day we went and booked a day trip to go and visit some of the neighbouring islands and go snorkelling. James was adamant about going to one particular island – he kept saying how good the snorkelling was there. I was packing our bag to take and realised James had put a jumper in the bag, I thought to myself ‘what an idiot, he won’t need a jumper it is 100degrees outside’ and I threw the jumper on the floor and keep packing, then I went to have a shower. 

 

While I was in the bathroom James saw the jumper and had to sneakily put it back as that was where he had the ring hidden. 



 The first island was the one James was adamant about going to. He had been acting really weird on the boat ride there and then when we got to the island he wanted to sit so far from everyone, I thought something was wrong with him. We went for a quick swim then went back and sat on the sand admiring the view. 
James started to act really serious and saying things like ‘you know I love you’. I was confused and thought he was playing around (because he is never serious!! 
I jumped up and said ‘come on stop being silly we have come here to go snorkelling on this beautiful island lets go’ then I went off snorkelling. While I was in the water though I did think that maybe he was actually being serious and thought I might have ruined everything.
James then made me wait all day until the last island (which I think was better than the first anyway) where he got down on one knee in the shallow water and asked me to marry him!
”

Courtney found her beautiful lace gown by Made With Love while shopping at Lily Grace Bridal.”I loved the brand and had many screenshots of their dresses when I went to try on dresses ‘Sasha’ was the first dress I tried on & fell in love! After each dress I tried on I kept putting her back on and loving it more.”

The bride and groom chose navy suits for the groomsmen by Connor, the bride spotting a pale blue jacket on Pinterest, an idea the groom loved.

The bride walked down the aisle to Jason Mraz’s “I Won’t Give Up On You” a nod to the couple’s time spent long distance.

Courtney and James chose Montage Ceremonies to officiate the ceremony, noting “We really wanted a relaxed feel to the ceremony, nothing too over the top – that just isn’t us!
It was short, sweet and perfect! I loved walking down the aisle, I was so relaxed as soon as I saw James. We had a reading by one of our very close friends – the reading was from my grandparent’s 50th wedding anniversary.”

Courtney and James chose Wonganella Estate Winery for their wedding, explaining “We found Wonganella while we were actually looking for an engagement party venue. We fell in love with the boutique winery and thought it was too beautiful to use for the engagement party and booked it there and then for the wedding!
It had just been brought by new owners and they made us feel like family from the start, they were so easy to work with!

The winery was perfect for us as we could get have the ceremony and reception all at the one place and it was only 15 minutes from home!”

Soft pink. bouquets were styled by White Roses Styling. Courtney tells “Sophia and White Roses Styling were amazing! All I told them was I liked native flowers and really wanted proteas. What arrived the morning of the wedding was perfect!! Much better than I could have chosen myself! I loved that they were messy, and each bouquet was slightly different!”

Of their photographer, Courtney raves “WOW WOW WOW!!! Teresa was the perfect person to tell our story! She was so easy to work with and made us feel so comfortable. Nothing was too hard for her and her knowledge was amazing! we were so lucky to find her, our photos are perfect – she captured every part of the day.
We will be forever thankful for the memories she has captured and will definitely love her to capture all our future memories!”

Courtney, her mother, mother in law and sisters packed up jars of honey to gift each guest as wedding favours. The sweet treats a compliment to the decadent dessert bar put together by family and friends. “I loved our reception styling, with the native flowers down the tables, moody candlelight and the lounges for guests to mingle on and relax” tells Courtney.

“I couldn’t pick just one – everything was perfect! I loved our reception styling, with the native flowers down the tables, moody candlelight and the lounges for guests to mingle on and relax” shares Courtney.

“We danced to ‘Quite like you’ by the script – James chose it & it was perfect!” tells Courtney of their first dance.

A big congratulations to you both Courtney & James! Thank you for sharing your beautiful day with us (and your engagement story!) thank you also to the team at Muse Photography for sharing today’s beautiful wedding!