Teri-Anne & Ben

Among the lush rainforest greenery, Teri-Anne and Ben were married in a luxe, bohemian-styled ceremony. With their gorgeous children a part of the day and Maori traditions throughout the celebrations, this wedding will sweep you off your feet! Ethereal Photography captured the day.

High school sweethearts, the bride and groom met and fell in love at the age of 16. Teri-Anne tells of the proposal, ”It was our 10 year anniversary of being together. Ben had surprised me with a weekend away at Byron Bay. We came back to our room after a romantic dinner, and on our balcony which overlooked a beautifully lit up tropical garden was a cheese platter, two glasses of wine and a wrapped present for me. As I was unwrapping my present I noticed it was a photo frame. I flipped it over and inside were photos of each of our three kids all wearing shirts that made up the sentence ‘will you marry daddy?’ I turned around to Ben who was down on one knee with a ring in his hand. I cried, he cried and of course I said yes.”

Her heart set on a full lace, bohemian gown, the bride struggled to find anything she could fall in love with. She remembers, ”I decided to take the risk and started looking online and came across a designer in Los Angeles called Saldana Vintage who specialised in bohemian wedding dresses. So I took the plunge and decided I was going to get them to do my wedding dress knowing that I wouldn’t be able to do any fittings or see the dress until it was completed. During the whole process we continuously communicated with each other which had me at ease. The moment the dress arrived and I tried it on for the first time I felt so overwhelmed with so many happy emotions. It was everything I imagined it to be. Timeless and classy. I absolutely loved it!” The bride accessorised with her nana’s necklace. She shares, ”Although not worth much in dollar value it had so much sentimental value to me and my family. I know that if she was with us she would have loved to have been there to watch me get married. So wearing her necklace on my wedding day was like having her right there with me.”

The groom was keen to wear a casual formal look, deciding on beige and tan. Teri-Anne tells, ”He went formal with the beige blazer and vest but kept it casual with a white linen shirt and beige straight leg chino pants. Ben wore a high top Colorado dress shoe and a Beau Hudson leather bowtie for the tan component of his attire. He whipped up the look all together himself as what he wanted he couldn’t find all in one store and we were so happy with it.”

The location set the perfect scene for the bohemian styled ceremony, with lush trees and greenery all around. Teri-Anne shares, ”Our ceremony was very simple. We didn’t want it to be overly formal at all. With the rainforest garden as our backdrop and all our friends and family it felt very calm. You could hear the trickling of the waterfall behind us which added to that intimate feel. It was very tranquil. We wanted a meaningful but short and sweet ceremony. We had written vows that were exchanged and a little bit of humour from our celebrant to get everyone smiling. It was beautiful.” The bride walked down the aisle with her father to ‘Turn Your Lights Down Low’ by Anita Antoinette.

The Little Flower Market created the flowers for the day, with the bride telling, ”We wanted to keep them on the conservative side, deciding on the bouquets being mostly green and white with a pop of colour in a deep red. We chose a deep red because we thought it complimented the neutral tones we had chosen for our bridal party to wear. We spoke with our florist about what we were wanting and she brought our vision to life. They turned out exactly what we had in mind. We also had her make floral hairpieces for our bridesmaids that matched their bouquets. For myself I opted for a crown made up of just foliage for a more natural, toned down boho look.”

Ethereal Photography worked their magic on the day, and Teri-Anne and Ben were thrilled with the results! They recall, ”When we were looking for a photographer we were wanting more of a natural feel to our photos. Nothing overly filtered or enhanced. They used a lot of natural light and our photos turned out better than we could have ever imagined. Working alongside Freya was so effortless. She made us feel comfortable and was really accommodating. She did a fantastic job of capturing our day. Freya was so lovely and so upbeat throughout the whole day absolutely loved her energy. When trying to get the perfect shot in the paddock, we almost got taken out by a rogue bull. So we had our groomsmen take one for the team and distract the bull into following them in the opposite direction while our photographer quickly clicked away.”

Such a beautifully put together wedding came with the help of Berry Vintage Hire. The bride says, ”They really brought our boho theme to life. Absolutely loved the styling especially the macrame curtain we stood in front of during our ceremony. The macrame cake stand display was also styled by Berry Vintage Hire and was just beautiful. They did an amazing job. We also really loved our ‘Just Married’ denim jackets. We wore them during the bouquet toss and as we were departing at the end of the night through our sparkler arch.”

It was love at first sight for their venue, Bundaleer Rainforest Gardens! The couple remember, ”As soon as we walked in we knew straight away! This is it! From the stunning rainforest garden backdrop for our ceremony to the reception room that was nestled among the tree tops, everything about the venue was just absolutely stunning! The reception room ceiling was lit up with fairy lights and the gardens and trees were lit up at night adding to the relaxed, laid back, boho vibe we were after. The room had wall to wall windows giving you stunning views of the lit up rainforest backdrop from every angle.”

Teri-Anne’s family is Maori, and as such, the couple incorporated several New Zealand traditions. The bride tells, ”The Haka was performed by the males as our welcome into our reception as Mr & Mrs Tooker. The women later on in the night performed and sang a love song in Maori to us. Having a cultural element was really special specifically when we entered the reception as a married couple and were greeted with the Haka this was hair raising and all guests and even venue staff were cheering and enjoying the moment.” The couple made their seating chart and table centre pieces, and Ben’s mum got crafty too. They tell, ”She incorporated our wedding favours into the name cards. You could open them up and inside each guest had a packet of seeds with ‘let love grow’ printed on them and a personally written thank you letter from Ben and I. So at the end of the night each guest had a personalised little gift to take home with them.”

The newlyweds had two songs for their first dance, the first being ‘Is This Love’ by Bob Marley. Teri-Anne remembers, ”It was such an incredible moment as soon as the song started playing our guests started singing along to the music. People were standing up out of their chairs singing out loud. We danced, we twirled, we kissed, we sang along with everyone else we truly just lived in that moment and took it all in. It was amazing. Our second song was ‘Perfect’ by Ed Sheeran. Our MC asked for anyone who wanted to, to come up to the dance floor and dance with someone they loved. It was so special. The floor was filled and everyone embraced their loved ones and danced to the song. We got to dance with our parents. Our mums both cried as mums do…it truly was a special moment.” Of some of their favourite moments of the day, the couple share, ”Having our kids being part of the day made it that much more special. Having our closest family and friends there to celebrate our day as many made a huge effort traveling interstate and others traveling from New Zealand. Finally saying the words ‘I Do’ and calling each other after a long time together ‘my husband’ and ‘my wife’.”

Congratulations to our gorgeous bride and groom on your beautiful wedding and marriage, thank you for sharing with us! Thank you also to Ethereal Photography for sharing your stunning photos.