Caitlin & James

I absolutely fell in love with the relaxed atmosphere that Caitlin and James chose for their day. The low key first look, the wild and fun confetti photos, the reception venue filled with whimsy. With Jack Chauvel behind the camera, this was a day that completely aligned with the bride and groom’s clear vision for their day. “We wanted to have a relaxed and rustic vibe that focused on the food, wine and dancing” explains Caitlin. “Basically just a big party with our loved ones.” And that? That they had!

It was a brave James who proposed, interrupting Caitlin while she was deep in Harry Potter, she tells the tale. “It was James’ birthday weekend and he got to choose what we did, so we headed down to Wattomolla and did a small bush walk before finding a spot on the grass to read our books in the sun. He interrupted me in a crucial part of Harry Potter to ask a very simple and sweet question. I knew we had the ring but to his credit, I had no idea that it was coming when it did!”

The groom and groomsmen chose custom-tailored grey suits by Meticulo Australia

The bride worked with family friend Soul Sister Designs By Amanda to create her lace gown, noting

“I had tried some dresses and styles on at a few shops but I just couldn’t quite find something to feel like me. We have a family friend who owns Soul Sister design in Woolooware and I went and bought some stunning lace and we sort of designed as we went and came up with the end product which was everything I wanted. Simple and elegant and comfortable so I could dance all night.”

Caitlin and James deiced to meet before the ceremony so they could spend plenty of time together for photos, the bride explaining “We did our photos beforehand with a reveal at my parent’s house. James and the boys came over along with his Mum and her husband and all the girls and my parents and grandparents congregated on our back verandah so there was still a moment where James saw me for the ‘first time’ captured. Then the wedding party piled into a huge black hummer to a local park and had a fun car ride to the venue. That meant that after the ceremony we had a few family shots and then got to join our guests and take in the night with everyone straight away which was awesome.”

The sentimental details, began with Caitlin’s bouquet. “I had a small photo frame attached to my bouquet with a photo of my great grandmother Dulcie who I was so close to and as a little girl always wanted her to be at my wedding, and on the other side a photo of my dog Jako who we had to put down a few weeks before the wedding. Just so they were both there with me on the day.”

The bouquets? Styled with plenty of help from Madison of Wildflower Floral Creations. Caitlin explaining “We actually made our bouquets ourselves the night before with huge artistic help from Madison one of my bridesmaids who runs a flower business Wildflower FC. It was such a nice and relaxing activity the night before and made it feel so personal. We went with whites, soft pinks and Australian native greenery. Madison made all the boys buttonholes and extra ones for our parents and grandparents. Our arch on the day at the ceremony was done by Fleur Events and was absolutely stunning!”

Caitlin and James can’t speak highly enough of their photographer Jack. “We found Jack online and just loved the photos we saw so got in touch to meet up. When we met him we got along great and could tell straight away he was going to get the photos we wanted which was more of the candid style photos of the guests and documenting the atmosphere of the night. He absolutely delivered we have so many photos and every time we look at them we can relive the night and you can feel the love in the photos.”

The whimsical Hazelhurst Cafe see the scene for the day to unfold, shares Caitlin. “We got married in the beautiful gardens of Hazelhurst Art Gallery and then the reception was in Hazelhurst Cafe attached to the gallery. It was an easy pick as it had the right vibe from the start, incredible food, indoor and outdoor areas and it was already decorated so beautifully we didn’t have to add a thing on the night.”

Caitlin and James enlisted the help of Fleur Events to create their lush floral arbour.

The bride walked down the aisle with both her mother and her father to a 90s hit, sharing ‘I love you always forever’ by Donna Lewis. I always wanted a song I loved and had a bit of a beat to it and was a bit different. It was the perfect song. Mum walked me from the car to the top of the aisle where I met my Dad and he took me the rest of the way down and gave me away. It was special having them both be a part of that.”

Stephanie Cochrane was chosen by Caitlin and James to make it official. “We wanted our ceremony to be about us, short and sweet and personal. Our celebrant Steph was amazing and it felt like a friend was marrying us which was so lovely. It was tailored to us and told a bit of our story and what we want our married life to be like and then we knuckled down and got straight to the point with our vows.”

The relaxed atmosphere was very evident throughout the day, explains Caitlin. “We just did what we wanted and made the day reflect us as a couple, we left a lot of traditions we didn’t necessarily want to focus on and just made the night a celebration of our love.”

There was no first dance for the newlyweds, just an “all night long dance floor” thanks to Baker Boys Band. ” I must give a shout out to our band who kept the dance floor full from the moment they started to the last song – which was how I was secretly judging the success of our wedding! All I wanted was to dance the night away with my friends and family. We both love live music so having a band was one thing we both wanted from the start. Baker Boys Band nailed it from start to finish” remembers the bride.

A big congratulations to you both Caitlin and James! Thank you for sharing your story with us, Thank you also to Jack Chauvel for sharing today’s celebration.