Fiona & Phillipe

There is something about country weddings that just floats my boat. It’s the relaxed charm, the landscape, the setting that is ripe for a story to unfold,  that I can’t wait to read. For Fiona and Phillipe, their wedding? Well, it’s a celebration well and truly packed with stories! Captured by Jack Jones Photography, it has all the trimmings. There’s a raffle, there are song dedications, there are handstands and romance and homemade cake and dancing. This one is ripe for the country picking and we’re absolutely delighted to be able to share it with you today.

It was the best kind of celebration for the couple who met on Bondi Beach. Fiona fills us in. “We met when I was 16 and Phil was 19 and completely by accident on the way to a mutual friend’s party on Bondi Beach. I saw who I thought was our friend from across the road, ran and threw my arms around him and planted a kiss. We quickly figured we were headed to the same party, so we set off to find our friend together.”

And after that kiss, at first sight, the groom popped the question on a European adventure. “Phil and I went on a 3-month European holiday. He proposed to me on the top of Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh on one knee of course. He did just days into our 3 month holiday so we had a long time to celebrate.”

One of the bride’s favourite wedding vendors? Makeup artist Katie Saarikko who worked alongside hairstylist Kelsie Cherry. She explains “I met with Katie Saarikko a couple of months before the wedding for a trial and I didn’t need or want to see anyone else after. She takes you along for the process ride with such ease and care.
We had such a broad range of skin tones in the bridal party that there was a slight worry not everyone would be matched perfectly, but Katie Saarikko made each of us look and feel absolutely amazing, highlighting everyone’s different features beautifully.”

The bride, after much searching, found her gorgeous gown at Peter Trends. She recalls “My bridesmaids were really involved in the process so we had a lot of outings to different stores to get an idea of what I wanted.
From my first try on to the last, what I wanted changed completely as there is so much out there, or things you don’t even think about or think is an option! Who knew there were so many shades to choose from…we thought it was just white!

In the end, I went to Peter Trends in Roseville where the amazing staff helped me take different elements of dresses to create the perfect one for me. During the ceremony, I wore a tulle layered skirt and for the reception, I stripped that off to reveal my dress.”

“My favourite detail of the day were the beautiful colour on show all day!” tells  Fiona. “The lovely beige and yellow of the countryside and the bright blue sky. The bright red in the bridesmaid’s dresses and the pink in my dress. The candlelight in the shed, the warmth of the corrugated iron and coolness of the concrete floors – Kim really made for an amazing backdrop to a beautiful day.”

The floral arrangements were filled with Australian natives and styled by Little Triffids Flowers. Fiona remarking “Our flowers were all natives. We love them so much and their colours are hard to go past.
I had a large white/pink Protea as the centrepiece of my bouquet with the bridal party having a mix of Protea, Bottlebrush flowers, Eucalyptus and these amazing large gum nuts.
As Australian native flowers kind of dry and fossilize without water, a lot of the bridal party still have theirs in their homes. The team also created a beautiful arbour and wedding table backdrop.”

Fiona walked down the aisle to Elton John’s “Your Song”.

The outdoor ceremony was conducted by Little Bird Celebrancy. “Our ceremony was perfect. We didn’t want it to be too long and we really wanted it to express our individual nature in our relationship” explains the bride. “We picked a reading from Kahlil Gibran – a Lebanese/ American poet that emphasizes the importance of separation in your togetherness, something that Phil and I attribute to our successful relationship.”

Country charm aplenty, Fiona and Phillipe chose Kimo Estate for their wedding. “Everything was at Kimo Estate. From where we stayed, to the Ceremony at the old Homestead, the bridal party photos in the shearers sheds and the reception in the old Grain Shed” explains the bride.
“It was perfect that we didn’t have to move around too much and could just enjoy the day without rushing anywhere else.”

Of their photographer, the bride raves  “Jack Jones was our photographer. He was introduced to us by a work colleague. He was absolutely amazing! The bridesmaids all agreed he’s now our official photographer for any future weddings or big events!
Not only is he amazing at what he does, but he makes the whole process so easy, quick and fun. We had so much fun with Jack and loved how he comfortable he made everyone feel. He was basically just another guest that happened to have a great camera and an amazing skill!”

We loved having everyone we love and who has been a part of our relationship in the same place” tells the bride. “There was a ridiculous amount of love that you could tell everyone could feel”

 

“We had an amazingly supportive wedding party and friends and my mother went above and beyond creating a beautiful wishing well, raffle prizes and table name cards” explains the bride.” My brother in law Greg made our wedding cake too. It was extremely delicious and made the entire shed smell of vanilla!”

And you can’t have a country celebration without a raffle, so the newlyweds surprised their guests with one! “We had a raffle and love song dedications! The raffle had 2 prizes: one was local Manilla produce (a small town near Tamworth where my Mum lives) and the other was full of Mauritian treats.”

“Our first dance was to “Just the way you are” by Billy Joel. It was lovely, Phil and I are not much of dancers but it was lovely to share the moment without family.”

Congratulations Fiona and Phillipe! Thank you for sharing the joy of your day with us. Thank you also to Jack Jones Photography for sharing today’s celebration with us.