Kristina & Rhys

We do love a winery wedding around these parts, and we’re particularly smitten with the vibe that Western Australia’s beautiful wine regions manage to put on show. The golden light and wide open plains add a certain kind of something don’t you agree? It was just the atmosphere these two wanted for their day, the venue allowing them to maximise time with their guests, serve them up plenty of decadent food and wine and even throw in a few surprises. And where there is a winery wedding, there are always beautiful images Kristina and Rhys choosing Shannon Stent Images to capture the magic.

Kristina and Rhys were introduced by calculating friends, Kristina reminiscing “We met through mutual friends at a dinner party. Every single person at the table knew it was a setup, except for Rhys! He eventually made contact with me a whole week later and the love story started there.” Rhys popped the question on a special weekend adventure, tells the bride. “Each year, one of our favourite things to do is attend a local regional music festival for the weekend, called Blues at Bridgetown. Rhys got down on one knee underneath our favourite tree and asked me to be his wife.”

Kristina struggled to find her gown until she landed on her Peter Trends dress in a closing down sale, she explains. “I went through the process of trying on dresses with my bridesmaids and mum, but I found it confusing and a bit overwhelming when those curtains opened with four different faces looking back at me!
There was a local bridal store in the regional town I live in that had already closed down but was opening for one last day which happened to be on a weekend I was going away. I contacted the lady who agreed to let me in during my lunch break and to try a maximum of 4 dresses on. I went in, chose a beautiful lace Peter Trends dress for an amazing price and rocked up back to the office with a wedding dress!  I also wore an incredible hairpiece by Ashlee Lauren which I absolutely loved.”

Beautiful blooms on the day were styled by Mayflower Weddings and Events. “We wanted native flowers to be featured and wanted the flowers to tie in with the bridesmaids burgundy dresses” explains the bride. “Our florist was AMAZING and everyone was blown away by the arrangements she made which included for the arbour, tables, buttonholes, bouquets and cake. We had proteas, roses and dahlias.”

Kristina walked down the aisle with her mother to Otis Redding’s “My Girl”.

Kristina and Rhys chose Jennifer Burrows from Celebrant Southwest to marry them. The bride remarking  “We didn’t want our ceremony to go on for too long so we didn’t do any readings, but instead got our celebrant to read the story of how we met and what we’ve achieved together since. We wanted the ceremony to be heartfelt with some laughter and mushy bits thrown in.”

“Unfortunately the decision was made last minute that my Nanna was unable to travel the distance to attend the wedding so I wore a ring of hers during the ceremony so a part of her was there on the day” remembers the bride.

Rhys and Kristina chose  Wills Domain Winery for both their ceremony and reception, sharing “It’s one of those places within a wine region that when you walk in, you go… “WOW”. The backdrop is rolling hills filled with green, lush vineyards and the venue is modern, funky, spacious and luxurious.
Rhys and I love wine and food and these guys do not disappoint! They currently hold the crown for WA’s Restaurant of the Year and their wines are to die for.”

Of their photographer, the bride shares “Shannon Stent Images are geniuses! He and wife Jayde were like the magician photographers that you didn’t realise were there half the time and they managed to make even the most camera shy people in the bridal party feel comfortable and ensured we all had a good time. They captured some incredible shots of Rhys and I that we absolutely love and they gave us the feel of photos that we asked for; exciting and fun with the look of it being in a natural environment.
The turn around time to get our photos back was so quick and they delivered a gorgeous handmade wooden box to our house that contained a bunch of their handpicked favourites and a beautiful handmade wooden USB.”

Kristina shares “One of the best moments in our day, was when we were up on a hill near the venue waiting for our videographer to get his drone set up and we got to look down at all our guests enjoying a magical afternoon overlooking the gorgeous vineyards. We had already planned to have a ‘date’ together to do this later in the evening but it was such an amazing moment for us to look at our wedding away from everyone and to feel the appreciation we did at that very second.”

That focus on guests was key throughout the planning for Kristina and Rhys, who explain “We definitely wanted to make sure that the day was easy for our guests and as it was held in a regional area we understood that a lot of people had to source accommodation, so we made sure there was transport for everyone.
We didn’t want any long wait times for our guests between the ceremony and reception so we had our reception with amazing canapes and drinks commence straight after the ceremony while we went for photos.”

The Barrel Room was dressed with fairy lights and fresh flowers for the reception celebrations to begin Kristina remembering “The staff at Wills Domain were incredible. We had so many compliments about the choice of our venue and that the staff, food and drinks were top class. Everyone was treated like royalty, the staff were so professional and they made sure Rhys and I didn’t miss out on anything while we were busy doing newlywed duties; they even packed us a gourmet picnic basket filled with cheeses, meats, fruits, beers and bubbles for while we were out on the property for photos!
Our functions coordinator Johanna was brilliant and did such an amazing job helping us with everything.”

Kristina and Rhys had one very special vendor at their reception. They commissioned  Shakey Jakey to paint a live portrait of them. “I had been following a WA based live painter on social media for a while, named Shakey Jakey” tells the bride. “Jacob Butler is an amazing artist who does live art at events and his work is incredible! I decided to organise a surprise for Rhys and all the guests for Jacob to paint a photo of us from the wedding during the reception and everyone loved it. It was such a different thing for people to see at a wedding and it is an incredible keepsake from our wedding that will hang in our home forever.”

Kristina and Rhys debuted as a married couple on the dance floor to Leonardo’s Bride “Even When I’m Sleeping”. Kristina remembering “We only decided to do a first dance a few weeks before the wedding so we rehearsed some basic steps through YouTube tutorials and pretty much nailed those four steps! Like a lot of couples, we were putting too much pressure on choosing the ‘perfect’ song and then one day we were shopping in Coles and this old Australian classic song came and we were both like YEP! that’s the one.”

A big congratulations Kristina and Rhys! What an honour it was to share your day A big thank you to Shannon Stent Images for sharing today’s celebration with us.