Sophie & Hayden

I have to admit, it was Sophie’s so very colourful wedding bouquet by Florette Melbourne that first caught my eye in today’s wedding, A brilliant sorbet of watermelon pink, vivid purple and peach just such an utter delight, And then? Then I discovered how Sophie reinvented her mother’s wedding gown to wear herself, how Sophie and Hayden were so very intent in making their day a happy one, and I fell in love with them. Brendan Creaser Photography is the capturer of today’s wedding, so snuggle in and grab a cup of your favourite comfort drink and let’s enjoy this story together!

Sophie and Hayden, as it turns out, grew up together, not that they knew it! Sophie fills us in. “Hayden and I went to the same school and lived a suburb apart our whole lives. But only met when we both travelled to QLD for a mutual friend’s 30th birthday, and were inseparable from that time on.”

And Hayden, when he decided to pop the question, chose the most unusual of ways. “Hayden asked if I could change our little one’s nappy. I popped him on the changing table and when I opened his nappy, found it clean, with a diamond ring inside. Turned around and Hayden was on one knee behind me.”

Love Sophie’s wedding gown? It’s the same dress she mother wore at her own wedding! Sophie explains “I wore my Mum’s wedding dress, a cotton Laura Ashley dress from the ’80s. I had some alterations made, i.e. removing the big 80’s sleeves and widening the bodice.”

The finishing touch? “I wore my Nan’s Ceylonese gem necklace and bracelets, these are very special to me.”

“My Dad walked me down the aisle to “Love is a beautiful thing”, by Phil Vassar” ” tells Sophie”, which is a fun happy song. We wanted a happy song to set the tone for the day.”

Sophie and Hayden chose to do their ceremony somewhat differently. “We had a friend act as our celebrant, with an official celebrant there for legals. We chose to have a friend so it would be more personal and slightly humorous. We had our son, nephew and nieces as page boys and flower girls.”

“I tried not to take it all too seriously” notes Sophie. “I can see how some brides get very overwhelmed. I enjoyed picking all the different bits and pieces and watching it all come together.”

Sophie and Hayden chose Ace-Hi Ranch for their wedding, loving its country vibe, Sophie notes “Ace Hi was the perfect venue for us, DIY, a little bit country and very relaxed, with guests able to stay onsite in the cabins.”

Those aforementioned beautiful blooms? Styled by Florette Melbourne! “The flowers for our day were something from a fairytale,” remembers Sophie. “The most beautiful vibrant colours. I let the florist do her thing, as she is a magician, and she did not disappoint.”

We can all dream over Sophie’s gown, and to make it even more wonderful, she added something special to the inside of the gown. “I had two love heart patches made for my dress, which was ironed on inside. They had my parent’s initials/wedding date on one, and our initials/wedding date on the other as the dress had been worn at both.”

“Our photographer was amazing,” raves Sophie. “We told him ‘candid and fun’ and he did the rest. He needed no direction and just did his thing.” The photo session one of Hayden’s favourite moments. “I really enjoyed the photos, there was a part where we went off by ourselves to have photos up on the top of the hills, it was nice to stop for a moment and just have some time to us.”

A colour-filled celebration was just what these two dreamt of as guests headed into the barn for a candlelit reception.

The newlyweds took to the dance floor, serenaded by their guests. Our first dance was to “Tennessee Whisky” by Chris Stapleton”. My mum had handed lyric cards out to the guests which was a really cool surprise when they started singing as we danced.”

Special guests just made the day for these two, tells the bride. “As a surprise my auntie and cousins had flown in from London. They walked in as I was having my makeup done and I have never screamed so loud in my life.”

A big congratulations to you both Sophie and Hayden! Thank you for allowing us to share your beautiful day, Thank you also to Brendan Creaser Photography for today’s beautiful imagery!