We can’t tell you how much we’re all about the vintage Australian country mood of Roxanne and Greg’s wedding. The unmistakable Aussie landscape, the setting which was just the ticket for an outdoor ceremony, and a lazy evening under the starlight sky (and a few sparkling festoons of course!)  Cocktails and lawn games, guests (and bridesmaids) tuning in over Skype, a mash-up first dance, and a nod to the groom’s Englishness. This was a wedding that had it all, and it was all beautifully captured by photographer (and the bride’s cousin!) Terri Hanlon Photography.

Roxanne and Greg first met while enjoying good tunes at a venue in Darwin, they tell “Greg and Roxy met at a local music venue in Darwin through some mutual friends. Greg was intrigued by Roxy and Roxy was immediately attracted to Greg but unfortunately one of Greg mates jokingly said he was gay! They became best friends and eventually, Greg asked Roxy out (showing he was straight). Roxy rejected him on the basis he had been gay in her mind for some time but eventually realised she wanted to be with him. After 6 months the two finally got together.”

The proposal? Greg popped the question when he and Roxanne were on a trip throughout Europe and completely threw Roxanne off the scent. She fills us in “Greg took me on a surprise trip to Europe at the end of 2018. I was certain that ‘this was it!!’ Christmas in Budapest came and went, new Year in Paris came and went.. and I was starting to panic. It wasn’t until the second last day of our holiday, snowboarding in Chamonix, that we stopped for a ‘picnic’ on the mountain and he finally asked me. It was a magical moment and I truly was not expecting it in the end.”

Roxanne and Greg had a vision in mind for their wedding venue, and they found it at Roscrea Homestead. The bride noting “Our criteria for a venue was somewhere we could stay on-site, somewhere that would let us do our own thing and obviously somewhere beautiful. Roscrea ticked all the boxes, just being an Airbnb listing they allowed us to DIY the wedding. It was stunning, the homestead is very cottage style, Australian architecture, the gardens and lawns were beautifully maintained, everything was very neat, and we had 360-degree views of mountains and lush greenery. It was magic.”

Says Roxanne “It was so special having my Nan being there and witnessing our marriage. I also loved the speeches, Dad walking me down the aisle, everyone having such a great time and the confetti.”

The bride wore a beautiful lace gown she found at Final Touch Bridal. Telling the tale “I found my dress in the first shop I went to. When I first tried it on I gasped a bit haha! I continued shopping around but nothing beat that dress.. the backlessness, the bold lace and plain skirt, it just suited me really well. I adore it and never stopped loving it in the lead up to our postponed date. I would describe it as an empire fit, with a bold lace bodice that goes down to each hip, with a deep v-neck, capped sleeve (lace), in champagne ivory.
I bought about 20 different pairs of underwear to wear with this dress.. nothing really worked so I ended up going commando on the day. It was my first time going commando. I thought it would feel really weird but I didn’t notice.”

The groom embraced his English heritage with a deep brown tweed suit. Roxanne explaining  “Greg wore a three-piece brown tweed suit. Tweed because he’s a bit quirky but also for his Englishness, brown because it looks so good on him. He would not have been Greg in a navy or black. He just had a lovely ivory pocket square, not tie, an attempt to keep it a bit relaxed. It worked well! Except for a bit itchy on the boy’s legs apparently.. lol”

The beautiful blooms on the day were all the work of Hunter Valley Bouquets. “I wanted a really natural look for the flowers” explains Roxanne. “It’s hard to go past natives! Soft colours to tie in with the brown and green. I did ask for more dahlias etc but I think what we got, in the end, was good.”

Of her walk down the aisle, Roxanne remembers “My dad walked me down the aisle to “The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades is Out to Get Us” by Sufjan Stevens. Greg and I LOVE Sufjan. I also had my whole family walk out (my cousin Jack and my Nan, Leelah) and my mum Lindy with my brother Bill, followed by Tom and then Peggy. It was important to us all walking down the aisle as the song played. It’s a great song and kind of goes on an adventure. It was a full 5 minutes but was so worth it.”

Roxanne and Greg chose Julie Muir Celebrant for their ceremony, sharing “Our ceremony was so gorgeous. The weather was stunning, there was this golden glow as the sun was getting lower in the sky. Julie Muir put on the best show, it was laughing, crying and laughing again. Greg and I basically cuddled the whole time, which felt so nice and natural. I did have a rogue hair clip falling out the entire time but it didn’t matter. We did a small speech to each other instead of personalised vows, preferring the traditional vows to anything we could come up with.”

Roxanne’s favourite photos are definitely the confetti shots. “Terri just captured that joy so beautifully!”

“I had Peggy (my sister) as my maid of honour, and Tom and Coby. They wore sage green. Peggy and Coby had Shona Joy bias cowl slip dresses in the sage while Tom got a lovely sage suit from MJ Bale. Greg had James (best man), Todd (his brother) and Anthony. They all had tweed suits just without the waistcoat. No ties. All wore the tweed, without pocket square or ties.
Unfortunately, Coby was 8 months pregnant in the UK so she didn’t make it, and Anthony was stuck on an oil rig off the coast of WA. At least we were still even!”

Roxanne and Greg are lucky enough to have their photographer as part of the family. “Terri is my cousin and a powerhouse wedding photographer” explains Roxanne. “She was so bloody helpful all day, making sure we were running on time – something I thought our wedding planners would do so I’m glad she stepped in! At one point in the day, I could feel my voice going – she promptly made me a lemon and honey tea and fixed it right up! She’s the best, and it was so so special to have a family shoot our day – we could be extra comfortable.”

The bride, now she’s on the other side, has this advice to give you. “Get a wedding planner! Or at least an on-day coordinator, you won’t regret it!
And that sickly nervous feeling you feel in the lead up to the day – it’s ok. Everything is going to be just fine. Be with the feeling and know it is just a different kind of horrible type of excitement.
And only invite people you and your partner would visit on your own accord. Yes, your parents want all their friends and family to come but it’s not up to them – you can pick and choose. At the end of the day, it’s your day and superfluous people can dilute those you want to spend time with.”

Roxanne and Greg hosted their reception outside, they chose to have Hunter Events plan their wedding, eliminating the stress for them and allowing them to truly enjoy it, says Roxanne. “Our wedding planners saved the day for me. There was no way I would have had as good a day without them. I didn’t have to worry about a thing all day. It was so relaxing. That was the greatest gift. Working with Charlotte and Louise was the best, any issue or concerns they would be on it so quickly. I loved the organisation they brought, allowing me to be as organised as possible.”

Roxanne and Greg brought ALL the fun to their first dance! “We created a (very bad) mash-up of some of our favourite cheesy songs and just danced as we would any other day. There was  “I love you, Always forever ” by Betty Who, “Still Falling for you” by Ellie Goulding and “Heaven” by DJ Sammy. It was so much fun.”

Roxanne and Greg chose the crew at Lovereel to capture this beautiful film of their wedding day.

A big congratulations to you both Roxanne and Greg! How we loved sharing the story of your beautiful wedding day. Thank you both and thank you to Terri Hanlon Photography for sharing today’s celebration with us!