There is a sense of timelessness when it comes to classic weddings, that much is sure, but when the details are simple, and pared back, then they leave a lot of room for moments and thought. And when Nat and Josh planned their day that’s exactly how they wanted it. A day that was, in Josh’s words “elegant, relaxed and fun” but more importantly “family-focused, just us”.

As evidenced by the beautiful images by Katy Durn Photographics, they got all they wanted and more. There were details to adore – like Nat’s soft green wedding gown, yes – but the stories are my favourite part. Josh’s niece and her excitement for the day, the favourite flower of Josh’s late grandmother embroidered by Nat onto his pocket square. The sentimental first dance. Settle in friends, oh and grab a tissue, because this is a beauty.

The couple were friends five years before sparks flew, remembers Josh “We started with catching up more regularly due to everyone else in our friendship group being either coupled up or busy. One thing led to another and I began to realize just how much I was growing feelings for Nat. After navigating the tricky tightrope between friends to something more than friends, I found myself in the incredible position of having my best friend as my partner.”

With a cousin of Nat a talented jeweller, it was an easy pathway for Josh to decide to pop the question and get started planning for it 18 months in advance! “I always knew I was going to propose to Nat, that was obvious… she’s one in a lifetime! However, I wanted to wait until she finished her degree at uni.

I started by contacting her cousin who is an incredible jeweller and helped me design a unique engagement ring that suited Nat to a tee. The actual proposal involved a weekend away at a beautiful farm stay in the Adelaide Hills. There I whisked Nat away on the second day while an arrangement of Nat’s favourite flowers and fairy lights were set up framing our three-course dinner. The meal was planned around Nat’s favourite meals and what we had on our first date. I proposed after Nat read the book I had made for her including the Pros and cons of marrying Josh (an inside joke from dating), a collection of poems I’d written for her, and the story of how I asked for her parent’s blessings. There were tears all around as I asked my best friend to spend the rest of our lives together.”

Josh wore pieces he found at Studio Italia Tailoring. He tells “I wanted stylish comfort, as such I was dressed in a navy 3 piece suit, floral tie and brown boots. I wore things that were special to me, my bracelet from my dad for my 21st, the pair of socks Nat gave me for an anniversary, and a ring made from a pipe cleaner that my niece made me that I wouldn’t have traded for the world.”

 

This was a day with a strong focus on family, but there was one shining star that made it super special. “My beautiful niece (Lucy) just couldn’t wait to call Nat “Aunty Nat” remembers Josh. “She was so excited and spent all day running around telling everyone she now gets to call Nat “Aunty Nat”. It warmed my heart to no end.”

Nat wore green! “When I (began looking for my wedding dress I knew that the traditional white dress wasn’t me, I never wear white and don’t feel comfortable in it” she explains. “Being that green is my favourite colour it felt like a natural choice. As you can imagine this made finding a dress very difficult. I tried on quite a few dresses in my search in lots of different colours from white to pastel blues and pink to black and nothing felt right. That’s when I found Ara Experience, where each dress is customised for each bride, this allowed me to add the pastel green I was looking for. Designing a dress with ARA was so fun and an amazing experience.

All my jewellery was custom designed by my amazing cousin Jacinta at Hyacinth Jewellery.”

The couple were married at the beautiful Adelaide historic venue Ayers House. Explains Josh “We both fell in love with Ayers House the moment we saw it. We had our ceremony and reception in the conservatory which when lit up by fairy lights had the illusion that the lights went on forever. The conservatory itself is backdropped by the 1800’s style architecture of the main house. The venue is perfectly situated with many establishments to entertain our guests as we walked across the road into the botanical gardens.”

Nat chose the instrumental version of “Whole Heart (Hold Me Now)” by Daniel Jan, to play as she walked down the aisle on the arm of her father, Harry. Remembers Josh “My favourite moment was the first time I saw Nat. Yes, there were tears. Nat’s dress! It was so perfectly her.”

“We loved keeping the day ‘us’. Not leaning into outside pressures to have or do certain things.”

Just like the rest of the day, the couple’s wedding ceremony, remembers Josh was family-filled. “The ceremony reflected the fun Nat and I share, with family being largely involved. We had a close friend and pastor marry us who made sure to throw lots of funny jokes in for the two of us. We had a reading from Philippians 2:3-11 NIV read by one of our good friends (Bel). We filled the service with songs we both loved (hearing everyone sing was incredible!), and had a beautiful prayer from my father (Phil) for the two of us and our marriage.”

“What to say, I could not have asked for a better photographer!” raves Nat. “Having someone point a camera at you and capture intimate moments can be a nerve-wracking thing, yet Katy Durn made us both feel so comfortable. She is so warm and friendly and genuinely cares about both individuals. She made us feel heard with all of our questions and concerns, and just had so much fun with us. The photos felt natural and fun and we didn’t feel “on show” for the whole day. I could not recommend her highly enough!”

Sentimental details? Plenty! “We had a couple of special details for the day. My grandma passed away from cancer years ago, (and) her favourite flower was lavender which Nat embroidered onto my pocket square. We also involved Nat’s cousin (Jacinta) of Hyacinth Jewellery to design and make our amazing and unique wedding rings. My niece and nephew also mean the absolute world to me and we had them as our flower girl and ring bearer which was so special.”

The flowers for the day were styled by The White Orchid. “We gave our florist free reign of the floral design, just saying we wanted a colour palette of soft pink, white and sage green.”

The favours? Winter warmers! “We wanted the bonbonniere to feel personal; being winter we thought of our favourite hot drinks. So guests received a little jar of loose-leaf tea or hot chocolate (with marshmallows of course!) to enjoy after the big day.”

“Plans are great! Unfortunately, things don’t always go as they should. So take a deep breath when things don’t go as they should, remember this is your day, and have fun.”

One of Josh’s favourite songs “Can’t Help Falling In Love” by Kina Grannis, was an easy choice for the newlywed’s dance floor debut. He tells ” Our dance was simple as far as choreography goes, but at that moment all I could think about was how beautiful Nat looked, how lucky and happy I was, and how I couldn’t help falling in love with her.”

And it turns out, Josh’s favourite part of wedding planning was not the wedding at all! “It might be cliché but planning our little retreat away to our honeymoon in the Adelaide Hills was so exciting as it would be some time for the two of us and away from our busy lives.”

Congratulations to you both Nat and Josh! Thank you for sharing your day with us. Thank you to Katy Durn Photographics also for today’s beautiful images.