When Denise and Nate planned their beautiful Sydney wedding, they wanted it to be easy. Easy to plan, easy for their guests to get to, and most importantly – easy to make the most of the celebration! And that they did.

As lovers of food and wine, they chose a distillery right by the Harbour and set about planning a day, with every bit helped by their community (right down to photographer Yasmina Nadine Photography). “We loved being able to share our vows with our favourite people. We wanted the wedding to be fun, relaxing and for everyone to have a great day. I think we achieved that. We only had 50 people in attendance – we were really careful about the invite list and only invited close family and friends. So it was super intimate and meant we had time to chat with everyone.”

After meeting via a dating app, it was just three weeks later that the world went into a COVID-19 lockdown “Our “dates” became long walks, cooking meals and spending LOTS of time together” remembers Denise. “With no date activities to hide behind we got to know each other and build strong communication from the start. Nate always jokes that half his wardrobe was overtaken by my clothes within six weeks.
Our first movie date was more than nine months after we met. We both work in the not-for-profit sector so there are about two degrees of separation but our paths had never crossed!

Nate took the chance of a self-imposed lockdown at home before the couple headed away for a romantic long weekend, to propose. “Because we couldn’t go out we did a ‘fancy’ night in. Earlier in the day Nate had tried to encourage me to buy a nice bottle of wine for dinner, suggesting I dress up for our at-home meal, but I didn’t take up any of his suggestions.

Nate didn’t want me to realise what was going on until the last moment so he came up to me while I was cutting onions for dinner. He told me how much I meant to him and then presented me with the sapphire that would be the centrepiece of the engagement ring. At first, it still didn’t click, but then he put down the diamonds that would surround it and asked me to marry him. He had been buying the stones himself over the previous months and I’d wondered why he kept getting these random packages. It was when he told me that he’d already spoken to my parents and got their blessing that I broke down and cried. It was a beautiful proposal – in the home where we are creating a life together.”

The flowers for the day were kept simple, with Flower Train Wynyard creating Denise’s bouquet, Nate’s boutonnière and a flower crown for flower girl Lumi.

Denise found her Karen Willis Holmes gown unexpectedly at a sample sale, sharing “Just after I got engaged, I accompanied a girlfriend, who had also gotten engaged recently, to a Karen Willis Holmes sample sale. I hadn’t visited any stores or tried on any dresses before this outing so I was using the sale as a bit of a “let’s see what’s out there” experience! I fell in love with their Bobby gown which had this beautiful blush lining and ivory lattice lace overlay.

I’d never envisioned what my wedding dress would look like – but I loved that it was a bit different to other styles. And the dressmaker that helped with the alterations – randomly, her maiden name is the same as my surname – and we’re chatting about turning my dress (which got very muddy in the rain) into a cocktail gown. And my favourite shoe designer, Nina Armando supplied the beautiful heels I wore on the day.”

The couple wanted a relaxed vibe for their big day (plus they’re avid lovers of food & wine) so they chose Hickson House Distilling Co for both their ceremony and reception. Denise noted “Nate and I love visiting new venues and having wine and food experiences. Hickson House has been around for just over a year and we’d booked the venue for my birthday in 2021 – which is also when we shared the news of our engagement with a group of our friends.

I also love Gin, so the distillery was a perfect venue. When we started exploring venues for our wedding – we honestly thought that Hickson House would be beyond our budget – but when we enquired – not only was it within budget, but we had the whole venue too! The team were incredible, and flexible and nothing was an issue. We didn’t dress the venue at all – we just let its natural characteristics shine – the exposed walls and wooden beams, the stills, the chandeliers – it was an incredible venue and the glam / rustic vibe suits us perfectly! We also wanted an “all-in-one” venue in case of inclement weather – and given the fact the skies opened during the ceremony, it worked out perfectly. We were able to wait for a break in the weather and go into the Rocks and the Harbour foreshore for photos and it was amazing to have the historical part of the Rocks and the Harbour as a backdrop for our photos.

The venue was also perfectly set up for a cocktail party – we didn’t want the formality of sit-down event. We wanted our favourite people to mingle and get to meet one another.”

“We didn’t have a wedding party – but my beautiful niece Lumi and nephew Arlo were part of our day as flower bearers. My niece Lumi wore my First Holy Communion dress that my mum had made for me over 30 years earlier.”

Denise was walked down the aisle by her father to L.A.B ” Yes, I do” “They are a New Zealand band… and the song was playing when Nate proposed.”

“Nate’s dad had been very sick in the hospital and his siblings and the medical team went to great lengths to make sure he could be there. The most important thing we included was the guests, the people we love. We kept it very small and only had the people we really wanted there. And of course the gin and wine!!

The couple were officially married by a dear friend Harry. Says Denise  “We didn’t want too much formality with the ceremony – so we kept it quite succinct. What was incredibly special was that our celebrant was someone that I worked with in the not-for-profit sector. Harry and I worked at the Reach Foundation together and it was amazing to be married by someone that actually had a connection to us! We wrote our vows and tailored the whole thing to suit who we are as a couple.”

Nate’s wedding day attire? “Nate already had a Jeff Banks suit but we got a custom-made Joe Button shirt and purchased new cherry red Dr Martens for the occasion” explained Denise.

This was truly a wedding where Denise & Nate’s community stepped up. “Most of the vendors – we had some connection with.
Yasmina – referred by Nate’s colleague,  Harry – our celebrant, an old colleague of mine, Jon Patrick – Gene is the head chef and a good friend, he did our wedding cake,  Hickson House – a venue we love,  Nina Armando – my go-to for all my shoes, Joe Button – a small business that I’ve known for many years, Sudu Hair – Suzie is the founder of Sudu Hair and has been doing my hair for 10+ years,  Makeup by Michal (Michal Horry) – was referred by Suzie, King St Metalsmiths – created our wedding bands. A great local business in Newtown.”

Of their photographer, Denise shares “Yasmina was our photographer – a good friend of Nate’s colleague. She was AMAZING – she was a calming presence throughout the day. Never intrusive but directed traffic to ensure she got the most incredible shots.
Our brief to her was to capture the moments throughout the day – we wanted “action shots” to capture the atmosphere, and she did that in spades! We loved how Yasmina captured so many incredible and beautiful moments. It was like re-living our wedding day but scrolling through the gallery.”

These two got rid of the traditions that didn’t work for them – like the first dance! “We wanted the focus to be on our friends and family coming together to celebrate – not on ceremonial traditions. Our music for the reception was a Spotify list, a compilation of our favourite songs.”

“Probably the funniest moment was telling our guests to drink up because we needed to use up the bar tab! Everyone had to go top shelf, wine, whiskey, gin – you name it. We were going around the room encouraging everyone to go the good stuff. We ended up with just $20 left on the tab.”

Congratulations to you both Denise & Nate! Thank you for your beautiful story and thank you to Yasmina Nadine Photography for sharing this story with us.