Rustic Winter Wedding in the Hunter Valley

In winter, the one thing we crave the most is warmth, and at Jess and Dim’s rustic wedding, there was an abundance: the warmth of community, family and (most importantly) the warmth of love. This beautiful winter wedding was captured by Tealily Photography – you can’t help but feel toasty as you look through these photos.

As self-proclaimed Tinderellas, Jess and Dim are the perfect examples of the famous Tinder magic. “Dim super liked me, and the rest is history! We have a dog, Winnie, who I got right when we started messaging each other, so she’s very special to both of us. We both love music and work on a music project together called Bicentennial. We actually released our first EP the day before our wedding!” (p.s. Dotties – you can find it here!)

Their love for the finer things in life really shines through Dim’s passion for cooking. So, on their anniversary trip, there was no better way to finish their day than eating a home-cooked meal overlooking the ocean… but something was missing. “When we sat down to eat, I was about to pop the champagne when Dim said “before you do that…” and brought out the ring box! The ring was beautiful, he designed it with Maria from Lizunova Fine Jewels and it was better than anything I could have pictured for myself.”

This rustic wedding took place in the small village of Broke, found in the Hunter Valley, where Dim’s family live. “A month before the wedding the village flooded but the church where we were getting married remained dry. There was a lot of destruction around it and a lot of people were struggling but everyone pulled together to clean up at that time and helped each other out.”

Dressing for warmth, Jess wore a beautiful long-sleeve gown from Kate Willis Holmes. She paired this with a cropped feather jacket from Bubish Luxe for the ultimate winter bridal look. The geometric design of the dress contrasted beautifully with the rustic surrounds of the Hunter Valley. “I had tried on a few other dresses at other stores but as soon as I put this one on I loved it.”

Her wedding party, consisting of her sister Rebecca and friend Zabrina, wore these rich blue silk dresses, offsetting the warm tones of the florals.

“Dim has always been way more fashionable than me,” Jess stated. Dim had gotten his suit made by Walker Slater in Edinburgh, Scotland. To match the winter wonderland aesthetic of the wedding, he chose a burgundy tweed pattern. His outfit included lots of small but significant details as well. He wore his grandmother’s rosary in his pocket and his great-grandfather’s cuff links.

The sentimental details didn’t end there, as he wore a pocket square embroidered with an image of their dog Winnie. Dim also got a pair of earrings for Jess to wear that matched her engagement ring. His best man (Koumbaro) Spyro and friend Milan also wore Walker Slater suits but in a blue tweed to match the bridesmaids.

Jess and Dim married at the Broken Immaculate Conception Church in a Greek Orthodox ceremony led by Father Leslie. “It’s funny but the first time I had ever experienced a Greek Orthodox ceremony was at my own wedding. And it was my favourite part of the whole day. Father Leslie was really wonderful and explained everything during the ceremony for myself and those in the congregation who were not familiar with the ceremony.”

After the ceremony, it was photo time – and there was one guest who was a little too excited: Winnie. “Winnie got so excited when she saw us for photos that she peed on Dim. Fortunately, tweed is pretty water resistant.”

Trish from Tealily Photography did a fantastic job capturing this beautiful rustic wedding – Jess and Dim couldn’t agree more! “She was so good at dealing with our awkwardness and got such great photos from the day. She worked so hard, and we really appreciate all her effort on the day.”

Jess and Dim are both members of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, so it was no surprise that it was included in their day. “We love whisky so much that we made up a whisky bar with bottles we collected over the year from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society. It was a great hit and a large amount of whisky was consumed that night.”

The reception was at the Wine House in Pokolbin, where Dim’s mum works. “Dim made a big wooden screen for the reception venue and we organised all the vendors ourselves and did a lot of the preparations ourselves. Ultimately, though on the day the vendors took over and did a great job.”

Ashleigh from the Naked Florist created these fabulous warm-toned florals that perfectly complement the country town’s neutral tones. “Dim used to go to school with Ashleigh from the Naked Florist. So we got her to do our flowers, and she was amazing. Everyone loved the flowers. The stylist Julia from Vintage Peacock was amazing too. She and Ashleigh worked so well together to make the day look just even better than we hoped.”

One of their favourite parts of planning was the cake tasting! “Fiona from Dragonfly Cakes sent us a bunch of cake samples during covid and we had a great afternoon tasting cakes in our living room.”

“We really loved how relaxed and comfortable the day felt thanks to all the planning and preparation that went into the day. We were really able to enjoy the day and we’re able to rely on our emcee and all the vendors to take care of everything.” Jess recalled, before giving her tip for future couples: “Plan well. Trust your vendors, they know what they’re doing. Enjoy the day!”

Their first dance was to “I’ll Try Anything Once” by The Stoke. “Dim and I are super awkward dancers, so we mostly talked to each other the whole song.”

In other dance-floor preparations, Jess and Dim went to Greek dancing lessons with their friends. “It was a lot of fun, and on the day everyone felt comfortable busting out some moves on the dance floor.”