Christina and Jacob’s Dreamy DIY Garden Wedding at Megalong Valley was a celebration of love, resilience, and creativity. Originally planned for a family property, the couple faced a last-minute venue change just a week before their big day. With the help of dedicated vendors and family, they transformed the Megalong Valley Community Hall and surrounding grounds into the whimsical garden wedding they had always envisioned.

From Christina’s stunning and colourful hand-crafted floral arrangements to sentimental details like a live acoustic ceremony and DIY décor, every part of this wedding radiated their personal touch and unique style. We’re sure that you’re going to love all of the details from their wedding here on Polka Dot You! 

We met in the summer of 2018, at a friend’s housewarming party, but we didn’t actually go on a date until later in the year.

On our fifth anniversary we had booked a weekend in the city and our first stop was visiting the new Art Gallery of New South Wales. I decided to stop for a coffee – which halted the plans by a few minutes! Little did I know that there were some friends coming along to help. We spent about 20 mins enjoying the exhibits when Jacob leads me over to an empty, well-lit space to “check out the curtains”, then said that he had to tie his shoes… well I should have seen it coming!
I was too emotional to remain standing whilst he proposed, so I also got down on his level, and remained in a huge hug for a long time after.

Originally, we had set up and booked everything for Jacob’s family’s property higher up in Megalong Valley, somewhere that holds a special place in our hearts. However, due to constant wet weather, there was no way 40 cars were making it up the steep dirt driveway. So, with seven days out from the wedding, Jacob’s auntie swooped in to save the day by booking the Megalong Valley Hall.

Through sheer magic and the incredible help of our hire and catering teams, it allowed us to keep all our original plans with a marquee and outdoor ceremony. The grounds of the hall have the most spectacular view of the escarpment which was the most stunning backdrop for the whole day.

The entire set up of the marquee and furniture hire was done by the incredible team at Blueys Event Hire in Katoomba. They were the absolute best to chat to over the course of our wedding planning, even with our change of venue a few days out from their bump in! With all the furniture we hired we were able to create our dream setup inside the marquee.

On the day, the chairs and ceremony set up was done by my on the day coordinators, fellow florist besties Jess and Steph from Paper Daizy Floral Designs and Rose Moon Flowers.

Jacob and his brothers all went to Woolcott Street, located in Sydney city. Their tailor experience was exceptional, from choosing the outer fabrics to personal embroidery. They all chose a navy-blue suit with individual lining colours, with Jacob getting our wedding date embroidered on the inside of the jacket and his initials on the cuffs of his shirt. The team at Woolcott Street made the guys feel super comfortable and the whole process was effortless.

I have always been obsessed with high-neck dresses and sheer fabric, so I went to a local wedding dress maker, Nicole Michelle Couture in Oakville, with my dream idea and she brought it to life. Having her so close to home was the best idea as I needed to go to monthly fittings, and almost weekly closer to the wedding as we wanted the dress to fit perfectly. She created a silk dress with boning for the underneath, an organza blouse with the most gorgeous long bow you’ll ever see on the back. I wore my RM Williams with my dress for comfort.

Early in our relationship, Jacob bought me a Miniso penguin plushie, so when we saw they had miniature “married” versions we had to include them in our wedding. I added a little veil onto to the girl penguin. None of our pets could come – we have ducks, chickens, and a cat, so we made sure they were included in our cake toppers. The most special detail of all though, is that my 96 year old grandfather was able to attend.

My bridesmaids were my three best friends. They got to choose their own outfits from our colour scheme. As it was a Winter wedding, the girls opted for longer dresses with long sleeves. I wasn’t too fussed on shoes or jewellery as we all have our own style. The groomsman were Jacob’s brothers and best friend, they all wore matching navy blue tailored suits.

I did all the styling and floral elements the day before the wedding, and the day of I had the support of two amazing florist friends who kept the day running smoothly.

As a florist that only works with seasonal flowers, it was so important to me to showcase the amazing Winter flowers available, and within our colour scheme. As purple is my favourite colour and yellow is Jacob’s, we worked with purple, pink, yellow florals, and green foliage. I fell in love with a sweet pea bouquet I saved on Pinterest, and started asking growers as early as April if I could have it in July.

Even a week before the wedding I wasn’t sure I was going to get the right shade of lilac, but I got so lucky with my en masse bouquet. For my ‘maids I chose single stem cymbidium orchids to match their dress and suit colours. Cymbidiums are the most stunning Winter orchid. Jacob’s special request was yellow kangaroo paw for his buttonhole so the grooms’ side all had kangaroo paw buttonholes and corsages, whilst my family had matched me with purple and pink sweet pea. I created an arbour with the standout features being the native banksia foliage and this amazing long ornamental kale. Using the rest of the foliage I also did a hanging arrangement and placed bud vases along the tables.

When we arrived, and before we had gotten out of the car, I saw how the marquee, the bar, the food, and the ceremony had been set up. I almost started crying because without me having to give any direction on the day, everything was perfect.

 

I always wanted the wedding to be an outdoor garden party – long tables, overflowing ceremony florals, fairy lights and candles, all nestled deep in the bush.

From the moment we arrived, I realised that I had nowhere to hide until everyone was seated – we had parked right next to the marquee and people were looking straight at us! Aside from a bit of a panic when I knew I had to walk down the aisle in front of 80 odd people, Dad and I heard our cue, we linked arms and the only person I could look at was Jacob. We hadn’t seen each other since the night before! I was so nervous walking down the aisle, I thought if I looked at anyone else, I’d start crying.

My father walked me down the aisle to an acoustic cover of “Fade Into You” by Mazzy Star, performed beautifully by my cousins.

Our ceremony was just beautiful. My cousins, who are musicians, played acoustic versions of our wedding songs as I had always wanted live music for my ceremony. We were married by Jacob’s close friend, reverend, Karl Bonner who is an Anglican minister. My cousin also did a reading for us. It was so special.

Jacob’s wedding ring was his grandfathers, along with his cufflinks.

My favourite couples’ photographs are the ones of us approaching the signing table. Our photographers also captured a moment with all my cousins which was very special.

We got married on our 6th anniversary, hence why it was on a Monday. We had to change venues seven days out from the big day, but with such an amazing amount of people helping us, we secured the Megalong Valley Community Hall. We kept all our original wedding plans for the marquee and outdoor ceremony. Originally it was to be held on private property belonging to a family member. Our vendors Blueys Event Hire and the caterers were outstanding vendors – going with the flow of the venue change and helping us every step of the way.

Ha – what didn’t we DIY! I think I should become a wedding planner, because I reckon that I did a good job on this one! We planned, set up, did DIY for the entire thing, trusting the professionals where needed. Jacob created our welcome sign; I made all our smaller signs. We also up-cycled a wishing well, created wedding signage so that people wouldn’t get lost.

My amazing best friend and bridesmaid Alex (Tigera Print) was our graphic designer who created all our stationery – the invitation featuring my own handwriting and Jacob’s drawings. We created our own charcuterie board which we never even got to see, and a tea and coffee station which was VERY popular! My Mum put the bonbonniere together and we all borrowed items from different friends and family members – things like tablecloths and outdoor games.

We chose to have both a film and digital photographer, but decided to only share our film images. Daniel also captured our day on a Super 8 and the video was incredible. We met Daniel and his wife Amy, through Karl, our Minister. At Christmas last year, Daniel was showing us a wedding he shot on film, and we fell in love with his style. Both him and Amy were amazing on the day, even capturing key moments on a super 8 camera!

Our digital photographer was Jacob’s auntie Robyne, a very accomplished wedding photographer. She was there to nail the key moments and capture the important portraits, all of which came out perfectly.

All our vendors were incredible to work with! The hire team at Bluey’s went above and beyond throughout the entire process to make it happen, reassuring us at every step that they’d take care of it, even with the last minute venue change. My dressmaker who helped keep everything running smoothly and rolled with the punches when we had last minute changes. Our caterer who pulled off a huge feast effortlessly. Down to our cake maker and my nail artist, everyone who helped put our day together was amazing. We also loved the hotel that we stayed either night of the wedding – providing a gorgeous backdrop for the getting ready photos.

The most favourite part of wedding planning – finally setting up the day before – it’s the event coordinator/florist in me!

5 things which made the wedding special:

1. It was exactly how we wanted it.
2. Our family and friends who came to celebrate with us.
3. It was a beautifully sunny day.
4. We captured so many amazing moments to cherish.
5. I got to marry the love of my life!

Don’t let anyone tell you to change your plans – if you’ve had your heart set on a certain style or look, then you do you!

The Groom here – I remember very little of the day, it was such a happy blur! I think the moments that stood out were seeing Christina walk down the aisle, everyone cheering for us as we entered the marquee, and a very brief moment in between where we both snuck off to use the toilet and freak out about how amazing our day had been!

Thank you so much to the lovely Christina and Jacob for sharing all the special details of your wedding with us! Absolutely loved all the little DIY elements.