It started with a slightly suspicious garden walk and a hint to get her nails done… and ended in a vineyard surrounded by their favourite people dancing to a brass band under the summer sky. Gillian and Danisha’s wedding was filled with personality and meaning, from the Sri Lankan sweets gifted to guests to the soft, romantic florals and rain-soaked ceremony. Alana Taylor Photography captured the love, the laughter, and every little detail with a beautiful sense of intimacy and emotion.

Danisha isn’t usually one for garden walks, which made his invitation for a pre-dinner stroll through Paddington Reservoir Gardens a little suspicious to Gillian. Pair that with the casual “you should get your nails done” suggestion the week prior, and it’s safe to say the proposal wasn’t entirely a surpriseā€¦ but that didn’t make it any less magical!

“We celebrated with dinner & drinks afterwards and downloaded on all the goss of how he got the ring, asked for my family for permission and planned this whole thing,” Gillian shared.

Danisha initially loved the idea of a dark green suit, but with their ceremony backdrop being full of luscious greenery, he instead opted for a light beige suit from MJ Bale to really stand out.

As a wedding photographer herself, Gillian wanted to find a dress that she hadn’t seen on one of her brides before, something that was her own. She picked out this stunning, timeless gown with a high neck and low back to create the perfect blend of chic and sexy!

All of the magical, whimsical flowers for their elegant summer wedding were crafted by Nat from Pansy Fleur! “Nat is actually one of my good friends through the wedding industry. From working in the industry, some of my favourite floral arrangements have been those where the couple has given the florist a relatively open brief. They are the experts! Plus, I had seen Nat’s work many times before, and I knew she was a magician with flowers. We gave Nat a colour palette, but other than that, she had full reign to get creative. What she created on our day was amazing and we got so many compliments about how beautiful everything she was. She went above and beyond. I could not recommend her more,” shared Gillian.

A piece of advice Gillian wants to give to future couples planning their day is this: “Your portraits are not a photoshoot; use this time to connect with your partner privately. These moments are so special on your wedding day and should be enjoyed just as much as any other part!”

Their winery venue for the day was the beautiful Centennial Vineyards in the heart of Bowral, NSW. “We didn’t even have Centennial Vineyards on our radar but visited the venue while we were down south. We instantly felt so relaxed when we arrived. We met one of the owners when we visited, who showed us around. I think the warmth of the owners were part of the reason why it was so easy to say yes to this venue. We felt so safe in their hands and they were so flexible to our ideas. We just absolutely loved the venue! We saw ourselves getting married there and it quickly was a venue on the top of our list.”

Gillian walked down the aisle with her dad to “Simply The Best” by Billianne. Just before she walked, Danisha looked out over all their friends and family gathered there to celebrate their union and was overwhelmed with emotion. “I had so many emotions running through me but I was able to take a minute to appreciate the day, venue, people and moment and it was awesome to be able to take it all in!”

Danisha and Gillian had one goal for their ceremony ā€“ to give everyone the feels! A blend of laughter, tears, and smiles throughout, and with the help of their celebrant, Married by Adam, they had the perfect warm and relaxed ceremony. “I think choosing a celebrant who suited the tone we wanted was one of the best choices we made. Danisha’s sister did a bible reading and my brother said a prayer at the end so we could tie in elements of our faith into the ceremony.”

While Gillian doesn’t have one favourite photo, she loves how Alana captured all of the beautiful moments throughout their summer wedding, especially as the rain set in, “I don’t think we can pick a favourite but we especially loved how Alana captured all the emotion of the day and so many beautiful photos of all our family & friends. It also started to pour with rain at the end of our ceremony & we love how she captured this moment.”

A special element Danisha and Gillian included in their reception was how they gifted all of their guests with Sri Lankan cakes made by Danisha’s family! “These were wrapped in fabrics, a lot of which were old quilted fabrics from my Nanna who had passed away. It was nice to represent our two families coming together,” Gillian explained.

Alana Taylor Photography has been capturing Gillian and Danisha’s friends’ weddings over the years, so they’d both gotten to know her and her work in action ā€“ and had fallen in love with her even more every time they crossed paths. “Alana is so personably and someone we knew we would feel relaxed with on the day. She captured our day so beautifully, and it has been so special to relive the day and even see moments we may have missed. I could not recommend Alana more!”

They had booked the Hot Potato Band for the canapĆ© hour and got the party started early in the night. “One of our favourite parts about a wedding is the dance floor, so we wanted to bring that energy to our canapĆ© hour, and it was the most amazing experience for all of our guests and really broke away from the standard wedding format.”

Another special element they included at the reception was a table full of photos of their parents and grandparents on their own wedding days. It was the perfect way to include all of their loved ones, even those there with them in spirit.

Five things that made this elegant summer wedding so unique to Gillian and Danisha included:

“1. We both created a morning that suited us. I wanted a really quiet morning with just my immediate family for the first few hours. I wanted to have a few small quiet moments with them to have breakfast together and go out and get a coffee before the chaos. I think I just had a couple of girlfriends over to come get ready with me, but it was a very relaxed morning. Danisha, on the other hand, is a big extrovert, so he had an open house policy at his Airbnb with all his friends & partners before having lunch with his family. We chose to spend the mornings in different ways that filled our cups and made our day really special.

2. We did a first look before. Alana, our photographer, had some beautiful music playing, which made this moment even more special. This made us feel more relaxed going into our ceremony.

3. Because we took our portraits before the ceremony, we were able to stay with our guests for canapƩ hour and enjoy this time with them!

4. Hot Potato Band for canapƩ hour was amazing!

5. No bridal/wedding party but got ready with our friends, which felt more relaxed and our vibe.”

One of the most meaningful moments of the day was when they lit a traditional Sri Lankan candle together. Rooted in cultural significance, the lighting symbolises the coming together of two families, two lives, and two futures.

“Beyond” by Leon Bridges was the soundtrack for their first dance; it’s a song that both Danisha and Gillian love. “Ironically, Leon Bridges was playing at Centennial Vineyards the following night after our wedding!”

Thanks to Alana Taylor Photography for capturing these incredible moments and for sharing them with us. Congratulations to Danisha and Gillian for this stunning celebration!