Playful Festival Inspired Wedding at Lewana Cottages

If there were only one word we could use to describe today’s featured wedding, it would be zesty! Fun, playful, and definitely inspired by a bush festival, Laura and Josh’s wedding was not only a celebration of their love but also of the love they hold for all their guests. Each of their 110 guests received a personal letter that the couple had taken the time to put together, and it wasn’t the rain that made guests misty-eyed! Captured with all the fun and playfulness this day deserved, thanks to Victoria Baker behind the lens.

People talk all the time about being three or four degrees away from a celebrity, but how about being two degrees away from the love of your life?! “We met through our football club, since Josh’s brother was my coach in my first year. We played AFL 9s together in the off-season, and I asked Josh for a running program, which gave him an in to slide into my DMs,” Laura shared.

Competitiveness runs deep in their relationship, so Josh and Laura created an annual competition day to hone their skills. In 2024, their day had a slight twist – where Laura won every challenge! “Josh organised the day, beginning with a photography competition at a park near our house. Our siblings had to decide the winner (Laura won). We then went to the casino, where we had $100 each to spend. The winner was whoever could win the most money after playing blackjack and roulette (Laura won). We then went to an escape room, and it turns out escape rooms are not our strength. Many clues were provided over the speaker as time was slowly running out. We found a codex that was meant to hold a key, but when Laura opened it, it contained a ring. Laura was quite confused as to how this fit into the puzzle until Josh got down on one knee and asked her to marry him. Turns out Josh had been to the escape room the day before and been provided with a few clues to help us make it through the room, which, amongst the pressure, he forgot everything; he even lost the backup clue, which fell out of his pocket at the casino,” they explained.

“After the escape room, we arrived at dinner, where, to Laura’s surprise, our parents were waiting, and after dinner, we walked to dessert, where our siblings and their partners were waiting. But let the record show…Laura won the competition in 2024!”

When they were searching for the perfect venue for this festival-inspired wedding, the main non-negotiable they wanted was no curfew – meaning maximum boogying hours. “We found a blog which included five curfew-free venues, we ended up visiting three of them, and Lewana Cottages felt like us from the start. We both grew up outside of Perth, so we wanted a venue that felt like the country, where we could be outside among the trees and kick up the dirt. Lewana gave us the freedom to make the weekend what we wanted it to be. Having the three days at the venue meant we had enough time to nestle in with our guests, and Errol and Nola were so accommodating and helpful the whole way through. We were even able to stay at the venue over the June long weekend with our bridal party to show them the venue, and we took our parents there for a weekend too, so we really got to know the venue and owners, which added to the overall experience!”

Josh chose cream pants, a crisp white button-up and brown leather suspenders for his wedding attire. Wanting to look the part of the country boy he is and also matching the rustic settings, his wedding party looked perfect for the fun to come. “He didn’t want to be wearing a suit jacket in the heat, and we both wanted to keep the relaxed feel to the day as much as we could.”

Trying to find the perfect dress was an overwhelming experience for Laura, but once she had an idea of the style of dress she wanted, the fun really began. “It was a relief when we finally found the dress after many visits to many dress shops. The bonus of visiting lots of shops meant I got to bring different people along for the experience. Even my dad came with me to a couple of dress shops. I found my dress at Dion for Brides and selected a Pen Liv dress. I liked how it shaped me, and the lace was truly beautiful,” she explained.

Within her own wedding party, Laura had everyone in different colours, from beautiful buttercup yellow to zesty orange, vibrant green and delicate purple.

As everyone knows, fresh flowers don’t thrive in the heat of summer, so working with their florist, Bewitched Blooms, Laura chose a beautiful array of colourful dried flowers. “We knew it was likely going to be a warm day, so we wanted flowers that would last, but also incorporated the native wildflowers from the area.”

Josh’s Nana and Nandi were the flower girls, which was really special for the two of them and kept things nice and playful to kick off the ceremony (especially with Nana saying wooo every time she threw a handful of petals) The moment Laura stepped up to the aisle with her dad on her arm, was the moment the skies opened up and didn’t stop for the rest of the day. Matt Hansen’s cover of “Iris” played as the two walked, and, luckily, nothing could (metaphorically) rain on Laura’s sunny attitude. “The rain only added to an amazing day. We giggled while our bridal party tried to subtly put up umbrellas while the ceremony started (it wasn’t so subtle),” she shared.

With Josh adding: “Seeing Laura’s reaction to the rain during our ceremony was a moment I’ll remember forever. Any guests who were feeling anxious about the weather on Laura’s behalf were quickly put at ease. Big smiles, completely relaxed and playful through the speeches, all while our bridal party was scrambling for extra umbrellas.”

The ceremony took place on a hill above the dam, and the rain made for the perfect backdrop. And with the help of their celebrant, Weddings by Bianca, their fun ceremony was exactly as they had dreamed. “Josh and I wanted to keep it playful and wanted to take a moment to look out at all our friends and take in how special it is that you’re all sharing this moment together. Seeing them wave or smile was very special. We also had a ring-warming ceremony for the grandparents and parents in the background, so they could say a prayer or offer well wishes while holding the rings. Josh and I laughed a lot throughout; it was the best.”

Laura and her mum handcrafted all of the colourful gift bags for their guests, which included not only a custom wedding map Laura had designed for their wedding brochure, but also a personalised letter to each of their guests. “Our guests described the moment when everyone was reading the letters, it went silent, and you’d hear random giggles or sniffles. Josh and I both added something to every letter. For us, it made us really think about each of our guests and the impact they’d had on our lives and the memories we’d shared as we were leading up to the wedding, so Josh and I had such appreciation for everyone by the time we got to the day and saw everyone. Equally, our guests couldn’t believe the time we’d put in and said how special it had made them feel. We think it really impacted the feeling and atmosphere for the rest of the night. Just a lot of all-around love in the room.”

After the ceremony, Laura and Josh reconvened with their families under the big tree. “We wanted to have a special moment with our loved ones away from the group, and take our family photos from there. We also put up the wedding photos of our parents, grandparents and great-grandparents in the shed where the reception was held.”

For Josh, the five things that really stood out about their playful festival-inspired wedding were:

“1. Having our family and bridal party work like such an awesome team to help pull it all together. Left us bursting with gratitude for having such amazing parents, siblings, and friends.

2. Our guests’ reaction to their personalised letters.

3. The show-stopping sunset photos, taken together with Laura between the ceremony and reception.

4. Nailing our first dance.

5. The dam and silent disco afterparty the next day.”

The article that led Josh and Laura to their venue was actually written by none other than their photographer, Victoria Baker! So it took the couple all of 10 minutes to lock her in. “We loved that Victoria was local to the area and had photographed many weddings at Lewana. We looked at our recommended venue photographer list, and the moment we saw Victoria’s photos, we knew her vibe and aesthetic were us. We loved how relaxed and candid her photos looked and Victoria did not disappoint on the day,” Laura shared.

“She had us running through the bushes, climbing up rocks and she was amazing at just letting the moment happen organically. I loved how it captured the beauty among the messy. Josh had ripped his pants, my dress was soaked in the wet red dirt, my frizzy hair, my bustle had broken, the train was dragging on the floor through the bushes, and we laughed so much the whole time. We even invented the umbrellery, which is the umbrella version of a shoey, which Victoria ran to capture the moment as the boys drank champagne out of the umbrella!”

This beautiful day truly was a team effort between the couple, and it made them all the more stronger after. “I loved how Josh and I came together as a team. We both contributed equally to the wedding weekend and had so many moments giggling in the office, thinking about the stupid things we could do or the stupid songs we could include in the first dance. It really strengthened us as a unit, and it was fun being creative and leaning into each other’s strengths,” Laura shared.

One of their favourite vendors was Smokin’ Bull BBQ, who served up food that guests still haven’t stopped gushing about!

When it came down to picking favourite shots of the day, Josh and Laura couldn’t pick just one. However, the entire collection from the sunset shoot definitely stands out – and we can see why! “The sun peered through the rain clouds and just made for some absolutely epic snaps.”

The best piece of advice Laura and Josh want to share with future couples planning their own weddings is this: “A wedding is not just one day. The actual wedding is the big finale but everything leading up to it from the proposal, the moments you get to tell your family and friends, asking your bridal party, the weekend away selecting the venue, days brainstorming ideas with your partner, laughing and tearing up over your song selections together, discovering new things about your partner, all of it is part of the wedding. And while it can get expensive, you end up with a year’s worth of special memories in the lead-up to the big day. It’s an opportunity to become a stronger team and build connections with the people around you during the process. Lean into each other’s strengths and enjoy every moment along the journey, big and small.”

Laura’s mum inspired two pieces of her final look of the night: creating a garter for Laura from her own wedding dress and inspiring her to wear red shoes. “My mum wore red shoes at her wedding so I wore red shoes with my short dress from For Love And Lemons when I got changed.”

Their first dance was a mashup of several songs they’d choreographed a full routine to. Those songs included: “Macarena, Heaven” by DJ Sammy, “Cotton Eyed Joe” by Rednex, “Time of My Life” by Bill Medley, “Let’s Get Married” by Jagged Edge, “Roll’n” by Limp Bizkit and “Absolutely Everybody” by Vanessa Amorosi. “Josh jumped into the arms of his groom’s people during “Time of My Life”, which was a definite crowd pleaser.”

It wasn’t long after that the costume box came out, and guests dressed themselves to the nines in wigs, sunglasses and hats! “We all moved into the red dirt under the shed, kicking up the dust as we all sang “Tribute” by Tenacious D. It was quite a sight with people dancing on the benches and Josh and I at the front of it all singing into the crowd together.”