Black Tie Alfresco Wedding at Hughes Park

If you were to piece together Max and Erin’s story, it wouldn’t be one big, dramatic moment; it’d be a series of good ones that quietly built into something undeniable (with one very well-timed New Year’s Eve surprise in the mix). Their wedding carried that same energy: thoughtful, relaxed, and set against the sweeping backdrop of Hughes Park in the Clare Valley. With Nathan Story from Story Studio there to catch it all as it came!

Max and Erin met organically at their casual job back over a decade ago. However, it wasn’t until they went to the same University that their story truly began!

It was a beautiful New Year’s Eve, and as Max was packing the picnic basket for later, he put a little surprise in the bottom – in the shape of a ring box. “We had always intended to go watch the early fireworks at Glenelg on New Year’s Eve, so I was none the wiser as to what Max had planned. At the time, we were living in Brighton, so we rode our bikes from home to Glenelg Beach, where we set up a little picnic in a quieter, more secluded area. We had been talking for about an hour or so, watching the sunset, before Max said we should start unpacking the picnic food. As I was unpacking, I found a little red ring box at the bottom of the bag. I was in total shock and cried with my head in my hands for way too long (haha). Max then asked me to marry him, and we watched the sunset together with the fireworks following shortly after. It was our perfect afternoon,” Erin shared.

With a black dinner suit and textured white shirt from Adelaide Suits Direct, Max looked every part of the dashing groom. “We always knew that we wanted the boys in an elegant all-black suit.”

Erin had never really looked at wedding dresses or considered the shape and style she’d want for her look before getting engaged. She landed on this fairytale gown from Karen Willis Holmes, with incredible puff sleeves and a full skirt. “I ended up stumbling across a Karen Willis Holmes gown on an Instagram ad randomly, right after we had gotten engaged, and thought, ‘that’s the dress I want to try on’. At the time, the dress was only newly released and wasn’t in Adelaide stores,” she explained.

“I ended up flying to Melbourne with 2 of my bridesmaids to try on this dress, and bought it that same day. I chose my gown because I felt it was elegant and different, which is what I like. The sleeves were a must-have for me, as I loved the extra character they added to the gown. My whole experience at Karen Willis Holmes was incredible. The girls were so lovely, and made the experience much less daunting than I thought it would be.”

Finding the right venue for their black-tie alfresco wedding was no easy feat. Max and Erin wanted somewhere that had that ‘weekend getaway’ vibe, especially for guests travelling from interstate and overseas. Hughes Park in South Australia’s Clare Valley ticked all those boxes for the couple! “We looked at endless venues in the Barossa, and nothing stood out to us. We then stumbled across Hughes Park after seeing a Facebook post. I then privately messaged this girl who was also getting married there to ask her about her experience, and all sounded really positive. I called Hughes Park that night and asked if they had capacity for 2026,” Erin explained.

“I showed Max photos that night, and he immediately said if they have space, to just book it in (which was huge to hear as we’d never felt like this about a venue!). Alice, the owner, was incredible! She gave us a few dates in March, and we booked the date and paid for the venue that night, only based on photos (crazy, I know). The next week, we went to view it in person, and it was the perfect venue!”

In Erin’s wedding party, Cara, Maddie and Abbie all wore beautiful one-shoulder olive-toned Shona Joy dresses, with a pair of white heels.

The groomsmen included Andrew, Aaron and Sam, who wore matching black suits.

With the help of Michelle from The Flower Girls, Erin picked elegant white and green florals to stand out against the venue and to complement their incredible grounds.

Arm linked with her dad, Wayne, Erin walked down the aisle to “I’ll Be There” by Felipe Baldimor. “It’s one of our favourite songs. He’s a lesser-known artist, but we’ve loved his music for a long time and felt it was fitting. It also has a lovely upbeat section where the music changes, which felt just right to cue my walk down the aisle.”

Since Max and Erin had their first-look pre-ceremony, guests were able to mingle in the ceremony space with bubbles in hand as the gorgeous sun warmed everything. It meant that the couple could come into the ceremony more relaxed and ready to dive into the motions. “Our vowels were created ourselves, and were incredibly similar once we read them aloud, which was lovely for both of us to experience. We like our humour when appropriate, so we had a few laughs at funny older stories, and then some tears at the more heartfelt moments,” explained Erin.

“We loved Bryce from Your Wedding Wingman. Having been to many weddings before, we knew what style of celebrant we wanted. When we first met with Bryce, he was just so wonderful and made us feel like we were just talking to a friend, which is exactly how we wanted to feel. On the day, all of our guests raved about the ceremony and how good Bryce was. He definitely made our ceremony perfect!”

Erin had only lost her Nanna six months before the wedding, and because of how close they were and how much she had wanted to see Erin’s wedding, the loss was heartbreaking. “As something special, I had asked my Mum in secret if I could have my nanna’s wedding ring as my own. Without any of the other extended family and my Nanna’s kids knowing, we announced this at the ceremony as we exchanged rings, and many people cried. It was beautiful,” she shared.

Nathan Story from Story Studio was the perfect photographer to capture the light and love found throughout Erin and Max’s day. “He had been recommended by a friend. Nathan was so easy-going and made us feel so relaxed in the lead-up to the day. He allowed us to share our vision board before the event and nailed it to a tee on the day. He was our biggest supporter on the day, and we were so thankful to have chosen him!”

The top five things that made Max and Erin’s alfresco wedding so special included:

“1. The perfect, most heartfelt ceremony, which captured our love perfectly.

2. A beautiful day weather-wise

3. All our family and friends are enjoying a weekend away (destination wedding)

4. The outdoor dance floor under the stars! Literally everyone was on the dance floor until the end!

5. The welcome drinks the night before, the wedding day, and the recovery day at Pikes made everything extra special. We got to spend a lot of quality time with our loved ones over the weekend.”

The advice Erin wants to share with couples planning their weddings right now is this: Everything will work out! “Wedding planning can be very stressful, particularly when you don’t know where to even start, but rely on others for support and delegate where needed to share the load. People are more than happy to help!”

Sarah and her team from ASH Catering created an incredible culinary feast for guests, who couldn’t stop raving about it all night! “We LOVED Sarah and her team! They served up some delicious dishes, including kingfish ceviche and pork belly,” Erin explained.

“We also had our best friend make the most delicious wedding cake for our guests, to complement our soft serve machine!”

The orchestral version of “Wildest Dream” by Taylor Swift was Erin and Max’s first dance song. “I personally love Taylor Swift and resonate with a lot of her music, and Wildest Dreams has always been one of my favourite songs. We liked again that it was a bit unique, and didn’t have any words to it,” she explained.

“Max and I entered the dance floor and did a slow, non-choreographed dance together for a few minutes, before I went and grabbed my Dad for our dance, and Max grabbed his Mum for their dance. After a few minutes, we then invited everyone up to dance together.”

For Max, seeing all of their guests enjoying themselves and laughing was the highlight of the night. “Doing speeches at twilight and looking over to see everyone so happy. Seeing everyone so happy when the dance floor opened and everyone having a great time together,” he shared.