Nestled within the rolling hinterland surrounds of Austinvilla Estate, Danielle and Jake’s wedding was the kind of day that reminded everyone what weddings are really about: celebrating the people who have shaped your story along the way. Thoughtfully planned and filled with meaningful touches that reflected their faith, they struck the perfect balance between timeless elegance and genuine joy.

Thankfully, Lauren Wild Creative and Sunny Day Films were there to capture every moment, documenting the laughter and the sweet in-between moments that made this Queensland wedding so memorable!

At the young age of 18, Jake and Danielle met at church and became fast friends. “We were good friends for 10 years before things changed, and we started dating,” Danielle shared.

Jake chose Danielle’s 30th birthday trip as the perfect time to pop that almighty question. “After 12 years of friendship and 10 months together, it was the perfect and deeply meaningful moment to begin our next chapter!”

Dressed in a classic black suit and white shirt combo from Politix, Jake looked every part the perfect dashing groom. “He topped off the look with a black bow tie, black leather shoes & silver cuff links. We chose this look because it looks clean and classic,” Danielle explained.

They had a total of four people in their wedding party. Jake had his brother Matt and best friend Alex, wearing black suits with white shirts and bow ties to match his look.

Danielle had her sister Jessica and best friend Alex as her bridesmaids, wearing sleek black satin off-the-shoulder dresses paired with nude heels.

For her own look, Danielle picked out this beautiful gown by Tania Olsen from After Five Bridal & Formal. “It was so fun trying on different gowns and the staff at After Five were so helpful and kind. I chose Nixie because it suited my vision for timeless elegance, with a gorgeous sweetheart neckline, an A-line skirt, and a cute bow detail at the bust. It also had a reasonable price point, which was important for me.”

Instead of a first look, Danielle and Jake had a ‘first touch & pray’. “Jake met me (but didn’t see me) and we prayed together before walking down the aisle. We also opted to take communion together after signing the register, another important symbol of our faith. After our ceremony, we took a few minutes to enjoy a drink and some food together to have a private moment – it was nice to have some time alone for a few minutes!”

Austinvilla Estate in sunny Queensland was their venue of choice for this elegant wedding. “We knew it was the perfect place for our wedding when we visited the first time. The hinterland setting was gorgeous and peaceful. The staff were lovely and immediately put us at ease. We loved the different spaces for the bridal party to get ready, the ceremony space and the reception space. We also loved that we could have our guests settle in for the afternoon, as the venue catered for every part of the day. The on-site accommodation was a bonus for guests travelling,” Danielle shared.

Danielle walked down the aisle with her dad, as their friend, Cayden, played the piano. As her bridesmaids walked down the aisle, “Pachelbel’s Canon” transitioned into “Goodness Of God” as she approached the aisle.

Led by their Pastor, the ceremony was full of warmth, fun, and so much love that there was not a single dry eye left by the end. “It was important to us to have the ceremony reflect the love of Jesus, as our faith is central to our lives, both individually and together. Our Pastor led the ceremony and did a wonderful job of bringing sincerity and lightheartedness to the day. We had my brother Matthew and Jake’s sister Kelly do a bible reading each – 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 and 1 John 4:16-19. Both of these readings were important to us as they touch on what true love is.”

The five things that made this elegant Queensland wedding so unique to Jake and Danielle included:

“1. The sweetness of finally marrying the love of my life

2. Our family

3. Our friends

4. A small wedding party

5. Speeches!”

There’s nothing better than loving the vendor team you brought together, and Jake and Danielle were absolutely blown away by their vendors’ hard work! “I can’t say enough about all of them – MC Hair Design Co. & Makeup by Stefanie Newham were warm, relaxed and made getting ready feel easy. Lavish Floral Design was so experienced and helpful when deciding on florals, and she helped set everything up. Lauren Wild Creative & videographer, worked so beautifully together and helped us to feel confident and comfortable. Our videographer, Simao from Sunny Day Films, is a long-time friend of both of us through church – it was great having him on the day!”

Planning their wedding was so much fun from start to finish, but for Danielle, finding their venue was the best part of it all! “My favourite part was probably walking through the venue with my now husband, dreaming of what the day could look like and deciding together what we wanted,” she shared.

Lauren Wild Creative captured all of these beautiful moments from Danielle and Jake’s wedding in tandem with their videographer, Sunny Day Films. “Lauren was fantastic. She was calm and guided us well on the day. It was easy to be natural in front of her, and she worked seamlessly with our videographer. We can’t recommend her enough!”

White roses were the main flower for their wedding, with hints of green stems peaking out. “We went with simple white rose bud vases for the reception. Our flowers were from Lavish Floral Design and Kerilyn was incredible!”

If there was one piece of advice Danielle would highly recommend when planning your wedding, it would be to create a separate email address solely for planning! “This is helpful to have all your vendors and emails in one inbox. Remember that it is your wedding, and work together to discuss what you want to include or not include. The wedding planning can be stressful but it is so worth it on the day to see it all come together.”

Their first dance was to “How Long Will I Love You” by Jon Boden, Sam Sweeney & Ben Coleman. “We both love the movie ‘About Time’ and wanted to have a first dance, which was fun and sweet. Unfortunately, the music didn’t play properly on the night, so we didn’t get to do the dance in full, but we still had so much fun twirling around together!”

Congraulations Danielle and Jake! A huge thanks to Lauren Wild Creative for capturing these beautiful moments and thanks to After Five Bridal for sharing with us.