Romantic Garden Party Wedding at Clarendon Estate

It all began on an orientation day, where Lucy and Michael first crossed paths. From there, their story only deepened into something beautifully intentional, with a proposal that happened as Lucy was surrounded by her favourite flowers and with her family waiting to surprise her. All of this set the tone for their wedding day, which felt just as heartfelt and considered, all brought to life in the most breathtaking way at Clarendon Estate in Tasmania, where Susannah Johnson Photography and Folktale Films captured every fleeting moment with a tenderness that mirrors Lucy and Michael’s own connection.

Orientation day of their undergraduate course in performing arts was the day that Lucy and Michael’s lives were forever changed. “I had moved to Sydney and was trying to develop new friendships, and I met Michael. We were friends until 2nd year when they began dating, as Michael revealed he had feelings for me since they met at orientation day!”

Lucy’s favourite flower is the beautiful tulip – the flower of deep love and new beginnings. So, in late September 2024, as Michael and Lucy were driving to the Bowral Tulip Festival in NSW, there was an air of something new brewing! “He proposed in front of a garden of tulips. The best part of this was that he had organised for Lucy’s family to all come up to Sydney as a surprise to celebrate with all the family together,” Lucy shared.

Dressed in a truly incredible WONA Atelier piece from Marry Me Bridal in Mosman, Lucy looked like the blushing bride she was. The soft petal-like appliqué across the gown and veil added a romance that matched the soft atmosphere of the day.

Her wedding party included her two sisters, Abby and Georgia, and her friend Maddie. Each was dressed in a different yet matching champagne pink dress from Birdy Grey. The whole party finished their looks off with soft pink and white tulip bouquets.

Michael wore a custom suit from North N Co. in Dural, NSW, in this soft sand colour. Finished with black leather accessories, a white tie and cufflinks of their dog Alfie.

In his own wedding party, Michael had his friend, Cormac, and his two brothers, Lachlan and Linsday. “They all wore matching suits to the groom, except their ties matched the bridesmaid dresses, whilst the groom wore a white tie,” Lucy explained.

Nestled in the north east of Tasmania, Clarendon Estate was the perfect romantic backdrop for this garden-party wedding. “It had that beautiful, ethereal layout that aligns well with the garden-party theme. The grand Clarendon building was the perfect backdrop for both the ceremony and the reception.”

Lucy walked down the aisle with both of her parents on either arm. As they walked, the St Cecilia String Quartet performed the Schitts Creek Version of “Simply The Best” by Tina Turner.

With Karen Allen as their officiant, Lucy and Michael had the quaint, simple ceremony they had dreamed of. Surrounded by the beautiful gardens and basking in the warm sunshine, everything felt authentically them.

One of the best things about a wedding is getting to celebrate your love in front of all the other people in your life that you love, and for Lucy, that was the highlight of the day. “Getting to celebrate our love for each other with all our favourite people.”

As for dreams, all of this beautiful styling and florals were done by the talented team from Freyr Studios! “The flowers were a combination of pink and white tones. Linking in the tulips from the engagement as a waterfall effect, all styled through Freyr Studios.”

Every romantic moment of Lucy and Michael’s garden-party wedding was captured by Susannah Johnson Photography. “Susannah is a dear friend (and my old boss), and we knew we wanted to have her a part of the day, as she is special to both of us and also captured our proposal!”

Although she loves all the moments Susannah captured, Lucy’s favourite has to be this moment on the stairs with Michael. The joy shared between two newlyweds was perfectly captured here!

Freyr Studio didn’t just style Lucy and Michael’s wedding, but also helped them plan from start to finish. “Freyr Studio made the process so much less overwhelming. They handled all the logistics, assisted with timeframes, and managed all the tiny details we weren’t aware of going into wedding planning,” Lucy shared.

The piece of advice Lucy wants to leave for couples planning their own weddings is this: “Soak it in as much as possible, as the day truly does go by in a heartbeat.”