A rustic, enchanting wedding at Waldara Farm, filled with lots of legal in-jokes and a sprinkling of Taylor Swift
THE PROPOSAL: “I had moved away to Canberra for a couple of years and we were in a long-distance relationship for that period of time. I eventually moved back to Sydney and Ivan proposed the following week. On the day of the proposal, I had just returned from another work trip in Canberra. Ivan had prepared a whole day trip around Sydney to significant locations in our relationship timeline and at each one handed me a post card and poem until the final one where he pulled out a ring.”
THE VENUE: “I wanted an outdoor ceremony in a beautiful garden and we wanted it to be a little further away from Sydney. We only saw two venues, and it didn’t need to see anymore- Waldara Farm was stunning and everything we wanted – it had several locations for an outdoor ceremony, an indoor barn for the dinner and onsite accommodation for the bridal party. We also did not need to leave the site for any photoshoots, there is a small creek and jetty on the venue which made a stunning backdrop.”
INSPIRATION: “The vibe we wanted to bring was fun, joyful and full of love. We wanted it to be centered on the guests’ experience. It was important to us for there to be good food, live music, a photobooth, puzzles and games that could be played and great energy throughout the day. We were careful with our guest selection and kept the guest list under 100 so we could also speak to each guest.”
FAVOURITE DETAIL: “We are both lawyers and there were so many lawyer-jokes throughout the day – from the invitations to the vows, the announcements, the puzzles to every speech in the dinner reception. It was incredibly cheesy and all of our loved ones who gave a speech also embraced the jokes. We also wrote personal messages to each of our guests behind their placecards at the dinner. This took a long time, but we felt like this was the way to have a quiet and private moment with each of our guests, including our vendors. We were also very touched to find out that at the end of the night, all of the placecards were taken home by the guests and not left behind to be discarded.”
FAVOURITE MOMENTS: “There are too many to name, but a few stand out- (1) walking down the aisle and finally getting to see my guests who were all beaming and giving me strength with their smiles. (2) We both really enjoyed our vows. We kept them as a surprise to each other. We both sprinkled lawyer jokes in there (unbeknownst to each other), and could not wait to share them with each other. (3) Our first dance- this was both something that was a moment for ourselves and something that we wanted to share with our guests. We had been learning and practicing for weeks and it was a fun surprise to our guests. By this stage, the moves came almost without thinking and we had so much fun performing it. We looked mostly at each other, but occasionally caught glimpses of our guests’ faces smiling, laughing and cheering us on. (4) The dance by the bride, bridesmaids and friends- this cheeky dance immediately followed our very sweet first dance and it was another surprise to our guests. We kept the energy high with this one as we brought in the attitude and the guests cheered us on.”
Ceremony & Reception: Waldara
Celebrant: Laura McLean
Bride Dress: Brides of Beecroft
Videography: CloudHerd Film Co.
Hair: The Mobile Bridal Hair Boutique
Bridesmaids Attire: Showpo
Groom Attire: Suit Supply
Music: Acoustic Autograph Entertainment
Catering: Short St Kitchen
Waldara Farm
Waldara Farm is located in the stunning greater Blue Mountains region of NSW just under three hours from Sydney. Nestled amidst a picturesque 800 hectare working farm, this venue provides a serene escape in the NSW countryside.
