K I R S T E N & C A E L
{Restaurant Cuvee at Peterson House}
Romance comes to life in the spectacular Hunter Valley for a beautiful and classic wedding!
F R O M T H E B R I D E . . .
We first met…
On my first day at work on an office tour! I knew there was something special about him the moment I saw him. We started talking later on that day and have been inseparable ever since.
We knew it was love…
After a few months of seeing each other every day, and we still weren’t sick of each other! 8 years on and seeing each other is still the best part of every day.
The proposal…
10 February 2016, at our home in Merewether. Cael had organised a dinner at our favourite restaurant for no reason… So I had an idea something was up. I thought maybe he would propose at dinner but when I came out of the bathroom from getting ready he got down on one knee! I was very surprised and happy.
T H E W E D D I N G . . .
Our dream wedding is…
Stylish but relaxed. We didn’t have a whole lot of time to plan, however we got incredibly lucky with all of our preferred vendors being available (Oh Fleur, Hello Naomi), not to mention the venue. I’d been to Peterson House on wine tours before and had in the back of my mind that I’d love to get married there someday. We wanted to have fairly neutral colours with bright autumn-inspired flowers.
Venue…
Peterson House, it was amazing! Our wedding coordinator Lisa was so wonderful to work with and was always excited to hear from me. We had such a short amount of time to get things organised and every detail was perfect! Our guests commented on the great service and delicious food. We felt very fortunate to have been able to get married there.
Wedding photography…
Our photographer was Simon Ward of Simon Ward Images. We followed his work on Instagram and were continually amazed by his stunning images (travel, portrait, wedding) so were excited to have him shoot our wedding. To work with he was professional, considerate, well-organised but also laid back in a way that encouraged us to be ourselves for the photos. We could not have been happier with our choice. What we love about the photos is they seem to truly capture how happy we were on the day.
Pre-wedding celebrations…
The bridal party stayed at Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley the night before. We went to the hotel restaurant for dinner, stayed for drinks and had a great night all together. Everyone was so excited and happy to be there that we ended up staying out pretty late, it was a really good time.
Bridesmaids wore…
Beige dresses from Sheike.
Groom and Groomsmen wore…
Navy Studio Italia suits from Rundle Tailoring.
The dress…
Spaghetti strap with leafy detail on the bodice, then a full skirt with lots of tulle. It’s Stella York from Belles and Beaux and I was lucky they could get it in in time for the wedding! It was not at all what I expected I’d get. I had an idea of sleek mermaid cut but was open to try anything. My stepmum actually picked it out and as soon as I tried it on we all knew it was the one!
Wedding Flowers…
I had a vague idea of autumn brights, and I love dahlias (which happened to be in season). Other than that I gave creative license to the girls at Oh Fleur and they did not disappoint! The result was stunning.
Reception decor…
Kept the venue pretty simple as it was beautiful on its own. We had large floral centrepieces from Oh Fleur and I designed the menus, placecards, stationery using canva and Vistaprint.
On the menu…
We had canapes followed by a sit down meal with alternate drop:
Entrees:
Roasted pork belly with caramelised apple puree, and house made muscat jus
Freshly caught squid, deep fried and served with a pineapple, coriander and chilli salad
Mains:
Vanilla bean braised beef cheek on a fresh pea and parmesan mash
Queensland farmed barramundi fillet with a salad of rocket, Binnorie marinated fetta and zesty vinaigrette
Dessert
Cookies & Cream wedding cake from Hello Naomi. All the food was amazing!
Bonbonniere…
We had the wedding on Easter Saturday, so we had Lindt bunnies for placecards. They were pretty cute!
Memorable moments…
Sneaking out while everyone was eating mains to have photos and drink champagne under the stars just the two of us.
Wedding Soundtrack…
My talented friend Torrance Drummond played guitar for the ceremony. I walked down the aisle to “I Will Follow You Into the Dark” by Death Cab for Cutie. Our bridal party entrance song was Marvin Gaye “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” and our first dance was Bright Eyes “First Day of My Life”.
M A R R I E D L I F E . . .
Honeymoon…
We had a pre-honeymoon to Bali.. is that a thing? We are also moving to Austin Texas for 2 years with my work, so we are planning to have some more mini honeymoons to Mexico and Hawaii during that time!
The future…
Travel as much as we can then settle down and have children.
In 40 years you hope to…
Still be as happy as we are now 🙂
W E D D I N G W I S D O M
Advice for enjoying the engagement…
Make it as quick as possible! More time to plan = more time to stress about little details
Planning advice…
Don’t take it too seriously. The day is about the two of you getting married, it’s not about whether the bridesmaids dresses are maroon vs. burgundy. No matter what you’re going to have an amazing day so try not to stress about the little things.
Advice for enjoying the wedding day…
Everybody says it, but really do try and stop at points throughout the evening to appreciate what’s going on with your husband/wife. It goes way too quickly so really try to enjoy every moment.
MW x
Venue Peterson House Photographer Simon Ward Images Flowers Oh Fleur Cake Hello Naomi Hair White Hair & Makeup Makeup Angie Harrington Makeup Artistry Wedding Dress Stella York from Belles & Beaux Bridesmaids dresses Sheike Suits Studio Italia from Rundle Tailoring Music & MC Torrance Drummond Celebrant Marie Callaghan