Oh man, I don’t even know where to start with these two amazing people. I’ll let them tell you the story, it sure was beautiful. PS, it’s 100% worth the read, especially if you’re planning a wedding!!

1. Tell us about your day?

Well. We decided to do things a bit different. We’ve always dreamt of a small and intimate wedding with a big party. So we decided to get married twice. 

We had organised a Thursday lunch at the Sir George, with a bus picking us all up from the family farm. Our family hadn’t actually met before with Albi being from overseas. This was a good way for our parents and siblings to all meet in a more casual environment before extended family and friends arrived. What our family didn’t know is that we had organised to get married on that day, which was also our actual anniversary date.

A funny memory from the day was from when our celebrant Barry arrived and Albi’s mum thought he was an overdressed bus driver who was here to take us to the Sir George. Shortly after this, the secret was out and we got married.

The ceremony was quite emotional and felt so very special to us. 
So now to Wedding #2. Prep for it finished quite early Saturday morning, and Libby and I caught ourselves in this moment where we had nothing to do, we were not stressed about the pressure of getting married and were simply getting really excited to have a big party with our nearest and dearest. Why not continue to do things differently, and instead of hiding away, Libby and I spent the whole day together, welcomed everyone together champagne in hand.

This helped set the tone for the day which was relaxed, casual, full of fun and laughter. For the second ceremony, we did a simple exchanging of vows, led by our best friend James, who had actually introduced us 9 years ago when we all went on exchange to the USA. The day went off without a hitch and honestly, we had so much fun that time just flew past, it was all over in a flash. 

2. If you had advice for couples planning their day…

Do it exactly as you want it. We got married twice in one week. Why not, it’s your day(s). There are some things we feel guests will remember most from the day. Food, Drink and Entertainment are must-haves, don’t skint on these. Everything else is optional and people won’t actually remember. 

Initially, we had planned a cocktail menu, but as it happened we attended a wedding a few months prior and met Dan from Slow Beans and Bones. What an amazing guy he is! And the food…… TO DIE FOR! So long story short, cocktail became sit down. We have since had so many compliments about the food.

Drink and Entertainment come hand in hand. We found a cute little bar called Little Tipple. Not only does it serve as a bar, but it was also an awesome feature for our theme. Live music was important to us but that was probably the hardest to organise. Mostly because we were so picky and because we live in Brisbane, 14 hours away from the wedding venue. Made it harder to go and listen to bands play. Luckily a lot of bands have got videos they can share with us. We settled on Honey & Stone as our band. As soon as Libby called Ben, they had a great chat, he knew the Gundagai area well and was really in tune with what we wanted out of the day. We booked the same day. 

So in summary – go big on food, drink and entertainment. 

One more thing that we feel is important to share. People tell you how quickly the day is going to go. You have no idea how true this is. You are constantly running between photos, food, speeches, dances, cake cutting, catch-ups etc. The day is over in a flash. Two things we did that we will forever cherish: One – On the night, take a second for just you and your partner and walk away. We did this after the cake was served. We embraced each other and looked back at the marquee with all our family and friends enjoying the night. It’s quite something.
Two – A friend told us that there are a lot of moments during the wedding which you will forget about. They recommended us to buy a notebook and on our drive back home we chatted about the wedding and all the little things we remembered and jotted them down. The idea with this is that you can then create a photo album with not just photos, but stories of your special day. 

3. What was your favourite part of the whole day?

Sitting in the marquee and all the speeches. James was not only our Celebrant but also MC extraordinaire! We gave James a run sheet and he turned it into an entertaining show! James was given creative freedom.

Here is an example of something he did. When arriving at the farm, guests had been greeted with a sign explaining three rules for the day. One – Have a great time. Two – Have a boogey on the dance floor. Three – Say hello to someone you don’t know. James saw this on the day and decided than when sitting in the marquee he would play a game. Get up and introduce yourself to someone on another table. James would then proceed to quiz people throughout the night between formalities. “Who did you meet, What did they tell you etc.” Those little interviews were hilarious. 

David, Albi’s 15-year-old brother, who was also the best man, was asked to do a speech and he had the room laughing from the first line, with some teary moments in-between. For weeks now, people have been getting in touch with us and telling us how impressed they were with the speech. He did an amazing job and Albi, the big brother couldn’t be any prouder. 

4. What has your experience with Roslyn Clare Photography been like so far?

Fantastic! Out of all our suppliers, Ros has been the most in contact, the most attentive and really made sure to give us great advice. We didn’t have to work with Ros, she worked with us. Living so far away, we could only come down on long weekends and Ros made sure to take time to come see us. 
Also, we told her that we needed her to be firm with us on the day. Libby and I are notorious for not ever getting photos together when at large gatherings, we tend to mingle with everyone and regret not getting pictures together. Ros did a great job at getting us together, getting candid photos of everyone and did well at fitting in with the schedule of the night. 

Ros has an amazing way with crowds and did well at managing everyone through the photos. She made kids laugh, adults listened and official photos were a breeze. 
Also on a personal level, by the end of it all, we felt we were chatting to a close friend. Thank you for everything Ros! You’re a champ!

Photographer | Roslyn Clare Photography
Catering | Slow Beans and Bones
Live Band | Honey and Stone
Drinks Van | Little Tipple
Hire | Riverina Party Hire