LOVE: LAURA + JONO WEDDING | RUSTIC MAGPIES NEST WEDDING WAGGA WAGGA NSW

LAURA AND JONO WEDDING DAY MAGPIES NEST WAGGA WAGGA

images by carmen hickey

Laura and Jono had been together for 8 years when they went away to their favourite place in Melbourne (St Kilda) for a weekend trip. Jono wanted to propose on St Kilda beach but there were too many people around so while we were out for a walk we visited the botanical gardens, where we found a nice quiet spot to relax. As we were leaving, I was just ahead of him and turned around to find him on one knee. We had a very spontaneous night celebrating with many mojito cocktails.

"Being from Wagga Wagga, we wanted the venue to be local, with exceptional quality and unique dishes, yet reasonably priced. Magpie’s Nest Restaurant & Bar is one of our favourite local restaurants with picturesque surroundings and experienced staff. The perfect location for a Wedding ceremony and reception.

We got married in autumn, our favourite season full of magnificent colours, with warm days and cool nights. The Bridesmaids wore beautiful burgundy dresses and held burgundy bouquets to reflect the autumn colours. The decorations were simple, rustic but elegant, incorporating lots of beautiful white flowers, lush green foliage, and warm timbers with twine touches." Laura tells.

favourite detail: Some of the Wedding decorations, such as the welcome and seating signs that were handmade by Jono. I absolutely loved the bouquets and floral arrangements for our wedding. Amanda Bahr from My Floral Styling kept everything simple and elegant, decorating with gorgeous white dahlias as the feature flower and lots of green foliage.

tell us about your dress: The first bridal store I visited was the Jack and Jill Bridal located in Albury and I went with my Mum Chris, Aunty Darelle and Cousin Ellie (Maid of Honour). This bridal store has a great local reputation with fantastic customer service and gorgeous dresses. I had a picture of the Wedding dress I liked on my phone and surprisingly they had that exact dress in store. It was the first dress I tried on and I fell in love, although I tried other dresses on as well, I always came back to that first dress.

favourite moment: Seeing each other for the first time on our Wedding day. It was such a surreal moment, walking down the aisle towards Jono. Holding hands during the ceremony helped calm our nerves and cherish every minute.

what does marriage mean to you? To us, marriage is a commitment we choose to make to celebrate our love, trust and respect for one another. It means security, support, someone to build a life with and turn to without fear of judgement. We did not feel that anything would change after marriage though – married life is just a continuation of the way we have always lived our lives together and that is what makes it great.

are there any funny stories from the day? The day started off with a good laugh when I was on the way to The Style Bar to have my hair and make-up done and the car got a flat tyre. Our Wedding also went off with a bang - I surprised Jono and our guests with a firework show after our first dance. Brian from Sinister Fireworks put on a spectacular show for us over the Magpies Nest vineyard. We found out lots of locals also enjoyed the show – it was funny hearing lots of positive comments from locals on social media who could see the fireworks from their backyards but had no idea what the occasion was.

advice: Be very, very organised. The week before our wedding we had almost nothing left to do, so we got to enjoy the lead up to our wedding instead of stressing over minor details. Having a wedding theme is important and helps to tie everything together through a vision and you’ll end up with a final outcome that you’re happy with. Most importantly, take everything in! The Wedding day goes by so quickly and you just want to relive every moment.

any stand out vendors for the day? Our photographer Carmen Hickey from Carmen Hickey Photography – Carmen captured our Wedding day perfectly and we are absolutely blown away by our Wedding photographs. For two people who have never had professional photos taken, Carmen played a big part in helping us to relax and enjoy every moment of it. We are so thrilled to have these beautiful photographs that we can cherish forever.

Amanda Bahr from My Floral Styling – Flowers made up the majority of our decorations and were one of the main contributors in creating the beautiful and elegant atmosphere of our Wedding. Amanda did an amazing job putting these arrangements together and they made for great pieces of our Wedding that guests were free to take with them and enjoy for many days after.