Wandering about our Travel Inspired Wedding

You know growing up as a young girl you always dreamt about what that special day looked like? The church, the beach ceremony followed by rooftop cocktails, then the garden party? A place in the city for all the people you have ever met in your life to come and get free piss, as your neighbours best friend's uncle waves at your with Hors d'oeuvre half eaten in their hand. OK I am exaggerating, but isn't that what many mainstream weddings are made up of these days? I must admit I wanted something special, but I had only been to one wedding before my own so I had nothing to compare it to, but I knew what I wanted and it all came together right after the engagement of course. 

Shaun was very smart to ask me to marry him in New York city, an iconic place on an international scale which holds memories of hustle and bustle, romance, foodie heaven, a businessman's sanctuary, and a photographers playground. This city is a cultural melting pot, and of all the places I have visited it's nothing like I have ever seen before, but still so familiar from the movies, from the sky rises in our own city that we try to escape. So following a lengthy young life of travel we have done on our own, and then together it was only natural to incorporate our wanderlust into our vows to share with our loved ones. Shaun is my passenger for life, and I am his, and as we started to plan our travel-inspired wedding, there really wasn't much out there in the wonderful world of the internet to grasp ideas from. I hope for any of you out there set to wed, who also want travel to be the co-main event of the day, you get ideas and inspiration from me because I didn't have much to go by I wanted to help out. 

So we started from the beginning and had to pick the destination. As individuals we always wanted a destination wedding, so it was a relief when I suggested a wedding out of Sydney he was thinking the same thing. We had travelled to many wineries around the world and thought why not on the footsteps of Greater Sydney head to the Hunter Valley for an Australian Vineyard Wedding, where wine is a major passion that we grew our taste for together. It all came easy when we found Tulloch Wines Cellar Door where they offered future bride and groom open days to suss out the local talent of the Wedding Industry, and all in one day I tasted their wedding menu (a 3 course food and wine extravaganza), picked our florist, photographer and decorator. We left there stress-free and they gained a new member of their wine club - Pokolbin Dry Red Shiraz is my all time favourite wine.

Tulloch Wines Cellar Door with a wrap around balcony and courtyard - stunning

To help capture this special day, we had the ever-so creative photographer, Peter McNeill at Natural Lightscapes. Peter specialises in shooting images in a natural setting which is why we knew he was perfect for our destination wedding in the Hunter Valley. Not only did he use our surroundings to his advantage, but he sourced me a Jacaranda Tree and kept me updated throughout the season to let me know if the flowers would scatter in time for the big day. He used light to enhance the memories we now have for a lifetime, set in the vineyards that symbolise our special day. 

Peter took us to a secluded residential Australian property with a Jacaranda tree to pose in the background of our shots

Peter stayed behind until the end of our celebrations to capture the final shot close to midnight in between the vines of Tulloch

A different Peter prepared the flowers for the day, Peter Herd Florist. He gave me gorgeous flowers that dressed me and the wedding party up, as well as the tables. Peter contacted me a week prior to let me know the lisianthus were not going to arrive in time from Amsterdam, there's not much I can do about it but he knew a back up. And on the morning of the wedding he turned up with a package from Amsterdam that had arrived the day before, just to surprise me. 

Peter worked very closely with Jane at Think Weddings and Events, who tied down everything for the day. I told Jane how passionate Shaun and I were about travel and with the style and elegance in the work she does, she combined all the things we love and put her love into setting up our day. I sent her the pictures of the cities in the world Shaun and I loved most, and she placed them across the room amongst the arrangements to be used as our version of "table numbers". Each person sat at a city table and a map guided them to their destination. 

Guests were guided to the tables by a Map of cities, created by me. Niagara Falls and New York City to name  only two. Flowers and arrangements put together by Peter Herd Florist and Think Wedding and Event's Jane.

With the main features out of the way, we focused on picking our cake design and finding someone who could achieve what we had in mind. We found I Do Wedding Cake's Penny, who has a very steady hand to design the bottom tier of our cake - the New York City skyline itself. She also created our very own cake topper in great detail of Shaun and I on board our very own sugar plane! The design was customised completely. 

In the theme of cake, we wanted to giveaway something yummy to our guests, so we went to a well known cookie and cake baker in Sydney - Yummies Cakes. We gave her an idea, and she came up with the design used for our shortbread cookies in a take-home bag for our guests.We chose rectangular cookies as it was best for our design, but she can do cake pops, shaped cookies and a whole range of other designs that are truly amazing (not to mention some great shaped cookies for my hen's weekend - the girls loved it and I'll let you use your imagination). Thank you Yummies!

 

To bring everyone together one the night, we searched for a band or DJ who could best represent us longer than any other element of our day. One night we ventured to Manly north of Sydney for a night out at a local pub, no better place to find an awesome cover band - 2 Fold. To top it off they were a father and son duo from New Zealand one of our favourite destinations worldwide. The pair can be found across Sydney performing in many bars and pubs, and have great voices to match the atmosphere they create with so many classics. You can see their song list and listen online to their audio.

We were married on 10.11.12 nearly 2 years ago now and planned an incredible quick honeymoon to Fiji then a belated 7 week honeymoon to North and Central America. I am still holding onto those memories like they were yesterday and so happy we got to plan a day that was surrounded by loved ones showing them the best parts of us and our wanderous hearts. We said our vows to one another that day to honour each other, and we can now honour our dreams together as we set off hand in hand following them. 

 

Special Thanks to our families and friends of course who will always be by our sides wherever we are and the people who put it together: 

1. Tulloch Wines Cellar Door

2. Special thanks to Tanya Horne the wedding planner for our day

3. Natural Lightscapes Photography

4. Peter Herd Florist

5. Think Weddings and Events

6. I Do Wedding Cakes

7. Yummies Cakes

8. 2 Fold

9. Wedding night accommodation at Cedars Mount View - The Vue

10. Blake's Wedding Cars