Rachael set about planning the entire event herself, selecting neutral tones with a vintage feel to style their stunning venue, Boconnoc House. "I wanted the room to look bright and white so went with a variety of white flowers on each table and simple table settings," she explains.
An early afternoon ceremony saw Rachael wow the congregation in her custom-made lace gown, accessorised with a gorgeous bouquet featuring peach and white blooms with ferns. After the ceremony, guests enjoyed Prosecco and cocktails from stylish mobile bar, Just the Tonic, alongside canapes including baby Yorkshire puddings with roast beef and horseradish cream, Thai fishcakes, and wild mushroom tartlets with white truffle oil.
The sumptuous three-course wedding breakfast continued to sate appetites with a starter of roasted peppers, cherry tomatoes and asparagus on potato rosti with crème fresh and chives. A main course of roasted fillet of salmon with mustard and dill on a pea puree alongside pan-fried chicken with a lemon and parsley crust and white wine sauce were followed by a trio of fantastic flavours from the freshly-cut wedding cake: Victoria sponge, coconut, and vanilla with passion fruit.
The evening's entertainment by blues and funk band, The Big Sets, and DJ Tim Nice proved a brilliant crowd-pleaser, and gave Rachael the opportunity to reflect upon a particularly standout moment regarding her mum. "She didn't leave the dance floor all night!" she laughs.
Another highlight of "having all our family and friends there to celebrate with us", is a reminder to all brides and grooms-to-be to be mindful of the bigger picture - especially when in the throes of the planning process. "Always go with your initial gut instinct when picking out flowers, dresses, invitations - anything," Rachael advises. "I constantly found myself second-guessing decisions I'd made when really they were the best choices and turned out to be amazing on the day."
Photography McKinley-Rodgers Film & Photography mckinley-rodgers.com
Venue Boconnoc House and Estate boconnoc.com
Dress Nelder Jones, Sydney nelderjoneswedding.com
Bridesmaid dresses Shona Joy shonajoy.com.au
Hair and make-up Nicola Pettitt nicolapettitt.com
Groom's outfit Moss Bros moss.co.uk
Flowers Karenza Rose krweddingflowers.co.uk
Cake Cupcakemama cupcakemama.co.uk
Mobile bar Just The Tonic justthetonic.uk
Entertainment The Big Sets thebigsets.com
DJ Tim Nice facebook.com/timsnice
Copyright Wed magazine 2017
