Real Wedding – Anthea & Luke, Terara NSW
For a dream day overflowing with delicate details and a sumptuous splash of romance, look no further than Anthea and Luke’s stunning soiree. Equal parts garden party and amped-up style, watching this day unfold is a treat for the senses.
For Anthea, seeing Luke’s eyes fill with tears as he watched her approach down the aisle was every bit the magic moment she’d imagined. She looked a true glamazon in her gown by Kyha, voluminous silk skirts balanced by a sleek strapless neckline and thigh-high split. Luke brought his A-game to the occasion in a suit by masters of fashion YSG Tailors, cutting a slick figure in his black tux.
Taking inspiration from the sublime gardens and breathtaking backdrop of the homestead setting, Anthea and Luke chose hues of soft porcelain and striking, rich teal harmonised against warm, burnished gold accents. With our friend Laura of Weddings of Desire at the helm, this was a party destined to look, and feel, the bomb.
The electric energy crept up a notch as Anthea took to the floor in her party dress, a stellar number by Amber Chloe. Watching their guests dance around them, under the fairy lights with the warm glow of happiness surrounding, was the perfect crescendo for the newlyweds, all captured by photographer Anne Cooper.
The meeting.
Luke and I met when we were teenagers in our small country hometown. We are high school sweethearts and have been together for fourteen years.
The ‘one’.
At the risk of sounding like a total cliché, I think we always saw forever in each other right from the very start.
The proposal.
Luke chose our favourite holiday location, Kiama, to propose. He took me on our morning walk with a coffee in hand. We sat on the headland that overlooked our favourite beach and did the quiz in the paper (which we always do). As we were answering the questions (that I later found out that he composed himself!), he left me with the biggest question of all written on the bottom of my coffee cup. He got down on one knee, and I said yes!
Planning process.
I worked closely with our wedding planner, Laura Harvey (Weddings of Desire), who was able to make suggestions for suppliers. We combined her suggestions with our own research on Instagram and recommendations from friends and family.
I found looking at real weddings in similar locations to be helpful, particularly when finding suppliers. I also loved seeing styled shots to get inspiration for table settings and florals.
Style inspiration.
We wanted our wedding day to have a classic and timeless feel. The venue spoke for itself, which we complemented with white and green florals, grey linen and gold hues. We tried to add personal touches where we could. We wrote personalised thank you messages to each group of guests and placed them amongst the flowers on the table setting, which we felt was a really nice touch.
The ceremony.
Our ceremony felt like a fairytale. It is the moment that many girls dream of growing up. I remember holding my Dad’s hand so tightly as we walked down the aisle. Seeing Luke at the end other end with tears in his eyes was a moment I will never forget. We wrote our own vows, and saying “I do” was the proudest and greatest moment of my life.
The outfit.
I wore two gowns on our wedding day. The gown I wore to our ceremony was the “Jerri” gown by Kyha Studios. It was a luminous mikado silk strapless gown with a straight neckline. It had a draped bodice, an a-line skirt with a high side split. The extended train was so grand; it had a very classic and elegant feel. My reception dress was a custom Amber Chloe design. It had a classic silhouette with a square neckline and high split. The fabric had a very romantic feel. The light, sheer detailed organza sparkled all night on the dance floor and had a real understated elegance.
Favourite moments.
Aside from saying “I do”! A highlight was Luke and I being lifted up on our friend’s shoulders on the dance floor. Looking over our entire wedding, I was able to take in our guests having an amazing time singing and dancing, the fairy lights glittering in the marquee, and Terrara House majestically lit up in the distance. It was pure magic.
Meaning of marriage.
Marriage is a promise to one other. A promise to work together and support each other whilst building the life you both dream of living.
Wedding soundtrack.
Aisle: Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol.
Reception entry: Anyone by Justin Beiber.
First dance: No Sleep by Landon Austin.
Planning surprises.
There are a lot of finer details that can’t be sorted until the final few weeks before the wedding – I would suggest taking a few days off before the wedding to get those finishing touches sorted.
Words of wisdom.
Enjoy the process and make the decisions together.
Love imagining you and your guests dancing the night away under the stars, but unsure where to start? Check out our friends in the business of creating elegantly exquisite marquees, here, and be prepared to be wow-ed!
ANTHEA & LUKE’S VENDORS:
Ceremony & reception venue: Terrara House, Terara, NSW. When choosing our venue, we had our heart set on finding a beautiful house or building that would allow us to have a garden ceremony and a marquee reception. We were blown away by the beauty of Terrara House. It encapsulated everything we had envisaged for our wedding. The house was built in 1904 and has recently been renovated. The gardens are lusciously green and immaculately manicured; it truly looked like something out of a fairytale. We couldn’t have imagined a more beautiful location to get married.
Celebrant: Glenn MiIllanta was our celebrant and MC. He had a lovely warm presence during our ceremony and was so much fun throughout the night!
Photography: Anne Cooper Photography. We have a personal connection with Anne, and it felt so special having her capture our day.
Videography: Soda Films. Soda Films captured our special day beautifully.
Styling: Laura Harvey, Weddings of Desire. The absolute best in the business. We couldn’t have done it without Laura.
Florist: Ivy Lane Collective. In keeping with our classic theme, our flowers were all white mixed with green foliage. My bouquet was a bunch of delicate David Austin roses, which were simply stunning. The girls at Ivy Lane were absolutely amazing in bringing our vision to life.
Hair: Kayla Goss Bridal. Kayla had such a beautiful calm presence on our day. Her work was immaculate, and I would recommend her to anyone in need of a hairstylist.
Make-up: Hayley McIver. Hayley is so talented with her craft, and I can also highly recommend her for bridal make-up. Hayley and Kayla worked beautifully as a team and had us all ready ahead of schedule!
The dresses: Ceremony gown & veil: Kyha Studios. Reception gown: Amber Chloe
Shoes: Gianvito Rossi. I wore the “Manhattan” heels in gold with a crystal-embellished strap. They were fine and dainty but still had a wow factor.
Bridemaids: Chancery the Label. The girls wore black one-shoulder dresses that had layered shoulder detail. Classic and simple.
Groomsmen’s suits and bow ties: YSG Tailors. The boys wore classic black dinner suits with black bow ties. Luke differed from his groomsmen with black buttons on his shirt and had silk lapels on his coat.
Catering: Michelle Seymour Catering. We have a personal connection with Michelle, and she travelled over four hours to cater our wedding. Her food was to die for!
Bar, decor & hire: White Top Venues
Cake / Cake topper: Duo Cake Designs. Amy created our dream two-tier cake. She layered vanilla cake and caramel mud cake, finished with fluted vanilla buttercream and decorated with fresh flowers.
Stationery / Signage: Le Jour Papier
Entertainment: Acoustic Duo for ceremony and canapes: The Junos. DJ for reception: DJ Claire Elliott. Both of these artists were absolutely amazing, and we had so many comments from our guests.
Gelato Cart: Gelato Man. A highlight of our wedding! With five flavours to choose from, all of our guests loved it.
Honeymoon: We will go on a mini-moon to the Whitsundays later in the year and hope to travel to Europe when international travel resumes.
