Tim and Rosie

Tim and I were married on 24 November 2012 in our hometown of Bombala, on the southern Monaro, NSW.

We met in 2005 through my best friend, and after a few encounters we went from ‘drinking buddies’ to best friends and soul mates. My first impression was that Tim was lots of fun and loved a party. As I got to know him, I realised there was also this smart, sensitive and caring gentleman, and I knew I wanted to spend my life with him.

We really wanted our wedding to be a celebration of the places and people we loved. We also wanted an excuse to show off the local area and the local people that keep small communities alive. Most of our friends chose to get married on the coast but there seemed to be some much opportunity to ‘show off’ our little town and the hard working people that keep it going.

Early on in our wedding planning people kept asking us ‘what is your theme?’ After much deliberation we decided that we didn’t want a ‘theme’, we wanted a local, intimate wedding in our hometown, employing people we knew, eating local produce and really showing off what a great little place Bombala is. We set ourselves a goal- look locally before you looked anywhere else. If we couldn’t find what we wanted, we’d broaden the search to the next postcode or town.

Once we decided this was what we wanted, our wedding planning became a lot of fun! We booked the beautiful old Anglican Church (St Matthias, Bombala) and asked a dear family friend who was a minister to marry us. We booked the beautiful Bibbenluke Hall, just out of Bombala as our reception venue. It felt like this old, proud hall was whispering to us ‘if you pick me..it is going to be a great party!….’. The hall had beautiful old timber floorboards, a picture of Queen Elizabeth II and two fireplaces. We fell in love.

Our bouquets were created by Tim’s mum, Cathy. She knew exactly what I had in mind and created it perfectly. They looked absolutely amazing and it added a special touch to our ‘local’ day! We hired bus drivers, food technology students and bar staff all from our local area.

If I’m honest, I really struggled with picking a dress. I looked in Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra but nothing felt like ‘the one’. Feeling disheartened but remembering our goal for the wedding, I wandered into ‘Anna Rose Boutique’, a little bridal shop in the nearby town of Pambula. I met Tracey, an amazing dressmaker who brought all my dreams for the perfect wedding dress into a reality and gave me so much confidence and comfort throughout the whole process.

The night before the wedding we had dinner in my hometown at the Delegate Hotel. I’ll never forget looking out at the bustling veranda at all our guests eating dinner and chatting to the locals. It was a huge success for the local hotel and a wonderful night out for the town.

On the day of the wedding, we woke to a glorious, sunny day- for those that know the weather in Bombala, it could possibly have been snowing in late November! I’ll never forget walking into the church to Dean Martin’s “Remember Me’ and looking my beautiful husband to be surrounded by all our family and closest friends. I felt so reassured and happy! All our dreams and hard work had brought us to this perfect moment in time, where we could pledge our commitment for each other. I remember smiling like an absolute fool as we walked down the aisle and out of the church to Frank Sinatra’s “cheek to cheek”.

After the ceremony we had an afternoon tea set in the church gardens. Everyone chatted and sipped on punch and champagne as canapés were served. We then slipped away with our bridal party and photographer Shawn Keane to get some truly magical photographs at Tim’s family property “North Burnima”.

Some of our fondest memories of our wedding involve the days before, decorating the historic hall with our family and friends. Watching one of my mates sneeze as she filled peppershakers, and my darling mum ironing twenty-four huge table clothes. Tim and I bought a sewing machine and made metres and metres of bunting in soft spring colours to hang from the ceiling with fairy lights, I also painted a canvas with the beautiful E.E Cummings poem “I carry your Heart” which we used throughout our wedding stationery. Our table numbers were themed by places special to us, i.e. travel destinations or hometowns.

For our meal we asked the volunteer committee at the Delegate Hospital Auxiliary for their expertise. I have grown up with this wonderful committee cooking legendary roast dinners and volunteering at most major events in our area, so we felt is was important to support them. We would much prefer to make a donation to this committee than hire a large spit-roast company from a major city and have them travel down to Bombala. Coming from a family of farmers, quality produce was important to us also. We prepared a lamb from my Dad’s farm at Delegate and pork from our brother-in-laws farm at Bimbi NSW. I’ll never forget the surprise on some of our guests’ faces when they realised the majority of their main meal was sourced from other guests in the room!

Our beautiful wedding cake made by a local lady, renowned for award winning fruitcakes. In addition to this, some very special family friends made cream puffs, mini chocolate cups and meringue kisses to add to a desserts and sweets table for guests to help themselves.

Several members in our family have battled cancer, and The Cancer Council is a charity close to our hearts. For this reason we made a donation on behalf of our guests to the Cancer Council in lieu of favours. I love looking through our photos and seeing the pink ribbons pinned to our guests’ outfits.

After dinner, Tim and I sat for a minute or two in silence holding hands, watching our beautiful guests. People who had never met were chatting, mingling and laughing. We have never experienced a more humbling feeling, watching all these people you love and admire, all in one room together, helping you celebrate such a special event in your life. It was such an emotional experience and one I will never forget.

After the speeches, we had our first dance to “Home” by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. We had a couple of rehearsals with a local dance teacher and we enjoyed it so much, we still grin at each other when the song comes on our iPod. After the formalities the popular local band ‘Slippery When Wet’ really set the mood for the rest of the night and got everyone up dancing (and when we say dancing we mean some serious stage diving and limbo bending action).

The following morning, our guests were invited to a recovery brunch at Tim’s family property before they started the long drive home.

Our Photographer, Shawn Keane and his lovely wife Jodie captured the relaxed nature of our wedding. They were so easy going and fun, sitting on the back of the ute and staying at the reception well past their bedtime to capture dance moves and very interesting photo booth poses… We cannot recommend them highly enough!

Photography by Shawn Keane

Ms Gingham says: Classic photobooth shots!!!! Congratulations to Rosie and Tim for staying true to their roots and truly putting together a wedding that celebrates who they are!

Rosie says: “I enjoy reading, writing and painting (not sure if I’m any good at it!). I love spending time with family and working with Tim on the farm and in our tree nursery. I am passionate about nursing, and I love looking after the elderly, they are so strong and wise and have amazing stories!”