Kate and Jarrod

Kate and Jarrod chose a casual, relaxed feel for their country wedding. Their attitude was not to sweat the small stuff and instead plan a celebration that was bright, fun and colourful. Choosing the gorgeous country venue Mingela Homestead in Drummond (between Kyneton and Daylesford), they used the 1000 acre property for all of their wedding day celebrations so beautifully captured by Fennel & Fox Photography.

“We’re high school sweethearts. My 18th birthday party was our first ‘unofficial’ date. Jarrod had planned to propose on a weekend away for my 25th birthday but unfortunately the ring didn’t arrive in time so he did it a few weeks later at Chandon Winery after a weekend away camping. He was so nervous all he managed was “will you?” while holding out a stunning diamond ring. I had to say “will I what??”. Jarrod is the most loving, fun, cheeky and caring man I could ever have fallen in love with. I still can’t believe he married me. I am the luckiest girl in the whole world.”

Of their wedding venue choice, Kate remarks, “Mingela Homestead  is on a 1000 acre working farm not far from Daylesford in Victoria. The house has been beautifully renovated. We stayed there with our families for a week either side of the wedding and it was just perfect. Waking up to those views every day was incredible.”

Guests were invited to the wedding with printed tea towels in bright yellow from Invitation Tea Towels.

Kate’s hair and makeup was styled by Dollybird Deluxe .  Kate telling, ” Margo from Dollybird Deluxe was amazing. She is so friendly and really made the whole morning getting ready so relaxing and fun. Plus of course, she made me feel a million dollars. I have never felt so beautiful.”

Kate’s incredible sheer backed gown was created by Deborah Selleck.

Kate made a very special entrance. “I rode in on the back of my uncle’s Harley Davidson. Unfortunately I had let slip to most people that I was arriving on it but for the guests who didn’t know it was a great surprise.” Kate admits, “We didn’t really do any DIY. We mostly left it to the professionals. But I did help mum make the bunting and Jarrod’s mum made the paper cones for the rose petals. Apparently it was a huge job to get the writing to print the right way and then stick them all together. Of course there was much debate about the little red diamante love hearts (I lost that battle) but in the end they looked great.”

Kate walked down the aisle to “On Top Of The World” by Imagine Dragons. Kate recalls, “One of my favourite memories of the day was walking down the aisle with dad. As he helped me off the bike and held my hand he looked at me with so much love and pride it felt like we were the only two people in the whole world. It is one of the few times in my life I can remember seeing him with a tear in his eye.”

Tracey Patterson married the couple.

The day was also special for other reasons, says Kate. “We shared our wedding day with my grandparents. They were married on the same day in 1957.”

Of their photographer, Kate tells, “Ursula and Nathan from Fennel & Fox were a dream to work with. We only met with one photographer and knew straight away that ‘she was the one’. She listened to what we wanted and used her own creativity to get some fabulous shots. We call her our Ninja because she seemed to be invisible most of the day, I never felt like I had a camera pointed in my face or that I needed to be ‘posing’ all of the time. As a result our shots were candid and natural and really told the story of our day.”

Kate decided to have her brother as a “Brides Man” stating, “My brother Tim flew all the way from Canada especially for the wedding. He had only been gone a few weeks when I rang to tell him we were engaged but his response was “when ever is it, where ever it is, I’ll be there”. That’s just the kind of brother he is. I didn’t want bridesmaids so I asked him to be my ‘Bridesman’. I couldn’t imagine having anyone else by my side on the ‘big day’.”

The White Tree  kicked off the music for the night.

The groom made the ruffled white and gold leaf wedding cake. Kate remembering, “He spent hours and hours slaving away in the kitchen and it was his pride and joy. We had a very tense trip out to Daylesford with it in the back of our car but it made it in one piece (thank god). It looked amazing and tasted even better.”

casual summer wedding091

Prunella styled the floral arrangements for the day, with the furniture and marquee items being hired from Dann Event Hire. Guests enjoyed a feast catered by Fred and Ginger Catering, Kate remembering, “Fred and Ginger catering were fantastic. Jarrod is a chef so it was important that we had amazing food and they didn’t disappoint. We have had several people tell us it is the best food they’ve ever had at a wedding.”

Of their first dance, Kate tells, “We chose Happy by Pharrell Williams. We’re not very traditional and wanted something that was upbeat rather than slow and romantic. We decided to adopt ‘the sway’ which was terrible. It was so uncoordinated and clunky but heaps of fun. Jarrod admitted later that we probably should have had dancing lessons. Luckily our guests joined in (we had pre-instructed our parents to “save us”) and it is one of my favorite memories from the whole day.”

Congratulations on your marriage Kate and Jarrod! Thank you for sharing your story with us! Thank you also to Fennel & Fox Photography for sharing today’s beautiful wedding with us!