Decadent Jondaryan Woolshed Wedding

Ash & Michael

We love it when couples create their wedding day to be a true reflection of who they are, and where they have come from. Ash and Michael wanted to stay true to the fact that they both grew up in the country, and so decided go for a gorgeous rural Queensland wedding. “We went for a country, rustic theme – we just put everything together that we loved,” explain Ash. They chose Jess Marks Photography to be their on the day to shoot the magic that was their decadent Jondaryan Woolshed wedding.

Ash tells of how they met. “We met in Narrabri, NSW. I was working my first shift at a bar, and Michael walked in with his best mate, and let’s just say they had already had a few too many! I asked them to leave, and Michael made quite an impression on me with a few cheeky remarks. I knew we would see each other again, living in a small country town. We got to know each other over the Christmas holidays, and things just blossomed from there. Here we are 11 years later…”

Ash’s wedding dress was an ivory lace Lillian West gown, with sandstone hued tulle underneath the skirt from the hips down, and buttons running down the back. She added a an ivory jacket from Justin Alexander. “I choose the dress, because I fell in love with it straight away. I knew I wanted something elegant, and I wanted to feel comfortable and like myself in it. The experience of trying on a dress was wonderful. I only had my mother with me as I think that’s something you should share together. She cried as soon as I stepped out in it, and I knew as soon as I turned around in the mirror that it was the one,” the bride remembers. “I also wore my grandmother’s sapphire, which my mother had made for me into a pearl bracelet. This was something very close to my mum, and I felt very privileged to wear that as my something blue.”

“Annie Glover from Blue Willow Weddings was our wedding planner and stylist, and she took all the stress away from our big day, and made us not have to worry about a single thing on the day. As I said in my speech, she takes the “zilla” out of the bridezilla. She helped me from the get go when we got engaged, and made me see a vision and she just worked her magic and made it come alive. It was more than I could have ever imagined it to be.”

Ash and Michael were married at Jondaryan Woolshed, using the café garden for their ceremony and the inside of the woolshed for the reception.The bride walked down the aisle to a beautiful rendition of “Feels Like Home” sung by her friend Helen Conroy. “Seeing my husband down the end of the aisle was a really special moment for me, and having my father by my side as I took the most amazing 20 metre walk, listening to Helen sing, that was a really special memory I’ll always have with me,” she remembers.

“Our ceremony was very cold and windy – it was a very wet day. As soon as we arrived to the woolshed, the rain stopped and the sun came out and it was one of the most magical sunsets I’ve ever seen. I wanted the feeling of elegance, but kept simple. We had rustic doors as our ceremony backdrop, with a hanging garden to the side with timber bench seats for our guests and a few wooden boxes adorned with colourful natives.”

The amazingly lush native bouquets were done by the amazing team at Peppertree Florist, and gorgeously set off the deep emerald green of the bridesmaid’s gowns, made by Sue Inman. The groom and his groomsmen wore black, dapper suits with black bow ties from Ferrari Formal.

Jess and Steve from Jess Marks Photography captured Ash and Michael’s wedding, and the couple not have been more happy with the images of their day, and how amazing their photographers were. “Jess and Steve went above and beyond. It still makes me teary thinking about them and all they did for us,” Ash gushes. “We booked Jess a week before our big day. The photographer we had booked had something personal come up, and could no longer shoot our wedding, so with help from the previous photographer and my wedding stylist, we found Jess & Steve and they were available. Their work is incredible, they are such a lovely couple to work with. They really listen to what you want, and most of all they have fun with you. I’ll be forever grateful for everything they did for us.”

All of the hire pieces were from Grace Wilkinson Events in Narrabri, and they were all handmade such as the ‘LOVE’ lights at our reception, the ceremony backdrop, the photo booth and the wooden table runners. Wagon wheels were suspended from the woolshed ceiling, with gum leaves on them. The drop down festoon lights were made by the groom. The couple also put spot lights shining up to the rustic tin roof to really get that warm feeling for the reception, and they made their own tomato relish as wedding favours. Their cake was created by Hawkes & Crosby, and was topped with a gorgeous array of native flowers and foliage.

“Let’s just say that we aren’t the best of dancers, but we had a good go!” laughs the bride. “We chose “Free” by Zac Brown Band. Michael and I like to travel, it doesn’t matter how much money we have, we like to do our own thing when we get the chance and at the end of the day it’s just about happiness. This song just felt so right, because it absolutely speaks of who we are.”

The couple chose Unveil Films to shoot their wedding video. “I knew I wanted a videographer, and Michael was unsure of this. We didn’t really incorporate it into our budget, so I had to sell a few things to make a deposit and it was the best thing we did. There are some pretty special moments you don’t realise are happening, and then you get to look back on our day as if it was yesterday and relive all of those feelings again.”