For Madeleine and Aaron’s rustic and intimate Botanic Gardens wedding, the couple simply stuck to things they liked. With fresh greenery installations, the rustic interior of Headricks Lane and family and friends close by, the day evolved into a beautiful and heartfelt occasion. Dani Drury captured every beautiful moment.

Having known each other since they were young, the bride shares, ”Aaron was my twin brother’s good mate so naturally Aaron and I were enemies! He literally threw rocks at me once! It all changed when puberty hit and Aaron would give me lifts to school in Year 12, before I had my license. We could talk for hours and hours driving in his dad’s car, and that friendship grew to love.” Of the proposal, Madeleine tells, ”Aaron took me away on a babymoon (I was 6 months pregnant with Isla at the time). We got up before the sun, picked what we thought would be the perfect spot to watch the sun rise over the water, until it didn’t. Turns out our beautiful glowing sunrise came up over land a little to our right. Aaron told me to stand up and face the sun and he would take a photo. When I turned around he was down on one knee!”

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The bride wore a stunning wedding dress from Gladstone Bridal Boutique. She shares, ”I just had that ‘feeling’. The ‘It’s the one!’ as soon as I put it on. It was just absolutely perfect!” The bride chose details she loved, including bridesmaid gowns from White Lily Couture, and everything came together perfectly. One of her favourite details was, she shares, ”My blue shoes! I was so set on having them and they are utterly gorgeous. It was also really special to me that my cousin could do my makeup and hair. The whole morning felt like a slumber party and was really fun!” Madeleine’s bouquet from Simplicity Market Flowers held a lovely surprise, as she tells, ”I chose some Australian natives and wildflowers. It was a beautiful coincidence that there were snapdragons in my bouquet as they are the flowers from my fondest memory of planting them with my mum when I was a little girl. Meant to be.”

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With a bridal party composed of family and dear friends, the bride and groom had their ceremony in the Rockhampton Botanic Gardens. They share, ”We wanted an intimate ceremony. We chose to have it ‘unplugged’ so that everyone was really in the moment. Deb, our officiant, made it easy and enjoyable. It felt so private and intimate.” The bride walked down the aisle with her Dad while guitar played the melody of ‘Yellow’ from Coldplay.

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Having their beautiful daughter, Isla, be involved in the ceremony was a last minute decision, with the bride telling, ”Our 8 month old wasn’t going to be a part of the ceremony. At the last minute I decided to surprise Aaron and have my Maid of Honour hold her, as she walked down the aisle ahead of me.” And with such gorgeous images of their wedding day, Madeleine and Aaron were thrilled with Dani Drury. They share, ”Everything was so busy and so full on but as soon as Dani talks she makes you relax and enjoy yourself. She is very down to earth and we had a lot of fun! And as you can see, she is so talented!”

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With the couple having their ceremony outdoors and being thrilled with the venue, the reception venue had to come up trumps also. Luckily, Headricks Lane was perfect for the pair. The bride says, ”Headricks Lane had only just started doing weddings and as soon as we saw photos we fell in love with it. It was very ‘us’.” The couple did a little DIY and fell in love with their florists work, with the couple sharing, ”We DIY’ed the mirror on the back wall of the bar. It was actually our second attempt that was hanging, the first nearly had us calling off the wedding! Our greenery installations and bouquets were so beautiful! They were our main decorations for the entire day and Michelle from Simplicity Market Flowers nailed it!” Naming their favourite part of wedding planning, Madeleine and Aaron say, ”Discovering that even though we can be so different, we agreed so easily on everything we chose.”

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Headricks Lane comes highly recommended, with the couple sharing how amazing it was. The bride tells, ”Eileen is very capable and so easy to talk to! Her staff were fantastic and the food is delicious! We actually requested their buttermilk fried chicken off their normal menu to be one of our entrees. They were also very accommodating of our gluten-free and dairy free wedding menu!” For the newlywed’s first dance, the groom chose ‘Love Me Again’ by Katelyn Tarver.

The bride shares, ”We swayed and held each other. I think in that moment we finally relaxed and could marvel at how we had got there. Our good friend Celeste was our wedding singer (along with Kyle on the guitar) and it couldn’t have been a more perfect choice – they made the night!” The guests enjoyed a delicious cake from All That Cake.

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Thank you to our gorgeous bride and groom on your beautiful wedding day, and thank you for sharing it with us! Thank you also to Dani Drury for sharing your stunning photographs!