Kirsty & Anthony

I really couldn’t tell you where we need to start with today’s beautiful country wedding. I love the country setting, I love the stunning blooms, the sweet country church and at home country reception. I love the beautiful photographs by the ever talented Sophie Baker and the fact that the couple made sure to include their sweet baby daughter. This was a day that embraced everything it was, it embraced the couple’s community, who showered them with love, it embraced the talent and personality of the newlyweds, who put so much of themselves in their day. These are the stories we hold onto long after the last speck of confetti has blown away.

Now because this month is all about The Bridesmaid Issue, let’s focus on Kirsty’s lovely squad for a minute. The beautiful bridesmaids dressed in stunning mustard yellow gowns Sheike. Scroll on to see them, because they’re amazing!

As you’d expect from the country setting, it was a night out in a country town that led these two to first meet. Kirsty sharing “Anthony and I saw each other when we were out in Toowoomba one night with our friends and siblings in 2010. My brother in law had been mates with Anthony for a long time and after chatting with Anthony he came back to me and said ‘Anthony really likes you’. My response ‘he’s only human’. A few months, a Facebook friend add, a flood and a shared event later there came a life-changing day. The 2011 floods hit my family farm hard and in the chaos of leaving the farm, I was separated from my parents and could not contact them. Alone and frightened my sister organised for Anthony to come and meet me and take me back to his parent’s house until I could contact my parents. A jovial Anthony jumped into my car after spending a rainy afternoon at the pub with mates. ‘geez you’ve got some stuff in your car.’ he remarked directing me to his parent’s house. After a stressful few hours of not hearing from my parents and not being able to contact them, I sat down to a plate of bangers and mash Anthony’s mum had kindly prepared for me. At that moment my dad finally called and I had to leave immediately. I felt so rude and apologised profusely for leaving mid-meal. Anthony sent me a kind tongue in cheek text a few minutes later ‘mum is furious that you didn’t eat your veggies’ or something along those lines. The rest is history.”

Anthony popped the big question at the couple’s home. “One random Wednesday night I arrived home from work as usual” remembers Kirsty. “The door leading into our lounge room was closed (which is unusual) and a note saying ‘please come in and sit in the chair and face the television. Kind regards, management.’ was stuck to the door.
I went into the darkened lounge room and sat down. The television turned on and music started. Anthony proceeded to play a narrated slide show of our seven years together and at the end, he appeared, got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife. Obvs I said yes.”

A dream of long sleeves led the bride to find her Pronovias gown at Luv Bridal. “I knew that I wanted long sleeves and crepe. I was on a timeline as I was 6 months out from the wedding. I also had a three-month-old baby so travelling from store to store was not an option. I knew that I wanted a classic and elegant dress. Luv Bridal was the third store I visited. Michelle was so kind and helpful and when it came down to deciding between two different dresses she reminded me that I told her ‘I’m just a simple person with classic taste’. I feel like my dress met the brief. We went back the next day, I got my dad’s seal of approval and that was that!”

The couple’s baby girl was very much a special part of the day. “It was a blessing we had her before we got married” notes Kirsty. “She taught me not to stress the small stuff and to be decisive. My attention had to be on her which meant we couldn’t overthink decisions for the wedding and gosh, am I grateful for that!”

The day began at Ropeley Lutheran Church, somewhat of a family tradition, explains Kirsty.  “The Lutheran church at Ropeley is a family church. My parents were married there. It’s a beautiful old timber church that’s almost 100 years old. Set amongst rolling hills and farmland, still looks beautiful even in drought.”

In a nod to the couple’s proposal. Kirsty walked down the aisle to “I’m gonna be (500 miles)” by The Proclaimers, on the arm of her beloved father.

Opting for a church ceremony, mean the official part of the day was all about tradition. “We didn’t really think about a feeling. It was a religious ceremony so it was very traditional” admits Kirsty. “We had a few readings however Anthony’s sister read Corinthians 13 versus 4-13 which was very special. Amongst the hymns, we did manage to squeeze in a few of our fav songs including “Flame trees” by Sarah Blasko and walking out to “Home” by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. I felt like it was very us, just relaxed.”

We need to talk about that bouquet! Kirsty explains “Our flowers were a mix of natives and other greenery with a touch of other colours. My mum’s friend retired to become a florist (Winwill Flowers). I requested mostly greenery which included some magnolia leaves and a touch of Burgundy. I asked for a teardrop shape and then left everything else up to her.

She has known me since I was young and knows my style so we just had a few casual chats and I showed her a few pics and she showed me some samples of flowers she was thinking. She just got me! Narelle created dainty flower crowns for my flower girls and daughter and perfectly understated buttonholes. The table centres were all different styles made up of the same varieties of flowers. I collected different glass vases and jugs in the months leading up and left the florist to do her magic for the day. They looked incredible. Narelle made up so many different assortments that there were flowers everywhere, this is very me! All the arrangements were amazing and guests enjoyed going from table to table admiring the differences. I ask Narelle if it was possible to have a flower installation draping behind the bridal table and she replied ‘of course it is!’ I watched as she and her husband strung perperina from a branch like she does it every day of the week. My flowers were a highlight! They were breathtaking and perfectly offset the drought and our attire!”

When it came to sentimental details, these two had plenty. “We attached the doll from my mum and dad’s wedding car to the front of our wedding bus. I used a hankie that was Nanna’s and I was supposed to wear my great-grandma’s brooch. I forgot!!!! All of my aunties and female cousins wore this brooch and I just forgot! We used my grandparent’s milk can, which was delivered to the farm via the creek all those years ago as our wish well. I wore a bracelet that Anthony gave me on my first birthday as a mother. It’s engraved “mummy” on one side and “love Maisie” on the other. When Anthony gave it to me he said ‘I thought you might like to wear this on our wedding day’.”

The reception was held on the bride’s family farm, complete with a marquee! “The reception was on my family farm in Glenore Grove” shares Kirsty. “This farm is third generation and where I grew up. Also where Anthony and I had our first face to face chats. Mum and dad had been watering the lawn and gardens for months as we had been in drought for years. They worked exceptionally hard. Guests enjoyed drinks on the lawn in front of the house to take in the beautiful surrounding farmland followed by a reception in a marquee. Anthony and I had our couple photos on the creek banks and around the sheds of the property.”

“Sophie was perfect for us! She was relaxed and in control! ” tells bride Kirsty. “So much fun and just made us feel so comfortable! To be honest, I hardly saw Sophie except for our allotted photo times! She just fit in as though she had known us our whole lives! She was so professional and made us feel special before we even met her. Anthony and I are not people who enjoy spending time in front of a camera however she made our time being photographed so special and chilled and she allowed for us to be able to chat and reflect on how fantastic our day was going. You can tell she just LOVES what she does!
Sophie captured the most beautiful candid photos of Anthony’s parents and many other loved ones. We will cherish these types of pics forever and so will our family. I didn’t think about taking pics of the details (buttonholes, rings, etc.) But Sophie did and gosh, we are so glad!
Sophie captured our day, our loved ones and our memories so perfectly and I don’t think we could be more grateful.”

Being at home, this was a wedding that was full of handmade details, explains the bride. “To make room for the marquee my brother in law and dad had to cut down some pretty big portions of a jacaranda tree. From this they cut some large logs into bar tables for drinks on the lawns and smaller logs were cut thinly to go underneath the flowers as part of the centrepieces. My mum, florist and I collected crystal and glass vases, jugs, sugar bowls and glasses for centrepieces for the flowers to go in. We reused hand-painted signs from Anthony’s brother’s wedding, Anthony’s sister painted a sign saying ‘Kirsty and Anthony’s reception. 17.8.19’.”

“We set up the marquee and drinks on the lawn ourselves the days leading up; this included helping set up the marquee, setting up the tables and decorating them and decorating the rest of the marquee except for the actual flowers. We set up all the drinks and my brother in law with my dad’s help did all the outside lighting which looked incredible. I strung fairy lights in the hedges and Anthony designed our personalised coolers which were gifted to our guests. We used my mum’s collection of crockery for dessert which was a gorgeous touch.”

This truly was a day that was about community, notes the bride. “When Anthony and I first talked of getting married I was so stressed at the enormity of our potential guest list however I came to learn this is the biggest blessing. Seeing everyone come to celebrate us, our life and the friendship we share with them was so incredibly special. Everyone seemed so happy and the celebration just wouldn’t have been the same without each and every one of them.”

As with many parts of Kirsty & Anthony’s day, the speeches were love-filled, Kirsty reminiscing “Our speeches were extremely special and sentimental. Our best man included extreme sentiment and went beyond. He, with his merry band of helpers, collected clips which acted as the modern-day telegram not only from our loved ones living in England (enter waterworks) but from some of Anthony’s most favourite sportsmen wishing us a wonderful day and apologising they couldn’t be there (they don’t know us from a bar of soap). People like Ian Healy, Kevin Walters, Steve Renouf, Jeff Horn, etc.

Anthony’s nickname is ‘prawn’ and one stand out clip was a fella wishing us the best and apologising in front of the big prawn in Ballina. We later found out Anthony’s other brother had put this on air-tasker earlier that day and the guy did this to pass some time while his wife was in labour!!!”

It was a romantic favourite for these two as they took to the dance floor- George Ezra’s “Hold My Girl” their choice. “We thought about this song since I first heard it when I was pregnant Christmas shopping for Anthony in December 2018. We weren’t engaged then but I went home and played it for Anthony and he loved it too. A few days later our beautiful little girl was born. She loves music and we would often have to play music to soothe her and this song seemed to be her favourite. Months leading up to the wedding Anthony and I would lay in the dark after we had put our daughter to bed to search for wedding songs. We just couldn’t find any that felt more right. By the time our wedding came, we had heard this song countless times (due to having a baby that cried a lot!) But surprisingly we continued to love it!”

A big congratulations to you both Kirsty and Anthony! Sharing your stories was such a joy! Thank you also to the amazing as ever Sophie Baker for today’s beautiful photographs!