Hannah & Jack
How did you and your partner meet?
We met on Bumble. Hannah was living in Brisbane and Jack was in town on business for just one day, we matched that day but didn’t meet up as we both had plans. We spoke every day for the next month or so and then decided we should probably meet in person. Jack flew to Brisbane airport and spent a week staying at Hannah’s house - and we have been inseparable ever since.
How did your partner propose?
Jack proposed on a Sunday morning at the Clovelly Headland with a breakfast picnic and a looming storm.
Why did you decide to have your wedding at Terrara House?
We had originally planned to get married at Sunshine Beach in Queensland as Hannah’s family is there. However, 5 weeks out from our wedding date Queensland closed the borders to NSW which meant that we had to cancel all our original plans. We decided to host a much more intimate event with immediate family and closest friends that were in NSW - it was a tough decision to cut the list from 110 down to 27 but it is one that we are so happy we made. We were very fortunate to have found Terrara House as it was the perfect venue for our new, paired back wedding plans.
How many people attended your wedding?
27
What made you choose to continue your wedding celebrations in the midst of COVID-19?
We had been engaged for about 18 months by the time our wedding came around and felt that we were ready to be husband and wife. When we first got engaged there was no such thing as COVID so we never could have anticipated that we would have to make such hard decisions during the process. As there was so much uncertainty surrounding the situation we weren’t sure when/if there would be the possibility that our two families could come together in the same place to celebrate and we didn’t want to risk having to postpone for a second (or third) time. Hannah’s parents were both very supportive and joined us on Zoom, as did many of our other family and friends who would have been at the original wedding.
What additions did you make to your celebration to include guests who couldn’t be in attendance (if any)?
All of our original wedding guests were invited to watch the ceremony on zoom. We also had a zoom for close family and friends in Queensland to watch speeches. Our friends also surprised us and made a pre-recorded video of well wishes. We all sat down with an Aperol in the Chapel and watched it together and this was a real highlight.
What was most important to you as a couple when organising your intimate wedding celebration?
It was so important to us that we did something that was going to be memorable and felt appropriately grand to mark the significance of the occasion. It was also really important to us that we would have quality time with our family and friends as we had already spent so much time apart this year due to COVID.
What were the benefits of hosting a smaller wedding celebration?
We got to spend so much quality time with each and every guest! Other friends who were already married commented on how lucky we were to be able to do this as they felt like they just rushed around all day greeting and thanking people without having real, quality time with their guests. We were actually so happy that we decided to go ahead with our little group and can’t imagine our wedding day any other way now!
What was the menu for the celebration?
We catered the whole event ourselves (except for the cake). Our beautiful friends Vic and Tom gifted us our stunning grazing table which we had during cocktail hour and was a real highlight. We also had fresh oysters for cocktail hour which we ordered from the local seafood market. For the main we were channeling “Christmas lunch” - we had an assortment of dishes all prepared in the days leading up to the wedding and everyone chipped in to make this happen. We are so grateful that all our friends were willing to contribute and it paid off because the food was delicious and everyone was so proud of the dishes they contributed!
What was your favourite part of the day?
It’s so hard to pick a favourite part because it was all so perfect! We used every part of the property - girls getting ready in the Day Spa, boys getting ready in the house, ceremony under the fig tree, lunch on the lawn, speeches in the mirror garden, virtual speeches in the chapel, evening drinks on the front deck, and then late night drinks in the games room! One definite high was wandering the grounds with our photographer Benedict after lunch. We are so happy to have such beautiful photos to share with family that weren’t there and we think Benedict is worth his weight in gold.
What is your advice for couples planning a wedding in the future?
Don’t sweat the small stuff! When we had to cancel our original wedding we decided to let go of a lot of the things we had been so preoccupied with and just pare it right back. For example, we ended up picking up 10 bunches of roses from Woollies the day before the wedding to style the table - and they were absolutely perfect! At the end of the day, you get to marry your best friend, in the company of your favourite people and really nothing else matters.
the DETAILS
Photographer: Benedict Sutton
Brides Dress: Rebecca Vallance
Brides Shoes: Kurt Geiger
Brides Accessories: Paspaley Pearls
Bridesmaid dresses: Aje & Hannah Artwear
Grooms Suit: Country Road & Daniel Hetcher
Engagement & wedding rings: Robert White Jewellers
Wedding Celebrant: Sabina Turner
Hair & makeup: Hers Makeup (Bre Sutton) & The Bridal Hair Co (Vanessa Henwood)
Florist: Flamingo Florist (Brides Bouquet only)
Venue: Terrara House
Catering: Self Catered
Cake: Decadence Cakes