“Our vision for the day was ‘spring garden soiree’. I was very inspired by colour and so we chose pinks, blues, oranges and greens as our palette. We fell in love with our venue because of its beautiful lush gardens so we made a conscious effort to enhance the existing elements of the venue through florals and styling, rather than take away from it.”
Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…
HF: I am a publicist based in Sydney! As I plan media events as part of my job, it was a no-brainer that I would plan our wedding, rather than consult a wedding planner. Over my four years in the PR industry, I’ve established great relationships with some incredible vendors who I was able to work with to bring our vision to life.
JF: I’m an engineer that works from home full-time. I love my wife, our dog & spending time outdoors.
How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions?
HF: We met at school when we were both 13. Jordan started at my school in year 7 and we immediately clicked. We had most of our classes together and would come home from school and talk via MSN all evening, often until the early hours of the morning. One year later Jordan asked me to be his girlfriend and we have been together ever since (11+ years later!).
HF: My first impression of Jordan was that he looked like Justin Bieber (at the time he had the flicky JB-style fringe) and as a major Justin Bieber fan I was obsessed immediately! Aside from that, I loved his gentle and calming personality- he was always so sweet and caring towards me and has been ever since.
JF: My first impression of Hannah was how fun she was to be around – she radiated joy with her bubbly personality. I instantly fell in love with her big brown eyes, blonde hair and her dimples.
When did you first realise that this was someone you’d like to spend the rest of your life with?
HF: It sounds crazy but I knew when we started dating at 14 that I was going to marry Jordan one day! When we were 16 we would talk about what our future wedding would look like so there was really never any question that we were going to get married one day.
JF: Before officially dating, Hannah and I grew to be best friends over the first years of high school. During this time we formed such a close bond that we both knew we couldn’t do the rest of our lives without each other, by around 16 we knew we’d get married and it was only a matter of time.
Was there a proposal? Tell us a little about it…
HF: Jordan proposed at a lookout in Bowral and it was perfect. He organised a champagne picnic, a romantic dinner in the evening and of course my dream engagement ring!
JF: Bowral is a special place for Hannah and me. Over the years we spent a lot of time there and we’ve always said that it’s where we’d want to get married one day, so I decided that this would be the perfect place to propose. Hannah’s sister and I went to Bowral to scout proposal locations a few weeks before & we found a lookout that has expansive views of Bowral & Mittagong and decided that was it. On the day I took Hannah to breakfast and around some of our favourite spots in Bowral whilst Hannah’s sister helped me out setting up a picnic at the lookout. In the afternoon we drive to the lookout spot and that’s where I proposed. It was a perfect day.
Tell us about the vision you had for the mood or style of your wedding…
HF: I am incredibly a-type and have been unofficially planning our wedding years prior to our engagement! I had Pinterest boards of wedding florals, dresses, makeup and hair inspiration, so when it came to actually planning the wedding I found the process quite straightforward.
HF: Our vision for the day was ‘spring garden soiree’. I was very inspired by colour and so we chose pinks, blues, oranges and greens as our palette. There is a fine line when it comes to using colour in a wedding, as we didn’t want the traditional all-white wedding palette, but also wanted to ensure it still felt like a wedding. We balanced the palette by being selective about where we used colour, using muted shades and keeping some elements quite plain (white linen tablecloths, timber chairs, white candles etc.). We fell in love with our venue because of its beautiful lush gardens so we made a conscious effort to enhance the existing elements of the venue through florals and styling, rather than take away from it.
JF: The styling was very much Han’s forte so I just trusted her vision and was honestly in awe of how she brought it all to life.
What was one element you were happy to splurge on?
HF: Flowers!!! I think flowers make a wedding and I could not have been more obsessed with how our florals turned out. Our florist Anna and I had various meetings in the lead-up to the wedding to discuss all the finer details and she understood our vision perfectly. I was speechless when I began walking down the aisle and saw the incredible sculptural ceremony arbour she created for us. We were also really conscious not to waste flowers so Anna was able to repurpose our ceremony flowers for our reception, and at the end of the reception, Anna wrapped all our flowers up into bouquets for our guests to take home in lieu of traditional wedding favours.
Did anything happen on your wedding day that you laugh about in hindsight (even if it was stressful at the time)?
JF & HF: Thankfully the wedding ran smoothly with no real hiccups, however, the week before the wedding had quite a few minor disasters! The groomsmen’s suits arrived in the wrong style 2 days out from the big day, Han had a hair colour disaster, our stylist got covid, a bridesmaid chipped a tooth, one of the bridesmaid’s dresses ripped… and that wasn’t even half of it. Whilst these things certainly created some unnecessary stress in the lead-up, it was a good reminder that you can’t control everything and that everything works out in the end. We both couldn’t believe how calm we were on the wedding day, all the stresses just melted away and we truly had the best day of our lives.
Tell us about your main outfits, what was unique, is there a story?
HF: I’ve followed Hope x Page on Instagram for a few years and as soon as they posted a picture of the Audrey dress by Alex Perry I immediately knew it was the one! I made an appointment to try it on that week and it was even more perfect in person, I put down a deposit immediately and that was it.
Jordan surprised me with a diamond Sarah & Sebastian necklace on the morning of our wedding which was the perfect final touch to the outfit. As for my reception look I decided on a fun little Rachel Gilbert mini dress which was super easy to dance in.
Ceremony & Reception Location: Milton Park @miltonparkcountryhouse / Photographer: Maple and June @maple_and_june / Videographer: @benjaminrainford Celebrant: Church Minister Scott Lavender @scottwlavender / Ceremony Entertainment: Q Strings @qstringsmusic / Reception Entertainment: Oberon Lane @oberonlane / Styling & Hire: Simply Seated @simply.seated / Flora: Anna May Henry @annamayhenry / Catering + Beverages: Milton Park @miltonparkcountryhouse Cake: Cooked by Julia @cookedbyjulia / Stationery: @sammy_pauly / Bride’s Gown Audrey Dress by Alex Perry from Hope x Page @alexperryofficial @hopexpage / Groom’s Suit MJ Bale @mjbale / Rings: Private Jeweller / Bride’s Shoes Alias Mae @aliasmae / Groom’s Shoes Windsor Smith @windsorsmith / Diamond Necklace and Soldered Bracelet: Sarah and Sebastian @sarahandsebastian / Earrings:Kate and Kole @kateandkole / Makeup: Serena Wyllie Makeup @serenawylliemakeup Hair: @suzanne_henderson / Bride’s Fragrance: Byredo Gypsy Water @officialbyredo / Groom’s Fragrance: Maison Margiela Replica Jazz Club @maisonmargiela / Bridesmaids Attire: AJE @_aje_ / Groomsmen’s Attire MJ Bale @mjbale