True Romance - An inspired garden styled shoot in Mt Wilson

Many couples are opting for the mini and micro weddings in 2021. With lower guest numbers, these more intimate occasions most often mean the budget can stretch further, giving way to the opportunity for decadent florals and styling.

With this in mind, some of our local Blue Mountains talent ventured to the breathtaking Dennarque Estate to share with us some of their ideas.

Set in the traditional cold-climate gardens of Dennarque Estate, Mt Wilson is a village reminiscent of a distant time, harbouring between Gone with the Wind and The Great Gatsby.

With a beautiful, light filled conservatory onsite seating up to 50 people, it is the perfect location for intimate weddings. For those with a different style in mind, the extensive grounds give way for a number of locations to set up a marquee for a luxe garden party style celebration.

For today’s shoot, Trish Carter from Blue Mountains Floral Designs and Nicole Bull from Penny Lane Studio dreamed up a design which pairs contemporary ideas with a soft, romantic feel.

Award winning photographer Lara Wiseman-Daniel arrived to capture the shoot. With the camera in hand, she was captivated by the vast sprawling gardens and stunning creative design. Lara’s creative style of working with light was supported by the blissful display of colours in the sky as the sun set on the shoot, which she captured to perfection.

“We wanted to create a wedding design of opulent romance and softness” ~ Nicole Bull, Penny Lane Studio

Nicole from Penny Lane Studio arrived in a van full of brand new decor, including an impressive tri-tiered arbor to set the stage for the ceremony shoot. Hand-crafted specifically for the Blue Mountains climate, this beauty offers the versatility of a single, double or triple tier, offering couples flexibility in so many ways.

Her collection of furniture, candles, lanterns, pure linen napkins and beautiful rugs were perfectly curated to set up and style the entire shoot, without the need to hire further afield.

True to her environmentally conscious floristry, Trish from Blue Mountains Floral Designs created a palette of florals which pairs dried, reusable pieces with locally grown, natural coloured blooms. The style is soft and romantic, yet bold and structural, offering a new perspective on the current dried floral trends.

Local artisan jeweller, Ainsley Whelan from Ainsley Fine Jewellery in Leura shared her beautiful inspired necklaces and earrings to style with the incredible Moira Hughes Couture gowns. The result was both romantic, yet classic with two entirely different styles taking traditional to a new level.

Local hair and makeup stylist Danielle Hampton supported our beautiful home-grown model Ela Ray with soft, natural make up and beautiful romantic waves. Later styling Ela with her hair up as night fell on the second half of the shoot. We love how this complemented the period inspired style of the second gown to perfection.

The ever so creative vegan chef, Tenille Evans from Vegan Weddings and Events played her artistic hand to ensure the food visually supported the creative display on the table. Serving up a menu which is true to her style of colourful and hearty, whilst maintaining the ethics of a vegan menu.

As evening fell on the shoot, we reflected back on the talent that designed this breathtaking shoot. Despite facing a turbulent year of fires, floods and COVID, this platter of local talent and Blue Mountains creatives strive to maintain an ethical approach to their work, playing their very own part in ensuring the execution of their work is conscious, ethical and sustainable. The primary focus of ethics is at the forefront of their business practices in lieu of giving way to fast-turnover and unsustainable waste-filled events. The shoot reminded us of how lucky we are to share a playground with such a warm hearted collective of vendors.

STYLE FILE

Venue | Dennarque Estate

Photography | Lara Wiseman-Daniel

Stylist | Nicole Bull, Penny Lane Studio

Florist | Trish Carter, Blue Mountains Floral Designs

Food | Tenille Evans, Vegan Weddings and Events

Gowns | Moira Hughes Couture

Hair + Makeup | Danielle Hampton

Jewellery | Ainsley Fine Jewellery

Models | Ela Ray + Rex