Bold blooms at circa 1876

The Journal

23 Apr

Lauren and Matt celebrated in style at the stunning Circa 1876 - one of our absolute favourite venues in the hunter Valley

The historical cottage, tree-lined driveways and incredible chandeliers give an atmosphere of grandness and elegance which we paired with an abundance of Autumn florals in bold hues to stand out against the lush grounds and dark beams.

Read on to see how these lovers created their dream wedding day…

Tell me a little bit about yourselves and how you become engaged

Matt and I were on the same Fanatics tour with our friends for New Years in 2015 to Hogmanay up in Edinburgh, Scotland. We were both living in London at the time. Matts friends were staying in my hostel room and invited us over the road on New Years Day to play some card games and have some drinks at the Three Sisters pub. I got to the pub and Matt was on a hot streak, blitzing everyone in a game of presidents and assholes. I sat down, joined the game and beat him straight away. Two weeks later, we met up again at a Hogmanay reunion in London and the sparks started flying, and Matt asked me out on our first official date. My visa was running out in 9 months, and Matt had only just arrived in London from Perth a few months earlier with a 5 year visa in hand, so on paper we were in a bit of a pickle. Summer of 2016 came and our Europe summer travels kicked off, and we found ourselves by the river in Porto, drinking sangria and eating tapas. Matt said to me that he wanted to move to Sydney, and he wasn’t letting me go. It was in this moment that I knew this relationship was the real deal, and he was the one for me. We did four months of long distance after I moved home which was tough, but him getting to Sydney was the happiest day and such a special memory for me.

The proposal

We had planned a random weekend up to Byron Bay in August 2019. Matt had organised for us to go up to the lighthouse for “Toast the Sun”. You head up to the lighthouse at about 4am and they set up picnic blankets for you, hot water bottles, coffee and hot chocolate, and you watch the whales as the sun rises. We saw whales breaching heaps close to the cape, it was so incredible! We texted Katie whos the company owner asking to come up and take some photos of us (little did I know this was Matts plan all along). I gave her my camera and we got some classic couple photos, but then Matt kept trying to grab my hands and pull me to face him. I told him to stop being so awkward, what on earth are you doing, this is not normal etc. Finally he pulled me to face him and started saying the most romantic speech he had written and memorised. I clocked on pretty quickly by that point what was going on and I just burst into tears. I said yes so quick Matt forgot to get down on one knee, but that’s okay because we were engaged! We got loads of hugs from Katie, and then she took us down to the cafe which was set up just for the two of us overlooking all of Byron, where we had a 3 course brekky and got to lap it all up.

Circa is such a unique and beautiful venue in Pokolbin. How did you find it and select it over other locations? What were you looking for in a venue?

Lauren: The first venue we looked at was Circa back in September 2019. We fell in love straight away. The tree lined aisle was absolutely stunning, and the reception space felt intimate and full of personality. We loved how the venue was zoned into various spaces, creating a cohesive yet interesting journey for our guests. From the ceremony space to cocktail hour on the verandah, to reception and the dance floor, the venue was stunning no matter where you were. Also, we wanted a venue with accommodation on site so this was perfect for us.

Matt: Circa stood out from the start. From the entrance of Circa, throughout the property leading to the Convent, it was stunning. We’ve always wanted a winery wedding, it was something we had in mind from the beginning. Circa was able to provide both a winery wedding feel but also a luxury restaurant feel - it was the best of both worlds. The staff were professional and warm from the get go, they were very accommodating and it was an easy choice.

What drew you to Film and Foliage and why were flowers important to your day?

I was drawn to Film and Foliage immediately for two main reasons - the first being how progressive and unique Ash’s installations and bouquets were. I was drawn to how natural the arrangements looked, how each flower stem moved in her bouquets, and how all of this detail was so carefully considered. The second reason was how deeply Ash cared about the environment and supporting local. To not use floral foam, and to innovate constantly to have as little environmental impact as possible was quite incredible to me. I also loved how much Ash supported local growers. I felt like were immediately in the best hands, with someone who was so passionate about what they did.

What was your vision for the day and how did you choose your style?

We really wanted our day to feel intimate for our guests and reflect us as much as possible. It was really important to me that we incorporated a lot of beautiful, colourful flowers in various zones at Circa, particularly our ceremony and reception spaces. We also wanted our reception to be full of candles to create ambient lighting. Pinterest definitely helps - you can see what you love and what you don’t love, but then also I think it does hit a point where you have to step back, make some aesthetic choices and step back and let your vendors do what they do best.

Tell me about an unexpected magical moment you experienced on your day:

Lauren: For me, it was getting to walk through our reception space with my dad before walking down the aisle. The sun was shining through the Circa windows, perfectly illuminating all of the stunning florals and installations you had created during the day. I was really nervous and my dad was with me holding my hand, and to be able to catch my breath and take in such a special moment with him in an incredibly beautiful setting was really special.

Matt: I was astounded that we woke up to perfect weather, with kangaroos in the distance and a perfect sunrise. It had been flooding and pouring all week in the lead up to our wedding, so I was pretty gobsmacked at how lucky we were.

Did you incorporate any special traditions or unique elements that represented you both?

Being a graphic designer, I really went all out when it came to our invitations and on the day stationery. I think wherever you can, if you have a skill to bring to the table, don’t shy away from it. To look around and see your personal touches in front of your guests is really special.

I wanted our invitations to be a keepsake. I designed a custom illustration on the front of our invites reflecting our relationship story, with on the day details on the back. To inject colour we got these printed in a rainbow silver holographic foil, and the end result was better than I’d hoped for. Everyone commented on how unique they were, and how they had never seen invitations like that before. I went on to design our on the day stationery, injecting colour wherever possible to match our floral palette. It was one of the funnest design projects I’ve worked on and it has ignited a passion that I can’t wait to continue exploring in the years to come.

The planning process: What was your plan of attack in choosing vendors, budgets, and making decisions?

We were unfortunately a couple who fell victim to two postponements due to Covid and interstate border closures, so I wouldn’t say our process was stress free, but overall we found it fairly smooth when choosing vendors and making decisions. We didn’t go in with a set plan, we started off by locking in our venue and then once we had a date we divided and conquered our vendors. I had actually purchased the wedding planning spreadsheet from WedShed which I would highly recommend. We used this to manage our budget, vendor selections, RSVPs, everything really! Matt and I are both fairly decisive which made the process easier. We received a few quotes from each vendor category to suss out what was a reasonable cost, then once we knew who was available, we locked in our dream team together!

What’s some advice you would give to loved-up couples planning their day?

Definitely take a look at WedSheds planning spreadsheet - it saved us so much time and has been so meticulously crafted! From the very start before planning, talk to your partner about what’s important to you both. It’s really easy to get carried away and swept up in the process so by sitting down and choosing two or three main priorities, it helps keep you both aligned.

Biggest payoff - investing in amazing vendors. Our dream team literally brought our dreams to life, and by investing in such an incredible group of people we had full faith and trust that our day would go smoothly no matter what. We weren’t stressed on the day at all, it was literally the most incredible day of our lives. Also, if you’re umming and ahhing over getting a videographer - do it. The two things you get to keep forever are your photos and video and we are so happy we had our day documented by the best in the business!