Plan an Unforgettable Wollombi Wedding

Wollombi is a small, historic village regarded by many as the gateway to the picturesque Hunter Valley wine region. Only a two-hour drive north of Sydney, the village is steeped in colonial and Aboriginal history, and is surrounded by the Yengo and Watagans National Parks. Whether you’re planning a church wedding, a garden wedding, or a ceremony in a vineyard, the peaceful area offers many locations for couples looking for a memorable Wollombi wedding setting.

Church weddings

St. John’s Anglican Church was designed by famous architect Edmund Thomas Blacket and was built around 1849. This historic church features intricately-crafted stained glass windows behind the altar and on either side of the nave. Antique brass lamps hang above the aisle, casting a gentle glow over the original cedar pews. The church is equipped with a 150-year-old pipe organ that is used regularly for weddings and Sunday worship.

The Church of Saint Michael is a small sandstone church built around 1840, which has been restored to showcase its original beauty. St Michael’s seats 80 guests, making it the ideal church for smaller weddings and intimate gatherings. This church has a traditional organ, and a sound system for more contemporary musical choices. St Michael’s welcomes all denominations and civil marriage ceremonies.

Civil ceremonies

If getting married in a church isn’t your style, you’re spoilt for fabulous location choices in and around Wollombi. Romantic vineyards, lush gardens, tranquil waterways, stunning bush backdrops and even the down-to-earth hospitality of a genuine country farm are just a few of the unique wedding settings the area has to offer. Many of the locations have reception venues close by, and with transportation around the valley easily found, getting your bridal party and guests to your reception won’t be a problem.

Local attractions

If the majority of your guests are city dwellers, your wedding celebration may be the perfect opportunity for them to extend their stay in the country and indulge in a little rest and relaxation.

It’s very easy to fill many contented hours while exploring the rich history of Wollombi. Well-preserved Aboriginal engravings and tribal markings can be viewed in caves and outcrops in the surrounding countryside. If your interest lies in historic architecture, the Wollombi Village Historical Walk will take you past many historically significant buildings, including the Endeavour Museum.

For the creative minded, the Cultural Centre in the heart of the village has regular art exhibitions, and an annual art show can be viewed at the Laguna School each September.

For nature lovers, the area has something for everyone. The National Parks offer a range of bush walks with varying degrees of difficulty and distance. Or simply enjoy watching the many species of birds and animals that are especially active in the area at dusk and dawn.

Of course, no trip to the region would be complete without exploring the Wollombi Valley Wine Trail. The majority of the vineyards are small, family owned operations; some have been producing wine since the 1850s. Often the grapes are hand picked and hand processed to produce the fine wines the valley is famous for.

With celebrants, caterers, photographers, florists and musicians available locally, and plenty of elegant guesthouses and quaint bed and breakfasts for your guests to enjoy, planning your Wollombi wedding will be a pleasure. You may even decide to stay for your honeymoon!

Tres Inviting

The wedding invitations may not be the very first entry on your bridal to-do list, but they are one of the most important things to get right. Your wedding invitations set the tone for your special day, and give your family and friends the first hint of the celebrations to come.

If you’re looking for personalised wedding stationery with flair, Très Inviting can help with everything from save the date cards, to invitations and place cards. You can choose a template, which you can then customise (at no extra cost) with your choice of colour, font, and font size. Or, if you have a specific idea in mind, Très Inviting can work with you on a fully customised design.

Know your wedding theme

Before you select your wedding invitations, it’s important to have a clear idea of the style and theme of your wedding, and the sort of atmosphere you want to create. Your invitations should then mirror that vibe. Although the team at Très Inviting leans towards contemporary design with clean and simple lines, they love a challenge and can produce unique invitations in a variety of mediums, including wood. If you have a special request, just ask. You may be surprised with what they come up with!

Know your colours

Have you chosen a colour theme for your wedding? Your colours can be incorporated into your wedding invitations and other wedding stationery for a polished, cohesive look. By purchasing your invitations from professional designers like Très Inviting, you’ll have a much wider range of colours and fonts to choose from, but remember some curly fonts, especially in metallic colours, can be difficult to read on coloured backgrounds. The basic rule is to avoid light ink on light backgrounds, and dark ink on dark backgrounds. Of course, your invitation specialists will be able to advise you on colour, font and readability.

Have fun with shapes and sizes

Traditionally, wedding invitations are 4.5 inches by 6.25 inches, but modern brides are happily swapping potentially lacklustre traditional invitations for a more playful approach. Whether your ideal invitation is a different shape, or has a 3D appearance, professional designers have the experience to help transfer your dream to paper and print. However, keep in mind the postage costs may be more for bulky or extra large invitations.

Choose your words wisely

Traditionally, weddings were hosted by the bride’s parents, but this isn’t always the case with modern weddings, so it’s important to be clear on the invitation who is hosting the wedding.

While you can put a modern spin on how you word your invitations, it’s a smart idea to take a look at traditional wording and think about possibly blending both.

Double check the final proof

Although the experts at Très Inviting will send you a total of three proofs to ensure your invitations are word perfect, don’t rely on checking them yourself. It’s very easy to overlook a mistake or a misspelled word when you already know what the invitation should say. Get a friend to check the final proof. If there’s not a grammar-savvy person to be found, steal a tip from copy editors and read the proof from right to left. It sounds weird, but you’re less likely to skim over an incorrectly spelled word that way.

Other wedding day essentials

The invitation wizards at Très Inviting don’t stop at providing personality-filled wedding invitations, they also have loads more essential wedding stationery, including order of service booklets, place cards, menus and wedding thank you cards. They can even help with the appropriate wording for each design, with a variety of pre-worded templates.

All this and an extremely fast turnaround; you can expect to receive your order no more than two weeks after you have approved the final proof. Was that a sigh of relief we heard?

Icon Makeup Emporium

You’ve spent months searching for your dream wedding gown and all the romantic accessories that go with it. Now you’re at the pointy end of your budget, and wondering if it’s worth handing over more money and getting a professional makeup artist to do your wedding day makeup and complete your look. The answer is a resounding yes!

There are many benefits to hiring a professional to do your wedding makeup. They are trained and qualified to create a look that enhances your natural beauty, and that will complement your entire wedding day. This is particularly important if your wedding has a specific theme, perhaps Gatsby inspired, for example. And even more importantly, professionally applied makeup will stay in place all day and look fantastic in your wedding photographs. Hiring an expert also eliminates the potential problem of wedding day jitters getting in the way of effectively applying your own makeup. Shaky fingers and liquid eyeliner are never going to be anything other than a disaster in the making!

Once you’ve settled on a makeup artist you feel comfortable with, it’s important to make an appointment for a pre-wedding makeup trial, so when your big day arrives, you’re 100% happy with the way your makeup looks and feels. Here are a few things to keep in mind.

Book a morning appointment

By scheduling your makeup trial in the morning, you’ll be able to see exactly how well your makeup copes with a normal day’s activities. Remember to keep a note of how and why you refresh your makeup during the course of the day, so your makeup artist can add or adjust products accordingly.

Consider having your wedding makeup trial on the morning of your engagement party, or another special event. This allows your friends to critique your look, and photographs from the event will show you how your makeup looks under different lighting conditions.

Natural doesn’t always mean minimum

Like many brides-to-be, you probably want a natural look. But from a makeup artist’s point of view, a look that appears natural both indoors and outdoors, during both day and night, and works well with the style of your hair and gown, requires a lot more than a tiny splash of foundation and a smidgeon of colour.

The reality is a natural makeup look isn’t achieved by the amount of makeup applied, but by the skill of its application. So don’t be too hasty in wiping off what you consider to be too much makeup. Instead, get your makeup artist to explain their choices. It may be that lighter colours will likely wash out in photographs, leaving you looking pale and tired. And that’s definitely not the type of natural look you’re aiming for!

Ask questions

The only time you need to be quiet during a makeup trial is when colour is being applied to your lips, and that leaves a lot of time for talking. So ask as many questions as you need to understand how to keep your wedding makeup looking fresh and fabulous every minute of what could be a very long day.

Along with asking questions, give your makeup artist as much information about your wedding day as possible. Include the setting and the season, whether it’s an indoor or outdoor wedding, supply colour and fabric swatches for the bridal party and overall wedding theme, and images of makeup looks that you admire.

Finally, keep in mind you may need more than one trial with your chosen makeup artist before you’re completely happy with the results, so book your first trial at least three months in advance. This allows plenty of time to experiment with different looks. It’s also a smart idea to have a final makeup try-out within a week or two of your wedding day, when the condition of your skin and the weather temperature are likely to be similar to your big day.

3L Photography

Photography is without doubt one of the most important elements of your wedding day, whether it’s the posed formal photographs of the bridal party or the candid shots of all those lovely spontaneous moments that make weddings so special.

Your wedding photographs form the most tangible reminder of your big day in years to come. Photography is one of the most important things not to skimp on, no matter the size of your budget. Here’s why it’s vital to hire a professional photographer who is skilled and experienced, and someone you are comfortable with.

Snap happy guests

It’s a fact almost everyone has a camera, and many of your family and friends will take candid shots during the celebrations. But very few people know how to swiftly adjust a camera’s settings for just the right amount of light, get the focus precise, take a shot and immortalise a perfect moment – all at the same time!

A professional will photograph you and your groom at your best and make you feel so at ease and comfortable that every candid encounter will be captured without a hint of awkwardness or fuss.

At the end of the day, a professional photographer using professional equipment will produce the highest quality photographs, edited and printed to achieve the best possible result. What more could you ask!

A rare family get-together

Although planning a wedding is all about the details, celebrating a wedding is all about the people. This is something that can be overlooked in the bustle of planning your day, but it is an important factor when it comes to your wedding photography.

An experienced wedding photographer will understand that weddings are sometimes the only occasion where all extended family members are together, and they will be on the spot to capture each and every happy reunion. Looking back on these special images will enhance your sense of family togetherness on a day where love is celebrated.

So now that you appreciate the benefits of hiring a professional wedding photographer, the hard part begins – choosing the right studio for your needs. They key things to look for are communication skills, professionalism and bang for your buck. We think 3L Photography fits the bill nicely.

Communication and flexibility are key

The team at 3L Photography believes that good communication is the key factor in creating wedding photographs that not only capture the events of your wedding as they happen, but also the emotion and atmosphere of the day.

3L Photography specialises in photography for small to medium-sized weddings in and around the Hunter Valley region, and the team is known for a very personal and flexible approach.

Take a peek at the design-it-yourself online tool and you’ll see how easy it is to choose the photographic coverage that best suits your wedding day, and skip the products and services you don’t need. This allows your wedding photography package to be unique and individual, not the cookie-cutter version many other studios offer.

Mix and match to suit every budget

It can be tough fitting the cost of a quality photographer into your wedding budget. That isn’t a problem when you hire 3L Photography. The studio’s DIY packages not only allow you to choose a package tailored to your wedding, they give you the opportunity to tailor to your budget as well.

Regardless of the size of your budget, it’s a good idea when making your selections to focus on the services or products that are going to fit in with your wedding theme and add to the atmosphere you’re hoping to create. Think, “What will work best for my wedding?” rather than “What’s cool and trendy right now”.

Finally, even though having your wedding photos stored digitally is just the way it’s done now, it’s still worth immortalising your day with a traditional wedding album. The digital version is great for sharing, and to keep as back-up in case you need reprints, but there’s always something wonderful about being able to leaf through an album on the sofa with grandma!

Jade McIntosh Flowers

Flowers play a significant role in creating atmosphere on your wedding day. In fact, it’s the most flowers you are ever likely to purchase for a single event in your life. Traditionally, you will need a bouquet for yourself, bouquets for your attendants, boutonnieres for your husband-to-be, groomsmen and fathers, corsages for mothers, and flowers to decorate the ceremony and reception venues. That’s a lot of flowers! The florist you select will be the person responsible for the final look of your wedding flowers, so choosing the right florist, and working well with them, is crucial.

Do you want a florist, or a specialist wedding florist?

Although all florists are experts in flower arrangements for any occasion, there is another option that may be better suited to breathing life into your wedding floral dream. Florists who specialise in providing flowers for weddings have loads of experience in not just supplying flowers for weddings, but making flowers a work of art and tying them in with your overall wedding theme to enhance the look and feel of your big day. A florist who specialises in weddings may cost a little more, but they usually take on fewer clients in order to devote more time to each event.

Browse magazines and photographs

In your mind, you likely have a very precise picture of what you would like your wedding flowers to look like, but it can be a bit tricky relaying that exact vision to a florist. The key to having your dream perfectly realised is collecting pictures of flower arrangements that catch your eye. Browse wedding magazines for flowers you like, then clip the image and place it in a file to show potential florists. When it comes to social media, Pinterest is a particularly fabulous source of wedding flower ideas. The more information you give a florist, the better chance you have of them understanding your dream. You’re looking for a florist you can trust to take control of your ideas, without taking over and making you feel intimidated.

Know your budget

It’s vital you know exactly how much you’re going to spend on your wedding flowers before you make appointments with potential florists. Giving a florist an accurate budget amount allows them to show you what they can realistically accomplish, and avoids embarrassing misunderstandings down the track.

So what’s a reasonable amount to spend on flowers? Wedding experts usually recommend spending eight to 10 percent of your total wedding budget on flowers. For example, a wedding costing $20,000 might have a budget of around $2,000 for flowers.

Remember the extras

The more a florist can take on, the less planning you need to do, so make a list of possible extras and ask potential florists if they can help you out. So, what sort of extras should you ask about? If confetti isn’t allowed at your venue, saying goodbye under a shower of rose petals can be a romantic alternative, and small posies in the reception restrooms add class and a touch of colour. Honoured guests such as grandparents will appreciate lapel flowers or corsages. Also keep in mind some florists can supply candles, ornaments and centrepieces that you can use as decorations.

Contemporary outlook

Ideally, you’re looking for experience combined with up-to-date knowledge of the latest trends and techniques when looking at wedding florists. Florists servicing the Hunter region and specialise in wedding flowers will take your vision and make it happen. They will offer advice and suggestions, but still allow you to make the final decisions, so your wedding flowers are the gorgeous creations you imagined.

Curly Tree Photography

Lake Macquarie is situated on the east coast of NSW, around one and a half hours north of Sydney. The lake is the largest saltwater lake in Australia, and offers 170 kilometres of beautiful shoreline nestled beneath the picturesque Watagan mountain range. Lake, beach, bush or park, Lake Macquarie has the ideal wedding setting for couples searching for a romantic atmosphere combined with spectacular natural scenery.

Lakeside wedding

One of the main things you should take into account when considering a lakeside wedding is how easy the spot will be for your guests to locate. If you’ve chosen one of the area’s pretty parks alongside Lake Macquarie, your guests shouldn’t have any trouble. If you’re set on one of the myriad more private lakeside locations, it might not be clearly signposted. If this is the case ask the local council if you can put up your own signs for the day, and ensure each guest has a detailed map. If many of your guests have flown in from other states, hiring a bus to transport them to the ceremony and back to the reception can prevent any potential confusion.

A lakeside wedding in Lake Macquarie comes with some of the most impressive natural beauty there is as a backdrop, giving your photographer many unique photo opportunities. Imagine exchanging vows while silhouetted against the softly romantic colours of the sun setting over the lake, or the bleached grey planks of an endless jetty highlighting the beauty of your bridal gown.

Beachfront wedding

If you’re looking for a watery wedding, but you prefer beachfront to lakeside, then this region has you spoilt for choice. Although a beach-themed wedding can be casually chic and romantic, it does require some planning, especially when it comes to the weather.

Have plenty of umbrellas on hand as a precaution against the heat or an unexpected shower of rain. Setting up a drinks station under a market umbrella is also a thoughtful gesture, and will ensure the groomsmen and early arrivals stay hydrated – especially in the hot Aussie summer. Keep in mind, it’s not a good idea to keep your guest waiting under a hot sun while you arrive fashionably late. This is one wedding where your guests will appreciate your timely arrival!

Bush wedding

Weddings in Lake Macquarie don’t have to involve water. If you’re a country girl at heart, the Watagan mountain range is ideal for holding an Australian bush-themed wedding. A wedding held in a bush setting is a wonderful excuse to literally relax and wear flowers in your hair, especially native wildflowers.

Your wedding colours can mimic the strong hues of Australian wildflowers or you can go with soft mossy greens, woodsy caramels and deep ochre reds. Think rustic chic and you can’t go wrong.

Take the Australian bush theme a step further by adorning the reception tables with gum leaves and gum nuts, and cook and serve reception food Aussie barbeque style. Choose classic Australian soft rock for your guests to dance away the night, and planning your bush wedding is complete.

Research your choices

Start by checking out our listings for weddings in Lake Macquarie, and remember that (as with all in-demand wedding locations) it’s best to book your ceremony site, reception location and your photographer well in advance. Scouting out potential wedding venues in Lake Macquarie is also the perfect excuse to spend a weekend or two exploring the area, while grabbing some rest and recreation. Remember to take your camera with you to snap photos of venues and locations that catch your eye. That way when you get back home, you have a visual record of your favourite places to remind you and help you make your eventual choice.

Living Light Photography

Your wedding day is without doubt one of the most important events of your life. You celebrate your commitment to each other in front of your closest family and friends, and there are special moments that only happen on your wedding day. Weddings produce emotional moments, solemn moments, funny moments and even downright crazy moments, and they all deserve to be captured and re-lived for many years to come. That’s why hiring a professional photographer to take control of your wedding day photos is a smart idea.

Living Light Photography

Accredited professional photographers Josh and Jules from Living Light Photography are experts in the field, and are dedicated to not only ensuring you end up with beautiful photos, but that your time spent with them on this most important of days is enjoyable and fun.

Josh is a fully accredited member of the Australian Institute of Professional Photography, and between them, Josh and Jules have won numerous photography awards. They are also two of the very few photographers around who do their own fine-art printing in-house, using traditional fibre-based paper. This type of paper is often used by museums due to its ability to produce excellent tones and stay colour strong for many, many years.

But everyone has a camera

So why should you hire a professional photographer when modern technology means nearly all your wedding guests will have a camera, and many will be taking photographs on your big day?

Your wedding day is a once-in-a-lifetime special occasion, and professional photographers like Josh and Jules have the experience to know what makes a good shot, what key moments you will particularly want caught on camera, and they will be concentrating on capturing all the magic as it happens. Your guests on the other hand will be concentrating on having a good time, and enjoying the occasion with you!

It also comes down to the quality of their equipment. Living Light Photography has the right camera equipment, lighting and the essential props to ensure your wedding photographs are beautiful and unique.

Cost considerations

Let’s face reality, weddings are expensive and professional photographers don’t come cheap. Adding a significant cost to your budget by hiring a professional photographer may have you hesitating, but we’re betting very few brides will ever regret finding the money for the service.

Your wedding day is going to go past in a flash, and there will be lots of special moments that you won’t notice happening on the day. Having a photographer on hand to capture all the fun (and probably a few happy tears as well!) means you won’t miss anything and you’ll have a wonderful record of your day to look back on. Not a wobbly angle or a red eye in sight!

Josh and Jules’ prices are competitive, and are based on quality and value. And best of all, you won’t have to worry about missed opportunities, or memory sticks going astray in the excitement.

One of the main benefits of hiring Josh and Jules is knowing that you’re hiring professionals who are passionate about what they do. They will make sure you will be able to show every special moment of your wedding day to your children, and even your grandchildren, as the years pass.

CC-Hunter Entertainment – Mobile DJ & MC Service

If you’re looking for live music at your Hunter Valley wedding reception, why not consider hiring a DJ to entertain your guests? Typically, hiring a DJ is less expensive than a hiring a live band or other live entertainment. They usually have access to numerous music genres, and can cater to a wider variety of tastes. However, it is vital you ask potential Hunter Valley wedding DJs a few specific questions to ensure your final choice is legitimate, professional and trustworthy.

Are they a wedding DJ?

As you begin your research, you’ll find there are different types of DJs available. Some specialise in corporate entertainment, while other specialise in parties. Ideally the DJ you’re after will specialise in weddings, or at the very least have lots of wedding experience. An experienced wedding DJ will know the order of proceedings at a reception and will have the perfect song for each moment. They will also be prepared for any unexpected glitches in the proceedings, and can quickly divert attention ensuring everything goes as smoothly as possible.

Are they registered with ARIA?

In Australia, professional DJs must be registered with the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). If they are correctly licensed, you can be sure the songs they play have been legally obtained and are of the highest quality.

What is the quality of their equipment?

It may seem like a slightly invasive question to ask, but a DJ only sounds as good as their equipment, so the answer is vital. Cheap or outdated equipment can look and sound terrible. The last thing you want is the music to die in the middle of your reception. Typically, a seasoned Hunter Valley wedding DJ will also have replacements on hand to cover equipment failure.

Have they performed at your reception venue before?

Because every venue potentially poses different challenges, it’s crucial your wedding DJ is familiar with the room size, acoustics, placement of power outlets and security at your reception site. There are many wedding reception venues in and around the Hunter Valley region, and even the busiest DJ would not have performed at every site, so ask them to familiarise themselves with your venue before the date.

What happens if they are unable to perform?

Despite careful planning, accidents happen and unavoidable difficulties crop up, so it’s essential your DJ has a backup strategy if they are prevented from working on your wedding day. A professional DJ will be prepared for any circumstance, but you should know what their backup plan is and be comfortable with it.

How involved can we be?

The final, but perhaps the most important, consideration is to be sure your DJ is on the same musical page as you. Do they have a printed song list you can look at? Will they accept a playlist from you, and can it be altered? Can you submit a ‘do not play’ list? Are they willing to take special request for guests? An experienced wedding DJ should be able to take these types of questions and requests in their stride and easily accommodate them, but the questions do need to be asked well before the big day arrives.

So when you’re looking for the right Hunter Valley wedding DJ to perform at your wedding reception, do some research, meet with them, check off all your questions and make sure you are satisfied with the answers before you book them. The last thing you want on your wedding day is a glitch with the music!

The Hunter Celebrant

Receiving an average of seven and a half hours of sunshine every day in a climate similar to the Mediterranean, within driving distance of Sydney, and with easy access to beach and lake front locations, parks and bushland, the Hunter Valley offers everything you need to ensure your wedding day is romantic, affordable and fun. So if you’ve decided on this region as the place for your vows, the next step is to find a local marriage celebrant who knows the area, and is willing to work with you to ensure your wedding day is meaningful as well as memorable.

Look no further

The Hunter Celebrant Anthony Burke is the ideal choice. He is a young vibrant professional, who lives in the Hunter Valley and is authorised to provide marriage celebrant services in the Hunter Valley, Newcastle, Port Stephens, Central Coast and surrounding areas. Whether it’s indoors in a restaurant or function centre, or outdoors amongst nature, Anthony is happy to conduct your ceremony to your specifications.

What does The Hunter Celebrant do?

Apart from ensuring all the formalities have been taken care of and your marriage is registered according to Australian law, Anthony has put together an information pack full of helpful wedding-related suggestions and samples, including ceremony, vow and reading samples, poems, rituals and answers to frequently asked questions. The pack is designed to help you add personal elements to your ceremony, so it reflects your personality and wishes. For example, there may be certain cultural or family traditions that you would like incorporated into your wedding day. Talk to Anthony about your ideas and inspirations, and he will work with you to tailor a wedding ceremony that is relaxed, enjoyable and flows smoothly from the initial welcoming address to the final presentation of you and your groom as husband and wife.

Official paperwork

A Notice of Intended Marriage (NOIM) form needs to be signed by you and your groom between 18 months, and one month and one day before your wedding ceremony takes place. This is usually done on your initial visit to Anthony. You will also need to take your original birth certificate along at the first meeting to prove who you are, where you were born and your date of birth. If you have been married before, you will need to bring along a divorce or death certificate. Two people must officially witness your ceremony, and they must be over the age of 18, speak English and be sober. So don’t let your witnesses crack open the champagne until after the ceremony!

Once your ceremony is completed, Anthony will send your marriage certificate and NOIM form to the registrar of births, deaths and marriages to have your marriage legally registered.

You can request an official marriage certificate after five days.

Your wedding day is one of the most important events in your life, and it should be a day of celebration and enjoyment. By hiring The Hunter Celebrant to conduct your ceremony, you will have a day that reflects your wishes and your values, held in one of the Hunter Valley’s many stunning and romantic locations.

Jade McIntosh Flowers

Flowers are an integral part of most wedding days, and can often be one of the really costly items in the budget. Depending on your style of wedding and personal taste, you might have a simple bouquet and one or two main floral arrangements at the wedding venue. Or you might want a reception overflowing with beautiful blooms. But no matter what you choose, there are a few ways to keep your florist costs down.

As one of our Hunter Brides on our Facebook page knows, it can be cheaper to buy flowers for a small number of centrepieces from a local florist on the day, instead of ordering them from the florist who is doing your bouquet and other flowers.

Our bride is getting married at Pokolbin in the Hunter Valley, and was looking for a local florist where she could get two roses for each of her centrepieces. She was flooded with great suggestions after she posted her query on November 8.

We love Jade Macintosh Flowers, which not only supplies flowers to weddings in the Hunter Valley region, including Pokolbin, but also hires out vintage medicine bottles, mason jars, versatile glass cubes and timber boxes of all textures and sizes.

If you are going to leave something like your centrepieces for the day of your wedding, it’s a good idea to check the day before if the florist has enough stock of the flowers and colours you want. This gives you time to come up with an alternative plan if you need to! See if you can reserve the flowers, and delegate someone you trust to pick them up on the day.

As well as picking up a few flowers cheaper on the day, you can keep costs down in general by choosing flowers that are in season. Anything exotic or out of season is going to be more difficult to source, and therefore more expensive.

If you or one of your friends or family members is creative, you also have the option to buy your flowers in bulk and create your own centrepieces. It’s important to have a practice before you go down this path though, to make sure you can come up with something that looks good. If you can bring out your creative side, doing your own centrepieces can not only help save you money, it can also add a lovely personal touch to your reception decorations.

Here are a few ideas for easy centrepieces:

Jars and vases

If you’re having a wedding with a rustic theme, consider wide-mouthed mason jars, stuffed with country-style blooms.

If you’re aiming for a more elegant look, vases with one or two tulips or roses can be decorated with a simple ribbon. You can’t really go wrong!

Birdcages

With the current rage for all things Art Deco and 1920s, why not consider birdcage centrepieces? Smaller birdcages look effortless and classy with a full-blown rose bloom inside, or a single larger birdcage overflowing with flowers will look spectacular. Tuck ivy strands among the bars and you’ll have uncomplicated but eye-catching centrepieces.

Fresh fruit

Why not consider foregoing flowers for your centrepieces? Fruit bowls can be easy, inexpensive and very effective centrepieces. Imagine a translucent, pearly white, long-stemmed bowl filled with perfect lemons surrounded by a wreath of glossy dark green leaves. Bowls of limes or oranges will also give your tables a pop of colour, or go tropical with mangoes.

Whatever flowers you have in mind for your wedding day, there are a few different strategies you can use to help rein in your costs, and still have the eye-catching decorations you want on your special day.