Princess Classic Cars

Instead of standard limousines, why not choose wedding cars with definite personality? Nothing says elegance and class quite like vintage wedding cars. Newcastle wedding car hire firms can help you out with cars that make for a stylish entrance, with all the glamour of a bygone era. Here are a few reasons why vintage cars can make your day extra special.

Be treated like royalty

You won’t go unnoticed on the way to your wedding when you’re in a vintage car. You may find that other drivers display great goodwill, and that smiles and waves accompany you from home to the ceremony, just as if you were royalty on an Australian tour!

Surprise your partner

If you’re planning on separate venues for the ceremony and the reception, why not keep the car a secret as an extra special treat for your fiancé? Many men enjoy the opportunity to ride in a vintage car, so just think how his eyes might light up as he emerges from the ceremony to be saluted by a smartly-uniformed chauffeur and unexpectedly ushered into a gleaming vintage vehicle.

History and personality

There’s no doubt that hiring vintage wedding cars can add a considerable dash of personality to your Newcastle wedding. A vintage car is highly likely to have been lovingly restored and maintained by enthusiasts. Typically, owner-restorers enjoy making sure that every last detail about the car is authentic and working perfectly, from immaculate interiors to burnished paint and body work. Not only does this minimise the chances of breakdown, but vintage cars have often accumulated a rich history which turns each vehicle into an individual personality.

Service

High quality service is all part of the experience of vintage wedding cars. Newcastle car hire firms that specialise in these vehicles usually offer a range of inclusions. You can often expect to be escorted by a sharply dressed chauffeur, who takes great care to make you feel like a princess. This can include helping you in and out of the car, making sure to avoid puddles, and being prepared with an enormous umbrella should rain be a possibility. While you are the star of the arrival, your chauffeur may well look after everyone else in the bridal party too, making sure everyone gets inside the venue without mishaps.

Star quality

Vintage wedding cars are highly photogenic. Be sure to let your photographer know about the car in advance, so that they can take full advantage of the opportunity to create some extra special photographs featuring the vehicle.

Photo opportunities don’t have to be limited to arrival and departure from the ceremony, either. As long as you organise it in advance when you make the booking, many providers may be willing to build in a pause on the journey between ceremony and reception, at a suitably scenic spot.

Colour schemes

While wedding cars are generally white or black, you may find that wedding ribbons can be organised to match your colour scheme. This is a simple way to add another small touch of individuality to your wedding.

Try before you buy

It’s always a good idea to visit vintage wedding car providers before confirming a booking. You’ll want to make sure the car is what you envisioned. It’s also a good idea to get in and out a few times – taking into account the style and fit of your wedding dress. You won’t want to risk damage by having to manoeuvre awkwardly as you get in and out of the car.

Ready to take the wheel?

Now you’ve decided to arrive at your wedding in classic style, let Hunter Bride slip into the driving seat! Our listings offer you a direct route to finding vintage wedding cars for Newcastle weddings.

The Wedding Designer

At Hunter Bride, we know that most women lead busy lives – juggling work, social, and family commitments. If this is you, and you’ve just added complex wedding arrangements to the mix, we understand you may be feeling just a touch overwhelmed.

You may be able to sustain the extra demands on your time and energy over the months to come, but let’s just press pause for a moment.

Naturally, all the planning and preparation is focused on one special day, but, and it’s a big but, wouldn’t you prefer to enjoy the process of getting there? Instead of trying to hold the thousand threads of a wedding, while juggling the rest of your life, wouldn’t it be nice to let someone else take care of the details, once you’ve made the major decisions?

Even if career and family aren’t already making demands on your time and energy, planning a wedding is a huge undertaking. That’s why we’d suggest you seriously consider hiring a local Hunter Valley wedding planner to take the strain.

Cost versus benefit

You might wonder whether you can justify hiring a professional wedding planner, but it can be an excellent investment. You will typically be saving a great deal in terms of your time, energy and stress levels. You may also find that a professional wedding planner is able to get discounts you wouldn’t be offered. We think those are both great reasons to investigate a little further.

What does a wedding planner do?

Essentially you can get as much or as little help as you need. You can hand over the entire event, or just certain elements of the planning, such as organising the reception. Let’s face it, detailed planning is not everyone’s cup of tea. So why turn yourself into a frazzled, stressed bride-to-be when a wedding planner could be the secret to serenity?

Rest assured that you’ll still make all the decisions, it’s just that a Hunter Valley wedding planner can take care of all the details involved in turning those decisions into a fabulous wedding.

What’s involved in detailed wedding planning?

It’s a professional wedding planner’s job to have a little black book brimming with a tried and trusted network of suppliers and contacts that can be tapped on your behalf.

Your wedding planner knows who to contact, when things need to be booked and how much they are likely to cost. You’ll see quotes and make the final decisions, but you won’t have to worry about getting it all done or the logistics of who needs to be where at what point during the day.

Enjoy restful nights

From sourcing and sending out invitations to organising a personal trainer for you, a wedding planner can be worth their weight in gold. Typically you’ll also have the benefit of their considerable experience of what works well, and what doesn’t.

A wedding planner can also take on the responsibility of constantly checking with suppliers to make sure nothing has been forgotten and alerting them to any changes in your plans. This means you’re spared the 1am wakefulness that goes with wondering whether anything has been forgotten!

Ready to relax?

Have we convinced you that handing your wedding arrangements over to a professional co-ordinator just makes sense? If you’re ready to let a Hunter Valley wedding planner take charge of your wedding arrangements, click on through to our directory of wedding planners, and you’ll soon be in very safe hands.

Jade McIntosh Flowers

It is perfectly possible to create a stylish wedding without a massive floral display. Sometimes one or two beautiful set pieces in the wedding and reception venues are enough to deliver a striking effect. However, it is always worth reserving a good slice of your wedding budget for your flowers, because nothing personalises the ceremony and reception as much as quantities of fabulous, fresh, floral decorations.

When it comes to creating stunning wedding flowers, Newcastle NSW florists are typically delighted to showcase their creative flair. Many have a detailed photographic portfolio covering all kinds of displays. Leafing through a portfolio can be a great place to start gathering ideas for your own wedding flowers.

Summer or winter

When dreaming about your wedding flowers, remember that some varieties might not be readily available all year round. Florists might still be able to get hold of a particular variety out of season, but blooms that have been nurtured in a hot-house are likely to cost a great deal more.

Classic spring or summer wedding arrangements feature roses with soft ferns, while classic winter or autumn floral decorations might include interesting berries and foliage. Of course, you can always go for tropical exotics no matter the season!

Harmony or contrast

Another element to consider in picking your wedding flowers is whether you want to use the signature colours in your bouquet for all your arrangements, or whether you prefer flowers that emphasise the pure luxurious white or cream of your dress, or bright flowers that contrast it.

Wedding flower arrangements designed to harmonise with a white or creamy dress might feature predominantly white or pastel flowers, such as delicate pink roses, or daisies, perhaps with a snap of bright colour.

On the other hand, you might like to create a bolder, hotter note with wedding flowers that provide a total contrast with your dress. In that case, consider something unusual and stylish, such as a splash of bright red, heart-shaped anthuriums (also known as painter’s palette).

Personal symbols and meaning

You can add individuality to your floral decorations by including flowers with meaning. The language and meaning of flowers has a long and distinguished history, which reached its peak in Victorian times. Though slightly out of fashion now, it’s still lovely to pick flowers that symbolise aspects of love. It can also become a talking point among guests. Many people know that a rose symbolises love, but few are likely to recognise that including baby’s breath in your wedding flowers signals a pure heart.

Charms for wedding bouquets are also readily available, and include good luck symbols such as miniature horseshoes. You can also ask the florist to include a special charm of your own.

Ready to get going?

Happily, you don’t need to personally visit every single outlet in the area in the hope of discovering a talented florist for your wedding.

We put together the Hunter Bride directory listings precisely to help you avoid these kinds of wedding stresses. Our directory showcases a number of florists who specialise in creating wedding flowers in Newcastle NSW. Searching online from the comfort of your own sofa makes it easy and relaxing work to bookmark favourite florists, and get organised.

Margan Restaurant & Winery

Any wedding is a special celebration, no matter how large or small the event. Some couples want to go all out, others prefer to mark this special day in an atmosphere of intimacy. If this is your aim, Hunter Bride is here to help.

Setting a budget

Did you know that in many cases, the wedding reception eats up about half the overall wedding budget? Even though you are planning an intimate wedding, it’s still vital to know your overall budget before you start investigating venues and catering.

Guest numbers

How many people will be invited? Although ‘intimate’ means different things to different people, a guest list of more than 50 people is likely to require a larger, and more expensive venue.

Intimate venues

When you have an idea of your budget and guest numbers, it’s time to think about possible venues. While there are many wedding locations in the Hunter Valley, intimate weddings can typically take advantage of the most charming. Whether you want an indoor or outdoor wedding, or a venue that combines both, when it comes to Hunter Valley weddings, we’ve done the hard work for you. From vineyards to gazebos to fairy tale garden settings, the Hunter Bride directory is full of wonderful ideas.

Ceremony and reception

If you are having a civil ceremony, it’s often possible to get married in the same place that you are holding your reception. This can be easier for everyone, as guests only have to find a single venue. A religious ceremony generally means travel between two venues, and if this is your intention, it’s a good idea to look for a reception venue within about 15 minutes drive, so neither you nor your guests have to travel too far.

Convenience

Are any of your guests likely to bring children? While many venues are happy for children to be present, some are better equipped to keep youngsters amused than others. Also bear in mind that if there are to be guests with limited mobility, you’ll need to make sure they can access the venue easily. While neither of these factors are major issues, thinking about them beforehand avoids unexpected problems on the day.

Exclusive use

If you are having a small wedding, it’s often possible to find a venue for your exclusive use, and this goes a long way towards creating that special atmosphere of intimacy. However, the ability to book a whole venue can depend on how long you want it for, or you might be charged extra.

For instance, getting married in the morning tends to suggest a lunchtime reception, and perhaps an early to mid-afternoon departure.

This might not enable a venue to accommodate another event that evening, in which case, you might be charged extra to cover the potential loss of revenue.

An afternoon wedding is often followed by an early evening reception with dancing into the night, and some venues are more amenable to an exclusive use booking when celebrations are likely to occupy most of the day.

Your short list

When you’ve reached a short list of venues you’d like to visit, make appointments to be shown round by knowledgeable staff members, who can answer your questions.

Handy tip – to get a good feel for a venue’s atmosphere, ask if you can visit when it is set up for a reception.

Let’s get started!

Now that you have an idea of what you’ll need to consider, it’s time to start investigating our directory listings for the Hunter Valley. Intimate weddings are a great way to bring family and friends close, and create a very special occasion where no one gets lost in the crowd. Happy planning!

The CakeChef

Choosing your wedding cake can be one of the most fun parts of planning your wedding. After all, it’s not every day you get to commission a specialist baker to come up with a magical showstopping creation just for you!

Thanks to modern baking techniques, it’s now possible to order almost any shape and style of cake you desire. That being said, the traditional tiered fruitcake with white icing is still popular.

But whatever your dream cake, you are likely to see portfolios full of beautiful creations to choose from when you visit suppliers of wedding cakes. Newcastle is home to some fabulous wedding bakers. To save you time, we’ve listed specialist bakers of wedding cakes in Newcastle in our Hunter Bride directory.

Gathering ideas

Before you narrow down a shortlist of bakers, get inspired by gathering together pictures of cakes that appeal to you. In discussing ideas for wedding cakes, Newcastle specialist bakers usually find it helpful if you come armed with something you like to show them. They can also offer suggestions, and make recommendations depending on the style of wedding, and also the time of year. Creamy filling in a cake at a summer wedding being held outside is probably not a good idea!

Personalising your cake

Have you thought about a gorgeous wedding cake that includes highly personal references? What about a marzipan dog sitting by the bride and groom figures to represent a beloved pet? If both of you have a keen interest in common, you might create a quirky reference to it in the decoration. If you like scuba diving or dancing, for example, think tiny shoes or diving fins rather than traditional roses.

Is tradition important?

This is really up to each couple. If tradition is important to you, you might ask a designer to copy the look of the cake your parents or grandparents had at their wedding. Or, you might want a cake that reflects your cultural background, such as a French croquembouche tower, or a Danish cornucopia cake.

Some couples like to keep a tier of the wedding cake for the first anniversary. Let your cake designer know if you want to do this, as you’ll need a fruitcake. (Just remember to store it according to the baker’s instructions, so you have the best chance of having something edible one year on!)

Tiers and cupcakes

A wedding cake doesn’t have to be round, nor does it have to be tiered. A tower of individual cupcakes is a modern alternative, which allows for a number of different combinations in the flavour and presentation. This can be particularly helpful if you like several different cake samples, and you’re finding it hard to make up your mind!

Savour the flavour

Remember that the really fun part of finding your perfect wedding cake is the sampling! Make sure you taste examples from prospective bakers before you commit to an order. It’s also a good idea to discuss the full reception menu with your cake designer, to avoid clashing or competing tastes.

Is it time to taste?

If we’ve whetted your appetite to start looking for bakers, click through to our listings for spectacular wedding cakes in Newcastle. The good news is that you are heading for some fabulous taste sensations. The bad news is you might need to fit in an extra trip to the gym after all that sampling!

Michelle-Leigh Photography

One trick to waking up calm and collected on the morning of your wedding day is to start planning and organising the moment the fabulous engagement ring is on your finger! However, unless you are a professional event planner, organising a wedding can seem like a daunting prospect.

If you’re planning on taking advantage of some gorgeous scenery, and getting married at Lake Macquarie, you can relax, because we’ve already done a lot of the work for you. At Hunter Bride, we’ve gathered the cream of the wedding supplier crop into one place in our directory listings for Lake Macquarie weddings, so you can easily browse for suppliers of everything from flowers to wedding cars.

And because it can be tricky to know what to organise when in the lead up to your big day, we’ve put together this easy outline for Lake Macquarie weddings, to help you get started. You can use this framework to organise a simple celebration, or as a foundation for a full-scale production.

On your marks…

The first decision to make is how much you are willing to spend on your wedding. Setting a budget may not be romantic, but you’ll find it incredibly helpful later on, and there are a number of free planners that can give you a starting point. At this stage, you don’t need to fix what you’ll spend on individual items, just agree an overall figure. That gives you something to work with when you look at big-ticket items, such as the venue.

Style and size of the celebration

Typically, the next decision is about the style and size of your wedding. Are you up for a big party, or would you prefer a smaller, more intimate occasion? Should it be indoors, outdoors, or a combination of both to take advantage of the beautiful Lake Macquarie scenery? It’s your day, so choose a setting you’ll be comfortable in. Keep your ideas fluid until you’ve had a chance to look at a few venues, because you may find your wishes change once you see what’s available. Venue availability may also dictate the actual date of your wedding.

When the venue and date are settled, it’s time to choose your bridesmaids/best man and start the guest list. You’ll also need to identify a celebrant, and you can start looking at the portfolios of photographers, caterers and florists.

Eight months to go

Around now is a good time to confirm and book your photographer and caterer (unless your venue is taking care of catering), as these specialists often get booked up well in advance.

How will you entertain guests on the day? Music is typically part of a wedding celebration. You may also like to consider doing something unusual, such as hiring a magician to surprise your guests. Popular artists get booked up early, so now is a good time to get this organised.

Six months out

Now you’re nearly on the final stretch. Typically, you’ll be clear about the wedding colour scheme by this stage, so it’s time to make a final choice of florist, and order invitations.

Most importantly, it’s time to find that special dress, shoes and headwear for yourself, and for your bridesmaids. Trying to get bridesmaids to agree on what they are going to wear is sometimes easier said than done, which is why it’s a good idea to start early!

Four months to go

This is a good time to order your cake, if a specialist is providing it.

This is also the ideal period to choose and order your rings, allowing time for any alterations and engraving.

Organise transport for yourself and the bridal party, and don’t forget to make sure key people have the means of getting from the ceremony to the reception if they are not being held in the same venue.

Get set

About two months before your wedding day, touch base with suppliers to check everything is in hand, and send out your invitations.

Go!

Time to have a fabulous day after all the planning and effort! While there’s really no such thing as a typical wedding, we hope this outline helps you decide where to start, and gives you an idea of the timeline and the preparation that is needed for a wedding day to go off without a hitch.

Tillee Music

“If music be the food of love, play on!” wrote Shakespeare, and rightly so, for what is a celebration without music of some kind? Your wedding is an opportunity to blend good food with extra special musical entertainment, so indulge yourself on your special day.

Where and when?

Traditionally, music is often played before and during the actual ceremony, while guests are waiting for your photo session to be completed, and during the reception. However, it is entirely up to you. You can organise music to be played throughout the day’s events, or keep it for after-meal entertainment. Typically couples’ choices are strongly influenced by the style or theme of the wedding, and of course the budget.

Have you thought about where music will be played by your wedding band? Hunter Valley weddings can combine indoor and outdoor elements, so you may need to check that your preferred musicians are prepared to play outside. It also pays to consider the acoustics of an outdoor venue, because it would be a shame to organise wonderful music that no one can hear properly!

Music before and during the ceremony

When you are getting married in a church, music is often taken care of by an organist and choir, and all you need to do is select the hymns and entrance/departure music. If you prefer not to have an organist play, some churches may be willing to let you hire a string quartet, a trio, or a classical soloist instead.

If you have chosen another marriage venue, wider musical choices will probably be possible. While guests wait for the bridal party, they can be entertained by a cellist and violin combination, or perhaps the airy sounds of a harp will set the appropriate mood.

Music helps bridge any gaps

Immediately after the ceremony, time is generally devoted to your photographer. Your guests may have to travel to the reception venue, and wait up to 40 minutes before you join them. While canapés and drinks help to bridge the gap, there’s nothing like some background music to help your guests relax.

There are a number of choices, including classical musicians, or why not hire a folk band for a contemporary Australian sound?

Get your guests grooving!

Many couples hire a professional DJ to take charge of after-dinner dancing. All you need to do is make sure your personal favourite songs are included in the play list, along with a good mix of funky dance music, and some more romantic, chill out numbers.

A popular alternative is to hire a great local band for live music, and possibly even a personalised song! Live bands tend to have an individual repertoire, as well as being able to play a wide range of popular dance music and songs.

Music for themed weddings

If you’re planning a themed wedding, perhaps Caribbean style, or 50’s glamour, you’ll want music to match, from reggae to jazz. This doesn’t necessarily mean finding a specialist wedding band; Hunter Valley musicians who play regularly at weddings can typically accommodate a great variety of musical requests.

Where to begin the search

So much to do, so little time! Even when your wedding day is some months away, it’s never too early to book musical entertainment. The more popular ensembles can sometimes be fully booked up to a year in advance, so this part of wedding planning needs to be organised early on. Fortunately, Hunter Bride is here to help you find the perfect wedding band. The Hunter Valley is home to a number of singers and musicians, so take a look at our listings to find out more.

Bridesmaid Dresses Everyone Will Love

As a bride-to-be, choosing dresses for your bridesmaids is probably one of the hardest things about planning your wedding. Whether you are planning for one bridesmaid or ten, these women provide a very special supporting presence on your day of days, and you want them to feel comfortable and happy. It might take a bit of work, but finding bridesmaid dresses that everyone loves is possible. Read on for some handy tips.

A delicate task

Bridesmaids are generally chosen from among your close friends and relatives. Only after the bridesmaids have delightedly said: “Yes!” does the spectre of very different sizes, shapes, skin tones, likes and dislikes appear on the horizon. That’s when many brides start to realise that finding bridesmaid dresses is not as simple as deciding on a dress that you like, and multiplying it across your wedding party!

Colour harmony

It’s generally a good idea to choose the colour of the bridesmaid dresses before you start thinking about styles. Take into account the colouring of your bridesmaids, the colours in your floral arrangements and other decorations, and the colour of your wedding gown.

If, happily, all your bridesmaids have the same complexions, you can choose something that is flattering to each of them, and that appeals to you as well. Pastels generally suit the fair skinned, while deeper, richer shades usually look lovely on those with darker complexions.

It’s probably much more likely though that your bridesmaids will each be different, and, in this case, there’s no rule saying that they have to all wear the same colour.

For example, you might choose two or more harmonising shades that pick up colours in your bouquet. Or, you might go for a graduated shading effect in the same colour.

If you choose graduating shades, the first bridesmaids to head down the aisle can wear darker shades of the same colour, with progressively lighter shades being worn until it is your turn. This caters for a variety of skin tones, and has the pretty effect of funnelling all eyes towards your white dress as you walk down the aisle. Your bridal gown is, after all, the star of the show.

Step out in style

With the colour sorted, it’s time to tackle likely variations in the height and size of your bridesmaids.

Your initial thought might be to have matching dresses, and that works well when your bridesmaids are similar in body shape and not too dissimilar in height.

However, that’s not always the case, so here are a few style hints:

• A-line dresses are shaped like a capital ‘A’ and look good on most body shapes.
• Empire-line dresses have high waists above a straight fall of full-length skirt, and generally suit tall women best.
• Fitted dresses that outline every curve do not flatter those who are carrying a bit extra, or the extremely slim.
• V necklines are a great look on many shapes. They can help to minimise larger busts, and elongate shorter necks.

When a single style just won’t work

One solution for photographic (and actual!) harmony is to have the dresses made in a single colour, but use a variety of styles. You might simply specify that dresses have to be a certain length, or have sleeves, and leave the rest up to individual choice. That way each woman gets to wear a dress that really suits her.

Ready to go shopping?

What did we do before the internet? It saves so much time and energy in repetitive phone calls, and does away with the need to trail round every single dress outlet in the area in the hope of finding the perfect bridesmaid dresses.

Instead, when you are ready to shop, let Hunter Bride take the strain. Our directory showcases shops, and dressmakers who specialise in creating bridesmaid dresses. You’ll soon find that one more item has been successfully checked off your wedding planning list!

Jade McIntosh Wedding Flowers

Choosing your wedding flowers is a wonderful part of the wedding arrangements. Who doesn’t love looking at – and smelling – gorgeous flowers? Perhaps you have a firm idea of what you want, or maybe you just have a general colour theme in mind, and you’re in need of inspiration on style. Wherever you’re up to when it comes to deciding on wedding bouquets, Newcastle NSW florists can help you make the final decision. Here are five quick tips to get you thinking about the possibilities, before you head off to find a florist.

Think about your favourites

A good place to start is to make a list of flowers you love. Images are worth a thousand words. Cut out, or print, pictures of flower arrangements you admire.

Consider a colour theme

While a colour theme is by no means mandatory, it’s the perfect way to create a cohesive ‘look’ for your special day. Unless you already have a firm opinion on the colour theme, most follow fashion. Look at the colours of your bridal party for inspiration. Your theme might be the hue of a bridesmaid’s dress, or an accent such as a sash or tie. A colour theme might be comprised of two or even three colours.

While white, pink and red roses are firm favourites when it comes to wedding flowers, florists are able to create bouquets in a wide range of colours and varietals. How about vibrant orange or purple, for example? You might opt for a traditional favourite, or something more exotic.

Look to what’s in season

While it may be possible to create any type of wedding bouquets, Newcastle NSW florists are going to find it easier to work with what’s in season. These flowers will be more easily accessible, may last longer and in general, will be a better price.

Think about styling

A traditional wedding bouquet often has flowers framed with leaves; however there really is a whole world of flower designs available. You might opt for a traditional small circular bouquet, or flowing waterfall style. One popular look in recent times is to have longer stems tied with a single ribbon, or even string for a natural country look. It’s really up to you.

Look for inspiration

There’s a lot to consider when it comes to wedding bouquets. A good florist will certainly be able to assist with your plans, and offer advice on the best flowers for your needs.

You might take a look at the Hunter Bride listings for florists in Newcastle, and browse wedding magazines to look at bouquets and see if there’s anything that catches your eye. This is also a good idea if you’re not too clear on flower names, and will help you learn just what’s what when it comes to wedding flowers.

And after the flowers

So you’ve found the perfect florist and finalised the flowers. You no doubt have a few more things to organise before the big day. The Hunter Bride listings cover all sorts of wedding categories, and will help you find every service and provider you need to find the dress, ceremony location, reception venue and more. If you’re not a local, you might also take a look at the Visit Newcastle website for practical information on the town and surrounding areas.

Hunter Valley Vineyard Weddings

Nothing says romance quite like a wedding among the vines. Situated just a couple of hours drive north of Sydney, the Hunter Valley is a gorgeous area renowned for its wonderful wineries, and quality local produce. Many of the region’s vineyards are nestled in the foothills of the Brokenback range, ensuring stunning cellar door views that stretch over acres of vines to the mountains beyond. A Hunter Valley vineyard wedding promises an event to cherish in one of Australia’s most beautiful rural retreats.

The Region

The Hunter Valley is recognised as one of Australia’s premier wine regions, and boasts many of our oldest and most renowned wine labels. There are more than 120 cellar doors, offering a range of wines from crisp whites to robust reds. However, the area is probably best known for its Semillon and Semillon blends, which are revered both nationally and internationally. Some of the area’s best-known wineries include Tyrell’s Wines, Tower Estate, McWilliams Mount Pleasant, Brokenwood, Wyndham Estate, McGuigan and Tulloch. There are dozens of other boutique vineyards as well, offering interesting and adventurous wines that are well worth a taste test.

Great wine, paired with great food

While the Hunter Valley is known for its wine, it also has a reputation as a bit of a foodie’s paradise. There are several award-winning restaurant options in the region, with delectable menus featuring the very finest of fresh local produce. Several of these restaurants offer private dining options, and are well versed in wedding feasts. Think matched fine food and wine, and a reception guests will remember for a long time to come!

Wedding options

If you’re considering a Hunter Valley vineyard wedding, you have a few options. There are some beautiful historic chapels in the area if you are looking to marry in your faith, or you might look to hold your ceremony in a vineyard itself. There are a number of vineyards with cellar doors and restaurants, which can provide the perfect backdrop for your ceremony, or you might look to hire a marquee, and enjoy a stunning wedding among the vines. It’s perfectly feasible to hold both ceremony and reception in one location. Or, you might like to travel from a church, to a vineyard reception.

Accommodation aplenty

With an abundance of accommodation in the region, from budget to luxurious, it’s also easy to organise wedding accommodation for your bridal party, family and other guests.

Have you fallen in love with the idea of a Hunter Valley wedding? Then how about a wine country honeymoon? Combine wine tasting and intimate dinners, with culinary tours, balloon flights, trips to historic villages and horse riding. You can visit first-class spas, and pack up freshly baked bread with cheese, olives and other tasty bites, and cycle off to a perfect picnic for two.

Discovering Hunter Valley vineyards

If you’re looking to have a Hunter Valley vineyard wedding, be sure to browse the Hunter Bride listings for accommodation, reception venues, marquee hire, and transport options in the region. Then, why not make a weekend of it, and narrow down your search with some first-hand research. You can decide on your wedding and reception venues, and have a break away with a little romance and relaxation tossed in as well. Visit www.winecountry.com.au for maps, and other useful information on the Hunter Valley.