Jaimi-Lee and Daniel’s intimate NSW wedding at Summergrove Estate didn’t happen overnight. It was years in the making, with their original plans being hijaked by Covid. Luckily, Ellie from Summergrove Estate had their backs and as Jaimi-Lee explains, “from day one to year three she put up with us, Covid or not. She knew our vision for the day and she did everything in her power to make sure everything went as planned.”

In the end, their 34 person wedding was a dream. “We ate good food, drank unreal margaritas and laughed and cried ‘til the very end. It was magic.”

Captured by WS fave Jason Corroto you can see their entire day below, including a video by Craig Holbrook Wedding Films. Just make sure you have some tissues nearby.

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How long have you been together and how did you meet?

We got married on our seven year anniversary. And we met on a drunken night in his living room! A traditional Saturday evening house party but the night is vague at best to be fair. I do recall him trying to kiss me by the end of the night to which I backed away.

Can you tell us a bit about your proposal?

It was like any other day, a bit rainy and overcast in Sydney. We went for breakfast… and then spent the rest of the day on the couch watching movies. He jumped up before sunset and suggested we go watch the sunset which was not unusual for us to do, though it was very overcast! He drove us to North Head in Manly which again wasn’t unusual, it was one of our favourite spots to sit and watch the sun set over the city. I was taking lots of photos and asked him to move out of the way as I took a panorama. When I turned around he was down on one knee!

In a few sentences, how would you describe your wedding?

The wedding as a whole and the lead up to it was a journey of emotions! To have had everything planned and locked in pre-covid, to replanning and then planning again and cutting our guest list weeks out was really hard. But the end result was better than we ever could have imagined and we wouldn’t change a thing.

Our wedding was perfectly us. And we celebrated with our best friends and family, in a perfectly styled celestial spring garden among a starry, chandelier, night. We ate good food, drank unreal margaritas and laughed and cried ‘til the very end. It was magic.

Did you write your own vows? How did you find that experience?

We did! We left it right up until the last minute (night before). Our celebrant was amazing (and very patient) and had given us some examples as we had no idea where to start. We did try to set some guidelines and came up with a word count but we are two very different people so they ended up perfectly imperfect.

Now that you’re married, what’s the best piece of advice you can give other couples in the middle of planning their own weddings? 

You do you. Whatever the two of you want, do that.

Were there any traditions you did not partake in or any specific to your family or religion that were special to you?

Daniel said I could have anything I wanted so long as we didn’t have a cake or a first dance. We also saw each other the morning of and didn’t have an official bridal party.

Finish this sentence. The best (or most unique) thing we did at our wedding was…

Reduce our numbers to have an intimate wedding.

What was your wedding budget? Did you stick to it? If not, how much extra did you spend? 

We very roughly spent $60-70k! It was ever-changing due to planning a wedding during the rollercoaster of a global pandemic. We probably spent more than what we would have wanted to for a party of 34 (reduced from 120) people.

Was your wedding in your home town or was it a destination wedding?

We are both from a small town called Dunoon and grew up within metres of each other (unbeknownst to us at the time). We chose to have it in the Tweed Hinterland because it was close to home and is such a beautiful and special place for us.

How did you decide on the location of your wedding and the venue itself?

I had actually been scrolling through Wedshed nearly 4 years ago when I came across a shot of the view from Summergrove Estate. We had no plans of getting married at this stage, but instantly we knew it was the venue.

How many guests did you have?

34.

Were you inspired by a particular wedding style or vibe when bringing your day to life?

You could say our wedding was a celestial garden party! They advise you not to – but I went hard on Instagram. Over five years of being engaged.

Did you partake in any DIY elements to your day?

I had some beeswax candles made into glass vessels and wrapped with photos of our grandparents that couldn’t be there. That was a family affair with lots of relatives chipping in. And my beautiful Mum grew roses in her garden and dried petals for the confetti. She also dehydrated her home grown lemon slices for the margaritas!

How did you find your dream team?

My dream team kind of found me. I freelance with For Love & Living and Mrs Gibbons Flowers on some of their graphic design work. And they work with Out of the Dark Lighting almost weekly. So that was an easy choice and together they create magic. Our photographer, Jason Corroto is a friend of a friend and we always knew we wanted to work with him. I think we locked him in before anything else! And we hunted for our videographer, Craig Holbrook for a while. We knew what we wanted and finding someone with that spark and point of difference took some time. Watching these two together and seeing the end result is seriously wow.

What are some of the most memorable and special moments of your wedding?

There were so many special moments to us, of course. And we could go on and on about these but I think what it comes down to was actually being able to have our day on the planned date, with some of the most important people to us was pretty damn special after the year that we have all had. We were definitely one of the lucky ones and we will remember that always.

Any funny elements that just made the day or lead up even more amazing?

With border closures there was not a chance my parents and best friend were going to miss the wedding and we had spent numerous hours on the phone in the lead up to the day planning numerous different versions of how they would slip in and out of the state to avoid hotel quarantine. It was pure luck that the border opened within days of the wedding!

Do you have any standout suppliers that you would recommend in a heartbeat?

Honestly it was a whole dream team, I cannot express that enough. Every single one of our suppliers that was a part of our day was exceptional. Planning a wedding during a pandemic was one of the worst experiences of our life and absolutely every single supplier was an 11/10 the entire time, going over and above to create the best possible outcome.

If we had to pick one person overall though, it was definitely our wedding coordinator Ellie, from Summergrove Estate. From day one to year three she put up with us, Covid or not. She knew our vision for the day and she did everything in her power to make sure everything went as planned. Our day wouldn’t have been the same without Ellie and we are so grateful for her.

Tell us about your dress/suit, how did you find it? What did you love about it?

My dress was the Brooklyn 2.0 by & For Love. Maggie from Your Art Bridal picked it out for me and it was something I never would have gone for myself. Once it was on nothing felt more me. I don’t know how she knew – she really is amazing, which made the decision all that much easier.

Dan’s suit was a last minute booking at Montagio Custom Tailoring. He had booked an appointment with someone who couldn’t provide an all black suit in the time frame he had left and we frantically rang the guys at Montagio – whom were nothing short of brilliant. They made the whole process of a custom suit so easy and turned it around in record time, with no need for alterations.

What are you most looking forward to now that you’re married?

Not planning a wedding! And to just be, the two of us – forever!

CREDITS: Photos Jason Corroto // Video Craig Holbrook Wedding Films // Venue Summergrove Estate // Flowers Mrs Gibbons Flowers // Stylist For Love & Living // Lighting Out Of The Dark Event Lighting // Celebrant Just Jess Ceremonies // Stationery Create Jaimilee // Bridal gown & For Love via Your Art Bridal // Brides shoes Studio Amelia // Headband Net-a-Porter // Accessories By Charlotte // Groom suit and tie Montagio Custom Tailoring // Rings Grew & Co // Hair Isabella Jane (bride) and Captain Sip Sops (groom) // Makeup Pollyanna Clarkson // Music Honey & Stone Music Collective // Chairs Scenic Rim Wedding Hire.

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