Longtime loves Bianca and Andrew moved to London from Australia seven years ago. When they got engaged, they decided to plan a trip home to wed on home shores amongst their family and friends. They brought a few more friends home with them from the UK, bringing their guest list up to 60 for their informal celebration at Flaxton Gardens.
Lara and Susie Photography were there to capture every beautiful moment of their very special Flaxton wedding day, 18 months in the making from when Andrew proposed. 
“My advice to future brides is to sit with your partner at the start of the whole planning process and work out together what’s really important for you both on the day. It’ll make it easier when others contribute their ideas later on – as long as you still have your must-haves in place it’s easier to compromise on other things.”“We had a first look before the ceremony. Andrew snuck upstairs whilst the guests were arriving and we spent a few minutes together before the ceremony. It was one of my favourite moments; we were all dressed up and could see how excited the other person was. All my nerves went away and I couldn’t wait for things to start after that.”
“We knew we wanted photographers Lara and Susie to be part of our day as soon as we met them! They’re both so creative and were wonderful in capturing honest moments of the day for us and brought such a good energy along with them.”
“The mums were incredibly helpful with some of the intricacies – invite etiquette and helping with table plans. Due to us not being able to make it – we only came to Australia once for planning in the lead up for the wedding – our parents also attended our menu tasting. We were a little upset about that one, but I think they enjoyed themselves!”
“We were very lucky in that both of our mums, who are also good friends, agreed to be our flower girls (We weren’t even allowed to call them flower ladies!) I loved that we could include them and it was very sweet to watch them walk down together – everyone smiled, even when they ended up throwing the petals at our guests, not on the ground. Neither of them had been flower girls before, so never say never!”
“We had one attendant each – we didn’t want a massive bridal party.”
“We had family and friends coming together from all over Australia and the UK; it meant a lot to us that our guests made the effort to come so we didn’t want any unnecessary formalities where people might not feel part of the same circle.”
“Being half-way around the world and me being someone who was used to managing events, we didn’t end up sharing too much of the planning. I used s many bridal blogs for inspiration! They were very useful to find good suppliers when you couldn’t be there to search for them locally as you could see their work online. Polka Dot Bride, Style Me Pretty, The Bride’s Tree and Green Wedding Shoes were a few of the main ones.” 
“Our photographers, Lara and Susie, took Andrew and I to some nearby spots that they’d found, including a private laneway that was beautiful. It was also a precious half hour to ourselves!”
“I was conscious that my dress may have lent a vintage air to things so we tried to steer the day towards more contemporary/classic styling on other aspects.” 
Wedding Secrets
Biggest splurge: The flowers! I have a big weakness for beautiful, old fashioned and sweet flowers and we definitely had fun with them! Our florist, Sandi from Willowbud was beyond amazing, we couldn’t recommend her enough. She was very enthusiastic, came up with beautiful arrangements and worked to our budget without any issues. The results were incredible and neither Andrew nor I regret the bit of extra money on them.
Best bargain: Crazily it ended up being my dress! I went to a designer outlet village in the UK with a girlfriend one day. I found my ivory lace dress there for roughly 25% of the cost it would have cost to buy instore, which was completely unexpected.
Bridal gown: Temperley London
Accessories: Earrings from Monica Vinader
Shoes: Ted Baker
Bridesmaid dress: Two Birds
Groom and Groomsman’s attire: Hugo Boss
Groom and Groomsman’s shoes: Aldo (UK)
Rings: Bride’s rings from Regency Jewells in Hatton Garden, London. Groom’s ring from Jade Jewellers, Hatton Garden.
DIY: Invitations, seating plan, menu. Flowergirl cones.
Honeymoon: Fiji
Number of guests: 60
Photographer: Lara and Susie Photography | Florist: Willow Bud | Venue: Flaxton Gardens | Makeup Artist: Tasleema Nigh Makeup Artist | Hair Stylist: Evalyn Parsons Hair | Entertainment: Moove it DJ’s | Celebrant: Jarred Bayliss
