Marisa & Jason

“Our wedding day was amazing, the BEST DAY EVER and passed all too quickly.

“We came up with the idea of having our wedding at Rosemerrin (a friends property approximately 15km east of Orange, between Millthorpe and Byng) for a few reasons. I worked in Orange for 3 years and loved the town and area. My husband Jason grew up on a farm in rural Ireland and we thought this environment would be familiar for his family, especially his father, making his first trip to Australia.

“We loved all the features of the property – beautiful old homestead circa 1800s, old sheds and farm equipment dotting the grounds, gorgeous gardens lovingly tended by Janine, the green vines of the family’s hobby vineyard which matched our love of wine tasting, and the rolling hills including views over to Mount Canobolas. Our easy alternative was to be right on Sydney Harbour, but we made the right decision!

“Next came choosing a ‘theme/style’ for the wedding. We are not traditional people so wanted something different, unique, fun and relaxing yet elegant….so we decided on a picnic on NYE! This would satisfy all our criteria and make the best use of Rosemerrin’s grounds, daylight savings and hopefully an amazing NYE for everyone.

“All the pieces gradually came together. There was a lot of planning invloved as we had to travel to and from Sydney in amongst busy work and study schedules. Thankfully some great friends in Orange, Lynda and John, allowed us to store wedding paraphernalia throughout the year and for months after the big event too.

“We started collecting picnic baskets and actually had to buy very few (my Mum is a great collector). We found straw mats to serve as picnic mats. An absolute steal from a local bargain shop – both in price and quantity of matching items (very tricky and expensive with standard picnic blankets). Not everyone joined us on the picnic mats but those who did had fun. In the same store we found lovely cushions which matched the planned bridesmaids dress colour so the colour theme was set. The bridesmaids colour complimented my stunning wedding gown perfectly. My dress was bought from Abbey’s Bridal in the Dymocks Building Sydney and I cannot thank Jan Silver, the best dressmaker in the world, enough!! I love my dress!!!

“We then had to find napkins and ribbons to decorate the baskets in the same rusty/coppery colour; cream tablecloths came from eBay at the last minute after lots of searching; the table centrepieces were put together from a motley collection of vases from home, cream and rusty/brown wooden balls (another $2 shop) and rose petals (thanks to my very creative and talented sister and matron of honour Nicola who also did my make-up fabulously); we bought glasses from Ikea after borrowing half from a friend; the wine tubs came from Bunnings as did the fairy lights; lanterns and butterflies were borrowed and bought randomly to decorate the grounds; wine was bought throughout the year – a lot from our roadtrip to the fabulous Margaret River earlier in the year – yeah for free shipping!!

“We raided the bargain shops again and bought fans for the heat and flies, bubbles for the end of the ceremony, party poppers, sparklers and chuppa chups to bring in the new year. We had a great team of helpers who assisted us in setting up our venue for 2 days. We hired marquee, chairs, tables, lights, etc from Brian at Orange Party Hire – champion. Our portaloos were the flashest you’ve ever seen with elegant Ladies and Gentleman signs, beautiful flowers, soaps etc.

“One of the best moments was when the celebrant started the service and I realised that I’d forgotten to bring my veil over my face. After I’d blubbered my way down the aisle, I and everyone present broke into peals of laughter as I quickly got my bridesmaids to set things right so we could start again.

“Apart from running late at the hairdressers and the flow on effect, the day went perfectly. Not too hot, a great dramatic grey sky but no rain gave us stunning photos as you can see. There was lots of laughter and tears and pure joy. We were so glad to share the day with our families and friends.

“Our local celebrant Ann Kelly was fabulous and very professional. We incorporated some Greek traditions into our service and used the wedding crowns used to marry my grandparents 60 years earlier – special.

“We had so many picturesque locations around the farm that it was hard to narrow it down. Graham and his assistant Michael did an amazing job with our photos. Some of our favourites speak for themselves but include the top of the hill (we did a quick footwear change to tramp uphill), amongst the vines, around the barns and farm equipment including the old bathtub.

(The local Scarecrow)

“We arranged for a bus to ferry guests to and from the wedding and the driver sang us some Irish ditties at the end of the night too. The gorgeous flowers were a very generous gift from my cousins in Sydney; our scrumptious cake and cupcakes were a gift from my bridesmaid Cathy. The Eat Your Greens team from Eugowra did a fabulous job catering our picnic – there was no shortage of food, each meal individually boxed and served in the baskets.

“We also put on a brunch the following day for most of the guests so had to be organised for that too. We bought local produce with the help of Sam from the General Store in Millthorpe. All our family stayed at the Millthorpe Motel which is a gorgeous place with such friendly, helpful, accommodating staff – thanks heaps.”

A gift for Jason

“Again, we had the best day ever and we are so glad we were married at Rosemerrin. All the preparation was worth it and made the day more personal and special and we deeply thank everyone who was involved and attended.”