Tell us a little about yourselves!
We’re based on the East Coast of Australia, Jaimi-Lee runs wellness brand, Land Essentials, and David works in data and innovation. I (Jaimi-Lee) am from Adelaide originally, but was living in Byron Bay when I met David, who is from Wollongong (but was living in Sydney). I was in Sydney for one night for work and we matched on Tinder, immediately bonded and I asked him to come out and join some friends and me. He politely refused as he was laid up in bed with a soccer injury, however we kept in touch for several weeks before I was in Sydney again for work. David planned the perfect first date, and a few weeks later flew to Byron Bay for our second date – which fell on a long weekend, so we hung out for 4 days. It was locked in from the beginning, we knew we’d found our person. We bonded over our love for good food, good wine, and the ocean. Now, our time is spent between our little beachside shack on the coast, travelling, camping, drinking lots of coffee and immersing ourselves in nature.
Why did you decide to get married where you did?
Having a love of great wine, we often spent our weekends exploring the lesser-known spots in the Hunter Valley, as we live close by. In planning one weekend David booked a tasting at Talits Estate having seen the beautiful French inspired chateau on the website - knowing I would love it. We fell in love with the location there and then, at that tasting, I even said to David that it would be the perfect place to get married.
A few months later, my parents visited from Adelaide and David’s parents from Wollongong, and we did a parents meet and greet over wine at the Talits Estate cellar door. When we got engaged, it was at the top of the list, and we wanted it as the backdrop to our day. At first it wasn’t clear that they offered weddings, and I had reached out without response, so we put the thought outside of our minds and began the hunt for another location that spoke to us in the same way. One random day I was exploring on Instagram and saw an image of a bride at Talits Estate, immediately reached out to their team, and this time got a response quickly. Once we knew we could have the wedding at Talits – we set the date.
How many guests did you have?
37 guests, for what felt like a day in the European countryside.
What was your budget?
Around $40,000. There were a few elements we shifted and changed because it was outside of our budget. We identified the elements that were the non-negotiables and spent on those. While anything we could do ourselves – we made happen. The day before we had all hands on deck to put up our lighting, and the morning after I (Jaimi-Lee) was up at 6am to clean everything ready for the hire vendors to bump out. My Maid of Honour, her husband, and David’s Best Man were incredibly helpful, even doing a last-minute morning run to Bunnings for an additional table!
Tell us about your outfits.
David’s suit was custom made by InStitchu in Sydney. He had two non-negotiables for the day, one was that we had to serve an amazing steak and the second was that he wanted to wear a light blue shirt and light colour suit. Tick and tick. He paired the look with gold cuff links that were monogrammed with our initials, and brown leather shoes by  Aquila which matched the buttons on his suit perfectly.Â
My gown was made by the incredible L’eto Bridal on Sydney’s northern beaches. I had my heart set on a dress from L’eto Bridal as the vibe completely spoke to my personal style. It was the first place I visited to try on dresses however the dress I ended up with wasn’t on the initial list. We’d made our way through all the styles I thought I wanted and a few additional suggestions from Anya the designer. My maid of honour then pointed to a gown on the rack and asked me to ‘just try it out’. I put the sample on and instantly felt so me in the dress (even though it wasn’t the right size), we played around with a possible veil and my dream look was built from there. I did go and try on a few other dresses but over wine and a debrief with my Mum later that night, I knew the L’eto gown was the one. The silk gown was minimalist yet romantic, with a short train. The subtle detailing of the bust tie added the perfect amount of difference and made the piece feel extra special.
My veil was embroidered with Lily of the Valley flowers, and off to the back right side was JL (heart) DP 3.10.24. We chose the initials to be embroidered here as we were always ‘right’. Adding the veil made the entire look feel perfectly vintage and otherworldly.
I wanted to stay in my dress the entire day (I just adored it so much) so instead of changing dresses mid-way through lunch I changed my shoes and earrings to take my look from classic, to more of a party vibe.
Our rings were custom made by Cleopatra’s Bling, my wedding ring was designed to fit around my engagement ring. David’s wedding band had our initials and a small green tourmaline stone on the inside, the tourmaline stone is the same stone as my engagement ring and this small gesture represents our connectedness to each other.
What was the most important aspect for you, in terms of planning your wedding?
Throwing a relaxed day for both us and our loved ones. We really wanted an outdoor long table style lunch, with really incredible food and great wine. We wanted our day to feel like a bunch of friends and family getting together to have a beautiful meal, with the special touches that truly felt us. We combined the lunchtime ceremony with a long lunch for 37 of our closest family and friends, and then two days later threw a backyard party for 90 guests to continue the celebrations.
Were there any elements that were important for you to incorporate?
The important elements were in the small details that truly told our love story, from our first dance song (Harvest Moon, Neil Young) to the foods on the menu that we first bonded over on our first date, like oysters + steak, and having a dirty martini handed to us and our bridal party on aisle exit, our favourite cocktail to cheers to our favourite day. We also wanted to make sure that guests could access a drink on arrival, prior to the ceremony, so they could immediately start enjoying the day and mingling.
Any tips for couples getting married?
Enjoy the lead up, and the planning process! It’s a lot of work but we personally loved the excitement that came with planning the day. Spend time together making the decisions and make those moments feel special too.
Don’t feel like you have to be traditional and fit the normal wedding mould with your plans, do what feels right for you as a couple. We loved having a small wedding because we got to spend time with everyone and talk to everyone, it didn’t feel stressful at all.
Get an on-the-day coordinator! I (Jaimi-Lee) did the wedding planning myself as I come from an event planning background. But if you do this, I highly recommend getting an on-the-day coordinator that aligns with your vision so that you can relax and enjoy the day without any fuss. Brooke from The State of Studio was an absolute dream and the moment she arrived on the day I was instantly relaxed knowing she had everything under control.
Are there any vendors that you would like to tell us a little more about?
We adored all of our vendors so much! The perfect team to bring to life the perfect day. To our caterer, Leah of Sea Salt & Sage, for whom nothing was too much trouble. She made our food dreams come to life with a delicious share style menu. Our guests still talk about the food from the day.
Our photography team of Khara from House of Lucie and Amber from Modern Day Romance, who acted as the perfect flies on the wall, documenting our day and all the moments around us to perfection. Our wedding photos turned out more beautiful than we could’ve imagined! We didn’t have the budget for a videographer, however Amber captured the day on iPhone and camcorder – this allowed us and our guests to put down our phones plus we love having all of the iPhone content to look back on. Both of these women have the most incredible eye for detail and capture emotion with such intent.Â
Aly, of Flwr & Water, who executed florals that were perfectly in line with our style and vision. She worked to achieve what we wanted inside our small budget and truly went above and beyond.Â
Tyler and Khiara provided live music on the day and nailed the brief, providing beautiful acoustic guitar and vocals for our favourite tunes to accompany each moment.
Photographer:Â House of Lucie @houseoflucielove | Â Content Creator:Â Modern Day Romance
@modernday.romance | Planning: by Jami-Lee | Styling: Jami-Lee with her MOH | Flora: Flwr & Water @flwrandwater | Ceremony & Reception Location: Talits Estate @talitsestatevineyard | Celebrant: Stand By Jaime @standbyjaime | Day-Of-Coordination & Hire: State of Studio @thestateof.studio | HMUA: MBL Bride @mblbride | Content Creator: Modern Day Romance @modernday.romance | Catering & Beverages: Sea Salt & Sage Catering @seasaltandsagecatering | Cake: Wonderland Kitchen @wonderlandkitchenau | Stationery: Etsy @etsy | Entertainment: Tyler and Khiara @tylerandkhiara | Dress & Veil: L’eto Bridal @letobridal | Suit: InStitchu @institchu | Engagement & Wedding Rings: Custom Made Cleopatra’s Bling @cleopatrasbling | Jami-Lee's Shoes: Viktoria & Woods @viktoriaandwoods & Loeffler Randall @loefflerrandall | Dave's Shoes: Aquila @aquila_est1958 | Earrings: Allegra Allure @allegra_allure_ & Mignonne Gavigan @mignonnegavigan | Wedding Party Attire: Institchu @institchu Suit & Heidi Middleton Art Club Dress @heidimiddletonartclub