Barney and Adelaide were married on the family farm at Toorawenah, in a paddock overlooking the Warrumbungles. And while that sounds like it needs translation, especially if you’ve never ventured to a NSW country wedding, it’s four hours inland, and definitely real country.
There are a few levels of country in Australia I reckon. Anything near the coast, and up to about two hours drive inland, outside of the towns and villages, where there’s a bit of land is almost gentrified country. From about two to five hours drive inland everything is flatter, drier, bigger, and harder. And then going that extra bit further it’s just another level of farming difficulty entirely, at least to my eyes. Distances are measured differently. The next town is one or two hours away. Self-dependence is important.
They’d spent the last several weeks and months preparing for the wedding on the property. That included using bore water to green the grass around the house, where they’d set up an amazing undercover area for everyone to enjoy the shade. They’d set up a very temporary ceremony location in one of the paddocks, that they dismantled after the ceremony so that the hay bales, and wood planks could be used for additional seating in the undercover area.
They’d also built a temporary bathroom on the other side of the house and provided hot running water with an ingenious DIY solution, topped off with a shower in an old tank. Brilliantly thought out. They had to think of absolutely everything and make sure it was bought, made, or invented because there was no running off to the shops at the last minute. Adelaide had made belts for the boys and also made leather key rings for the guests.
I headed out to them, from Gilgandra, in the cool of the morning admiring the long shadows, the mist over the paddocks, the complete lack of traffic, and the occasional glimpse of native wildlife. Travelling to Gilgandra on the Friday, I was listening to the local country radio stations, and they’d been complaining about the wind all day. But it turned out that Saturday was going to be exactly the day that NSW country weddings order, sunny, warm but not hot, with an occasional light breeze.
Lots of family and friends were staying with them, some in vans, some in tents. Every area that could be claimed to get ready was being used to get ready. Adelaide’s Dad was in the bedroom finishing his speech. The kitchen area was double serving for bridal prep and being used to check lists, twice.
By ceremony time, the guests, whether from onsite or elsewhere, had gathered together under the vast sky, with the layout of chairs and arbour, deliberately facing the beauty of the Warrumbungles.
After the ceremony and family photographs, we wandered for a while on the property, into the bush, the dry creek, and over to the horses. A this stage it was quite warm and still, so those frequent drink stops were really welcome. The buffet lunch, country style, was really relaxed, and allowed for lots of conversation. The shelter, purpose built, really came into its own. A fantastic spot to gather everyone together. There were plenty of great speeches scattered throughout that highlighted an adventurous couple.
When it was time to farewell the couple, they found that the car had been kindly “attended” to. Lots of helpful notes, some meant for them, some meant for strangers, and possibly some meant for the police. After a few quick adjustments, mainly around the exhaust, finally had them being cheered on their way for their next adventures.
Dreaming of a NSW country wedding filled with family, friends, food, fun and laughter, then we would love to hear from you.
Contact Us / info@davidhenryphotography.com.au / Phone: 0411 137 747
