Real wedding // Annie & Matt’s Orchard Estate wedding

Annie & Matt celebrated their day at The Orchard Estate with a beautiful ceremony in the macadamia orchard. Their relaxed reception with views to swoon over included festival-style food bars and plenty of spots to relax, mingle with guests and enjoy the cocktail styled spaces before turning it up on the dance floor. Witness how One But Many perfectly captured their day.

Tell us your story, how did you both meet?

​We have been together for about 11 years and met through mutual friends.  There’s some debate about when our first actual encounter was, but we really hit things off after spending a week together on a houseboat with friends celebrating Matt’s 21st birthday.  Not long after that we soon became inseparable.  We have been together for many of our academic, personal and professional milestones, we have travelled together, (obviously) lived together and recently bought our first home. Oh and we also have the first addition to our family; Macy, our golden Labrador puppy.  We are excited about the future and can’t wait for the years ahead!

How did the proposal happen?

​Matt proposed in Central Park in New York in November 2016! We were in New York for a big USA trip with friends (and were also celebrating Matt’s 30th).  New York was our final destination of a month-long trip and Matt had secretly carried the ring through about six airports before we finally got to New York (poor thing)!  But he pulled it off well! As soon as we arrived there, he suggested that we go for a picnic in Central Park.  Even though he bought some nice Champagne for our “picnic” (and it was freezing cold), no one argued with his suggestion or suspected what was about to happen. It was autumn so the leaves on the trees in Central Park were spectacular.  We set up a picnic rug under a beautiful old tree in Sheep Meadow and then Matt asked me out for a photo in the middle of the lawn where he got down on one knee. It was an incredible moment.  We then spent the evening celebrating.  It really was a magical day!

What were the reasons for choosing The Orchard Estate as the venue for your special day?

​We love the Byron Bay hinterland and were looking at venues around the area when we came across The Orchard Estate. We absolutely loved it from the moment we drove down the breathtaking driveway amongst the macadamia orchard!  It is a truly stunning location and we also loved the modern ‘blank canvas’ style barn for the reception. 

What style were you striving for with your table settings, florals and reception? Was there a certain look or vibe that you wanted to create?

We didn’t end up having tables as we had a cocktail reception.  We wanted a relaxed festival style reception where we could easily mingle with our guests.  We used Feast Catering, festival style food options which were incredible! In terms of flowers, we wanted bright and green arrangements that really complemented the orchard backdrop. 

Were there any vendors that you particularly loved working with and why?

We loved all of our vendors; they did an amazing job! Some of the local vendors we used were: The French Petal who did all of our amazing flowers including a stunning hanging installation in the barn, Rebellyous Cake Co who did our incredible wedding cake (which she had never made the same style of cake before).  Some of our non-local vendors included: Ellen from Bespoke Faces for the girls’ make up, Jess from Foxs Lane Styling for the girls’ hair, our fantastic musicians Dan McGahan and Josh Lovegrove and last, but absolutely not least, our amazing celebrant, Jay Flood, who came all the way from Noosa for our special day!

What were your favourite parts of the planning process with Byron Bay Weddings?

​We loved dealing with the entire Byron Bay Weddings team. Emily and Che took the time to have a meeting with us at one of your open days, which we were really grateful for.  Emily was amazing throughout the entire process and then handed it over to the amazing Lloyd as our Wedding Coordinator on the day.  Lloyd was an absolute professional and ensured we were calm and everything ran smoothly on the day. We couldn’t have asked for a better team!

Overall, what was your most favourite part of your wedding day and why?

Everything was amazing but our beautiful ceremony under the macadamia tree in amongst the orchards was everything we could have ever asked for!  Also, it was drizzling a little bit in the afternoon and we managed to have a stunning rainbow appear during our wedding photos, which was pretty special too!

Annie & Matt xo

Suppliers
Venue: The Orchard Estate // Celebrant: Mr Noosea Celebrant // Photographer: One But Many // Videographer: Phoebe Galloway Films // Florist: The French Petal // Make-up: Bespoke Faces // Hair: Fox Lane Styling // Catering: Feast Events // Drinks: The Cellar // Cake: Rebellyous Cake Co // Lighting:  Byron Audio// Transport: Byron Magic Bus // Music: Josh Love Grove // Furniture & Styling: The Wedding Shed // Planning & Coordination: Byron Bay Weddings