RACHAEL X MARC | HUNTER VALLEY WEDDING

Images by Leanne Doyle Photography / "I hugged him and his heart was beating so quickly I actually thought he was having a heart attack, then he got down on one knee and proposed! I have no idea what he or I said, all I know is he had a soaking wet knee and I had a brand new Fiance." See Rachael and Marc's journey after the proposal!
hunter valley weddings images by lea and lens photography

Marc & Rachael met in the modern traditional way. "We matched on Bumble and didn't speak, then Marc stalked me on Tinder until we finally matched. It took us a while to chat but as soon as we did, we went on a date and were obsessed with each other ever since! We were both living in Dubai (Marc is from South Africa, I'm from Sydney) and met at the very end of 2019. When Covid came around we had job losses and salary cuts so we had to move in together and it ended up being the best thing to happen to us.

Marc made the mistake of telling me very early on that he wanted me to be his Wife, so naturally I booked an appointment with a ring designer and we got it made together. I still had to wait over a year after that date to get it on my finger though!

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the proposal.

It involves fairies and suspected heart attacks ... We were in the UK for a friend's wedding (at which Marc was aparently telling all the older family members his plans to propose), so we headed across to Scotland for a bit of a holiday. 

We did an Isle of Skye tour and one of our stops was The Fairy Glen. After shaking off a solo traveller we got to the top of one of the hills and Marc set up the tripod to 'take a cute photo'. I hugged him and his heart was beating so quickly I actually thought he was having a heart attack, then he got down on one knee and proposed! 

I have no idea what he said or I said, all I know is he had a soaking wet knee and I had a brand new Fiance.


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to the aisle weddings peterson house wedding venue hunter valley weddings images by lea and lens photography
to the aisle weddings peterson house wedding venue hunter valley weddings images by lea and lens photography
to the aisle weddings peterson house wedding venue hunter valley weddings images by lea and lens photography

the venue.

Ooh our major winning factor was our vendors in general. We had an absolute dream team and they made everything so easy / such a vibe. I'd say the winning factor with the location was the team running Peterson. It was absolutely pouring rain and they just made everything so smooth and easy; moving the ceremony and reception area inside and keeping the vibes high so nobody was even bothered by the torrential rain. 

Having the ceremony and reception location in the same place was also such a winner.

I wanted a spring garden wedding, we had to have it in April to fit in with holidays for everyone coming from Dubai and South Africa, but I still wanted to bring the vibes through. I think our florist, our stunning cake and the bridesmaids dressed really helped bring that to life!

We had 'Horses' as our last song and somehow everyone ended up in a giant circle with their arms around each other swaying. I, in my infinite wisdom, did a knee slide through the circle. I ripped my dress and had messed up knees for a month but it was absolutely worth it.

The Wedding cake was probably our favourite detail! My cousin made it and her daughter helped decorate it with tonnes of pressed flowers and I just thought it was so beautiful.

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Attire.

The suit was super easy, we got it made by a tailor in South Africa when we went over not long before the wedding. The dress was a bit more of a challenge. I dragged my family to a few shops in Sydney when I visited about 1.5 years before the wedding but we had no luck. I then went to around 4 different shops in Dubai - I had the Alena Leena Armeria dress in mind and there was only one stockist in Dubai

When I tried her on - I fell in love! I ended up losing a tonne of weight between buying the dress and the wedding and the team at the store and the designer were incredible to work with, they just organised for another bodice to be made and I was good to go! They were also able to do lots of little adjustments (having it on the shoulder with an off the shoulder option, bringing the middle part up a bit, double lining the bodice) and it was all made to measure.

what does marriage mean to you?

It means that I get to keep doing life with my favourite person forever. I have a built-in support system who is legally obliged to deal with my shit and laugh at my jokes.


  
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to the aisle weddings peterson house wedding venue hunter valley weddings images by lea and lens photography
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to the aisle weddings peterson house wedding venue hunter valley weddings images by lea and lens photography

classic story.

One of the very first times we hung out, I had been given a box of macaroons from a student. I asked Marc if he wanted any and he said he didn't really share food. There was no way I wasn't tasting every single flavour so I took a bite out of each one and gave him the rest. A little bit psychotic, but he knew what he was getting into from very early on and we now share everything!

advice that helped you the most when planning...

Things absolutely will go wrong. Let your bridesmaids/family/whoever your support is deal with any dramas that they can and just focus on celebrating and having a good time.

Wedding songs...

Walking down the aisle - Bloom - The Paper Kites
Signing the Registry - Love Everlasting - Goldfish
Walking back - Sing with Me - Goldfish
First dance - Don't Fade - Vance Joy

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More detail.

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Back to the party!
 
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A moment for their table style...

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And the question: how many stunning portraits can you have? The answer is MORE!
 
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Now the reception recap!

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Did someone say cake?
 
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To the dancefloor...


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