What was the feel & style of your wedding: We wanted the day to feel more like a party than a traditional wedding. The most important thing for us was that people had fun. I grew up in a semi-rural town outside of Brisbane and Jon’s from Norway, so the style we settled on was Scandinavian/Rustic: lots of white, untreated wood and foliage, with ‘hyggelig’ elements like sheep skins, rugs and candles.

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Why Riverwood: I knew from the start that I wanted an outdoor, rural venue with a little bit of ‘magic’. Jon just wanted something laid back. The moment we saw Riverwood, we knew it was the one. It didn’t matter that we were in Sydney, the entire vibe just fit - the water, the gardens - everything.

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Tips and hints: The best piece of advice I received was to step back and enjoy the day, because it’s over in a flash and you don’t want to waste it worrying about things that are outside of your control. It doesn’t matter how DIY/budget you want to be - having a coordinator is worth the cost! Work out your priorities early on - we knew that no matter what, we didn’t want people to be hungry or bored, and we weren’t willing to skimp on a photographer. Everything fell into place around that. Don’t feel like you have to spend a ridiculous amount of money on food either - people just want to be fed. We had antipasto platters, a spit roast and a dessert buffet, which meant lots of (good) food on a smaller budget. I was also able to cut down on costs by spray painting wine bottles for my centrepieces, scattering freeze-dried petals instead of hiring an arbour, and using foliage over flowers. In terms of planning - Pinterest and Google Sheets were indispensable!

 

- Tamika + Jon Øvrebø Dubielzyk; Sydney - 23rd September 2017 x

Photographed by Jamie Murcutt Photography