All Photography by Dear Fiore
Some weddings take years to plan. This one took 32 days.
Steph called with a date in mind, her mum and sister were visiting from England, and a very specific window of time before they flew home. She and Andy had just moved to Australia from the UK with their two small children. They had no venue, no celebrant, no plan — just a feeling that if it was going to happen, it needed to happen now.
The legal clock was already ticking. In Australia, a Notice of Intended Marriage must be lodged at least 30 days before a ceremony. Which meant if Steph and Andy were getting married before her family left, we had to move immediately. There was no time between children’s naps for a virtual tour. I sent Steph some videos of the property instead. She watched them, and she knew.
Sharon, our trusted celebrant, handled everything over Zoom - the paperwork, the ceremony planning, the personal details that make a ceremony feel like yours. Thirty-one days later, Steph and Andy arrived at Leaves & Fishes with 8 guests, 2 children, and everything they needed for a wedding.
There’s a moment that happens when guests arrive at this property. They step out of the car, the gravel crunches underfoot, and something shifts. The quiet settles around them. The trees, the water, the stillness. It happens every time - that long, slow breath out, as if they’ve just arrived somewhere they didn’t know they’d been missing.
For Steph, arriving on the other side of the world with her mum and sister beside her, it must have felt something like coming home. The weather, as it sometimes does in the Hunter Valley, had other ideas. The morning of the wedding arrived grey and wet - and we did what we always do at Leaves & Fishes when the sky doesn’t cooperate. We pivoted. The Glass Room was prepared for the ceremony, its windows looking out over the lake, the rain visible through the glass in silver sheets. It was, in its own way, more beautiful for it.
The rain held long enough for something special first. Uncle Warren - our deeply respected local elder welcomed Steph and Andy to country in the Colonnade. It was a moment of stillness and significance that set the tone for everything that followed. The couple then walked together to the Glass Room, their guests beside them, and said their vows with the rain falling softly on the water outside. Sometimes the weather gives you something the sunshine couldn’t.
Afterwards, the small group made their way to the Overwater Pavilion deck - draped overhead in flowing saris, a quiet and beautiful nod to Steph’s heritage. Champagne was poured. Nibbles circled. The children fed the fish. The afternoon moved at its own pace.
And then, as the evening settled in, the family retreated to The Villa with Italian takeaway from a local favourite. The silverware stayed in the drawer. The pizzas came out of the box. Two small children, grandparents, siblings — all of them together, full and happy, somewhere that already felt like theirs. A place on the other side of the world to now call home.
If you’re reading this and thinking — that’s us, we need to move quickly — get in touch. We’ve done this before and we’ll do it again. Sometimes the best weddings are the ones that almost didn’t happen.
