Winter wedding that oozes rustic elegance for Monique and James in the Southern Highlands

Our stunning real life bride Monique created her own customized gown together with Peter Trends Bridal Australian wedding dress designer Paulein at our Sydney head office studio. The combination of an intricate guipure lace bodice, off the shoulder lace sleeves and the extravagant layered skirt worked MAGIC!!!

The tiered full skirt is layered to perfection and finished with two rows of crinoline, just made for dancing. These layers of sculptured tulle cascade to create the perfect modern twist to a princess gown.  The final touch to Monique’s bridal look was a one tier long pearl veil that set off some extra exquisite detail in her dark hair.

This beautiful couple tied the knot with family and friends at Mali Brae Farm, Moss Vale, in New South Wales, Australia. The Southern Highlands was the perfect backdrop for their special day, the setting is idyllic and picturesque with majestic views and acres of landscaped gardens. Housing an amazingly transformed hay shed that has retained the character of its humble origins, the barn is appointed with features that afford great style, rustic sophistication and elegance.

Monique and James hit the perfect colour palette to go along with the weather for their winter wedding, and it looked like something torn from the page of a fairytale.

We asked Monique to tell us all about how she met James and their special day.
How did you meet your partner and how did they propose to you?

James and I actually met in high school but we didn’t really cross paths until I returned from university in the Gold Coast 4 years after high school ended. James gave me the most beautiful, considerate proposal. A few months prior, James started his planning by asking my Nanna if he could borrow her engagement ring to propose to me. My nanna and pappa’s relationship was such a beautiful one, and meant so much to me, so that gesture was incredible. After securing the ring, James planned a holiday up to Port Stephens and tricked me by letting me think it was just for my birthday. Within 5 minutes of us arriving into our beautiful hotel room overlooking the bay at Port Stephens, James got down on one knee, pulled out a beautiful speech, and asked me to marry him with my Nanna’s ring. It was perfect.

What was your favourite part of your wedding day?

It is so hard to choose! But my favourite part was the first look James and I did. It was a moment charged with so much emotion and excitement for the day and our futures together, all combined into the 5 minutes we spent together just the two of us before our ceremony.

Did you have a theme or concept for your wedding day? What was your inspiration?

I wanted to keep things as simple and elegant as possible – the venue was so naturally beautiful that I didn’t want to take away from that. We leaned into our surroundings by decorating with simple vases of eucalyptus and a sage green and white colour scheme.

How did you find the experience of shopping for a wedding gown?

The shopping experience at Peter Trends was an absolute dream. I still can’t believe I found my dress in the first visit to the store in Roseville! Polly and her team are the epitome of professional. I ended up loving the delicate beaded and lace bodice of one dress but it had a straight cut, simple skirt and I wanted more drama, so Polly pulled over a ball gown, flipped the bodice down and placed the ball gown skirt over the top of the dress with the bodice I liked and then suddenly, that was it, that was my dress! The first time I actually tried on my dress was when it was finished. I was not worried at all, I knew I was in very good hands. Thank you, Polly!