Here is part two of my Humdinger of a Wedding posts.  In part one I posted about the dress, but what we really did more immediately was search for a photographer and a venue.  These are two things that can book out up to two years in advance (!!) and we didn’t want to be stuck paying more for a venue that wasn’t right for us simply because we left it too late…

Our venue, Branell Homestead, was simply amazing, and is going to be featured on Channel 7′s “The Great South East” this Sunday 6 February at 5.30pm, so what better time for this Humdinger venue post?

Image Credit: Jonas Peterson

When we began our venue search, Loc and I decided on a few things early on.
- We didn’t want a white table cloth and white chair cover venue where the best aspect was “a fabulous selection of napkin colours”.
- We weren’t prepared to spend $100 a head on a place that we had to be out of by midnight.
- We really wanted to have an outdoor wedding and reception – a dinner under the stars!

A big inspiration for this was A Backyard Wedding who turned a regular backyard into the most beautiful outdoor reception space.   I loved all the DIY details of this wedding and how it was clear this was a wedding of two individuals and not a cookie-cut Bride and Groom.  Check out Katie’s blog for all of her wedding details.

Image Credit: Jonas Peterson

We weren’t so lucky to have access to a beautiful private property to create our own outdoor loveliness.  So, Loc and I did a lot of research on the internet to try to find venues that suited our wish list.  We visited almost a dozen different venues, all that held weddings as their most regular function.  We searched Brisbane, and the Gold and Sunshine Coast hinterlands but we couldn’t find somewhere that felt ‘just right’.  Any places that came close to being what we wanted were either too expensive, or didn’t allow us to have the reception dinner outdoors.

Image Credit: Jonas Peterson

Then Loc began searching for Bed and Breakfasts outside of Brisbane in the hope that we would find one that could provide us with our magical outdoor evening.  Branell Homestead Bed and Breakfast in Laidley was one of the first B&Bs Loc found, and was the only one we needed to visit.  As soon as we drove down the Jacaranda lined drive, and walked up onto the Homestead lawn we just knew this was where we were to be married!  It was like house-hunting.  We just got that feeling straight away that this was the place.

Another significance for us was it’s location in the Lockyer Valley, halfway between Brisbane and Toowoomba…  On the road that if you drive for long enough (six hours to be precise) you’ll come to the little town of Roma, where we first met in 2005.  We spent a whole lot of time in first three years of our relationship travelling that highway between Roma, Toowoomba and Brisbane, and that little stretch of South East Queensland means a lot to us!

Image Credit: Jonas Peterson

Our wedding and reception were held on the lawn in front of the Homestead.  The weather leading up to the wedding was just plain horrible, so at the last minute we booked a marquee for the reception.  I was disappointed about this at first, but then my Mum bought a million fairy lights and Dad hung them to create a really beautiful, intimate little dinner space.  Ultimately the marquee never mattered because the experience of being surrounded by our nearest and dearest for such an amazing day was unforgettable.  Who cares that we were surrounded by plastic walls for most of the night!

Image Credit: Jonas Peterson

One of the best things about our wedding at Branell was the photos.  Our photographer Jonas Peterson is simply amazing, and with his special something combined with the beautiful surrounds of the Homestead and it’s grounds combined, we’ve ended up with the most beautiful wedding shots IN THE ENTIRE WORLD!  (Biased any? Nah!)

Image Credit: Jonas Peterson

Image Credit: Jonas Peterson

Image Credit: Jonas Peterson

We booked the Homestead for three nights.  This gave us time to set up the wedding on Friday, get married and have a great party on Saturday, and then laze around for breakfast and clean up with family and friends on Sunday.  Loc and I spent Sunday night at the Homestead by ourselves before heading back to Brisbane and off on our honeymoon the next day.  That first night alone we bought a frozen pizza from the local store and cuddled up to watch a DVD in the cosy media room. (Though I will admit we were both exhausted and fell asleep about 30 minutes into the film!)

Branell Homestead was the perfect venue for our intimate, DIY wedding.  It was not only a beautiful venue, but owners Kathy and Troy were so lovely and supportive of our time at their one-of-a-kind property.  Everyone who came to our wedding commented on how wonderful the venue was and I hope that many of them return for their own little getaways to support Kathy and Troy’s amazing small business (hint! hint!).

Image Credit: Jonas Peterson

For those of you who are local blog readers, don’t forget to watch The Great South East on Channel 7 at 5.30pm on Sunday to see their story about Branell.

Thank you so much to Kathy and Troy for creating such a beautiful place in our little part of the world.  Thank you for helping make our wedding weekend the most amazing weekend of our lives!

I really love this place and I can’t wait to go back to go back to Branell to celebrate our first anniversary in October.

 

Update!  Here’s the Great South East video about Branell. :-)