PRIMROSE BRIDE // CHLOE & SIMON

High ceilings, open fireplaces and beautiful attention to detail giving a natural warmth and ambiance. A picturesque, romantic winter wedding at Mount Lofty House, Crafers, Adelaide Hills, was the perfect classical and uncomplicated way for Chloe and Simon to tie the knot. Their Wedding ceremony took place outside on the tiered lawns overlooking the Picadilly Valley, capturing the panoramic views while creating an intimate and romantic atmosphere.

The pair met through a chance encounter by means of mutual friends when Chloe was 17. Two years passed after not seeing each other after which they happened to be reunited by the same two people and rekindled what they felt when they first met.

COUPLE’S NAMES

Chloe & Simon Gray

GUEST TOTAL

MARRIAGE TO US MEANS

It means a lifelong commitment to love and support each other. No matter what life throws at you, It’s knowing you have a person you can

never be afraid to talk to, laugh with and cry beside. The idea of witnessing each other’s lives is truly special.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Jessica Mary photographed our day. We found Jess through Instagram and also loved her features in Hello May. We were immediately drawn

to her natural style of photography and felt that she would capture the raw, unscripted moments perfectly. We both felt so at ease with her relaxed and easygoing nature. Jess beautifully captured so many special moments that we will cherish forever.

THE MOST TREASURED MOMENT OF MY WEDDING DAY

There were so many moments throughout that we will hold dear. Simon and I both come from very close families and wanted to include the asking of the parents in our ceremony. Where the parents were acknowledged and asked to give their blessing to the marriage.

When it came to finding her dream gown, Chloe was particular with what she had in mind as she’d always wanted something quite traditional with an edge, “I envisioned a full length silk dress with a small train and long sleeves. I wanted it to have a slight Bohemian/Vintage feel. As soon as I saw the Primrose Gown featured with the Rosa Veil It was everything I had envisaged.”

BRIDE’S DRESS

Primrose Gown styled with our Rosa Veil

WEDDING DAY SCENT

Twilly by Hermes

WEDDING DAY ACCESSORIES

Brides earings gifted by Granny – Light pink South Sea Pearl, Sapphire and Diamond earrings.

Bracelet gifted by Nana – Linden Cook gold Impression Bracelet (Custom made with Nana’s fingerprint).

Stacked rings – Tiffany & Co Platinum band stacked with 1930’s Art Deco band.

Shoes – Loeffler Randall Camellia Knot Mule.

BRIDESMAIDS DRESSES

Shona Joy Joan Wrap Midi Dress in Gold. I always wanted to keep the colour scheme simple and tie it in with the overall aesthetic. The Joan

wrap midi dress was perfect for a Winter wedding with the long sleeves and the liquid gold tones.

WEDDING RINGS

Bride – Cartier

Groom – Kavalri

HAIR & MAKEUP

Selena Jean and Frankie

ADVICE FOR BRIDES-TO-BE

It’s your day. Stay true to your vision as it’s easy to get off track and overwhelmed. Trust in your vendors that you have chosen and lock them in early. Planning a wedding during COVID is very unpredictable. Things happen beyond your control and you just have to go with it. Unfortunately some family members were unable to attend due to border restrictions. We were devastated but managed to include them in other ways. The day ended up being everything we had hoped for and we will celebrate with them as soon as possible.

FLOWERS & BOUQUETS

We were incredibly lucky to secure HYGGE to do our floristry and locked them in well in advance. This was one of the most important aspects of the wedding. I wanted the bouquets to be classic and minimal so went with long stem white roses. Each of our bouquets were tied with frayed white chiffon ribbon. The flower girls wore Gypsum flower crowns. The flowers for the ceremony and reception were sourced and locally grown blooms as well as other seasonal flowers. Our final design was inspired by the Winter season and the local landscape. We opted for classic white, forest green with soft hues of browns.

FAVOURS

ThreeFoxes-Foxtails&CoCocktails. We wanted a favour that our guests could enjoy on the night, as a nightcap or take home with them. They proved to be the ultimate wedding favour. I loved the design of the single serve cocktails in a vintage bottle personalised with our names and wedding date. We chose three out of the five flavours: Cranberry Peach, Coconut Pine Pear and Espresso.

WEDDING CAKE

TheBakeSpace– We were fortunate enough to have Betty make our engagement cake (Zesty lemon layered with vanilla bean Swiss meringue buttercream with alternating layers of blueberries and lemon curd). We loved it so much that we wanted her to repeat the flavours and recreate a modern wedding cake. As we had included dessert as part of the menu our wedding cake was going to be served later in the evening with tea and coffee so we wanted it to be pared back in its design. We went with a single tier double barrel cake with Swiss meringue buttercream frosting coated in coconut and decorated with delectable dried pineapple flowers. A gold vintage harp with a white dove was placed on top of the cake by my Granny as this a wedding tradition that has been passed down.

FOOD & DRINKS

This was an important item for us and one of the main reasons we chose Mount Lofty House as our Wedding venue. Hardy’s Verandah Restaurant is a hatted Restaurant with flawless food and service. They were extremely accommodating allowing us to customise our menu. We had a three-course sit down dinner with additional sides paired with a selection of wines from the Adelaide Hills Region.

SPECIAL WEDDING SONGS

For the Ceremony we had a String Quartet, Amicus Strings.

Entry song – Can’t help Falling In Love With You – Weiss

Signing of the register – Tenerife Sea – Ed Sheeran

Exit song – Beautiful Day – U2

For the Reception we had a live band, All About Her Music. They sang our first dance, which was Your Song by Elton John

CEREMONY & RECEPTION DÉCOR

We wanted to accentuate the features we loved about Mount Lofty House and use it to our advantage when incorporating our Winter wedding. We liked its high ceilings, open fire places and the beautiful attention to detail that gave it a natural warmth and ambience. The Wedding ceremony took place outside on the tiered lawns overlooking the Picadilly Valley and capturing the panoramic views while creating an intimate and romantic atmosphere. The floral displays were such an important part of the styling. Large plinths and oversized fish bowls with large floral arrangements were used to frame the stunning views and add to the intimacy of the ceremony. This flowed through to the reception area where we decided to go with long tables for a more relaxed vibe and the decor was kept neutral with the use of natural materials to add warmth and texture such as the light wood rattan chairs, pure linen and gorgeous Tony Assness hand poured bees wax candles as a feature. Keeping a classic look colours were kept neutral with white roses, Anthriums and Hydrangeas.

HONEYMOON

We had originally planned to travel around the East Gipps land in Victoria and stay at Wentworth House, Daylesford but due to COVID our Honeymoon was cancelled the week before our wedding. Sequoia Lodge, a new luxury lodge had recently opened on the Mount Lofty Estate. We decided to spend a week at the lodge and explore the Adelaide Hills.