Zina & James married at Circa 1876 in the Hunter Valley, surrounded by their family and friend from all over the world. Their wedding was one of my favourites because of how open they were for me to be as creative as possible paying tribute to their story.

I cannot wait to share this story, it’s one of my longest films to date and the amount of storytelling that’s been put into Zina and James film is something I am so proud of! Zina and James carefully chose vendors that aligned with their vision and I could not of been more impressed with their decision. Zina and James share so many pearls of wisdom below and I hope you enjoy reading your Q&A.

How did you find the wedding planning process?

For us, while it was definitely stressful at times, the planning process was actually a lot of fun! Planning a wedding is once in a lifetime so we really tried to embrace the full experience. The most difficult thing for us was actually narrowing down the vast number of options/alternatives we had for vendors. It took us a long time and a lot of research to find vendors that were perfect for us. Our inspo came through various sources, but mostly through Instagram stalking, watching other couple’s wedding videos and from the weddings we’ve attended as guests.

What were some of your favourite wedding details and why you chose them?

We absolutely adored our florals and stationary! They were just perfect and came together so well. It was soooo important to both of us that the aesthetics of the room aligned with what we have envisioned and it was beyond anything we could’ve imagined. It literally took my breathe away when I saw the reception room.

We ended up going with two different colour schemes - white for the ceremony and pastel peach, pink, creams and blue for the ceremony. We wanted to keep it classic for the ceremony and have a bit of fun with the reception by making it a bit colourful. We also knew we wanted the colour peach to feature quite predominately throughout the wedding as it's a favourite colour for us so the stationary colours were chosen to match. We also felt like the candles used in the reception were an important addition and made a huge difference to the ambience of the room - they made the room feel so warm and romantic! Just the way we wanted.

What's some of the key stand out moments you will cherish forever?

James:

The surprise helicopter entrance to the wedding. It was my first ever chopper ride and was a nice surprise for his groomsmen too (their first too!). We really wanted our wedding to be a little different to what we've seen and make it truly memorable for everyone. Nobody had expected it and was a main talking point for guests, even well after the wedding! So i think we achieved what we aimed to with the chopper :)

The ceremony was also a stand out for me. Everything - the flowers, the music, the weather - came together so perfectly and it was just surreal having all these people from different parts and times of my life in the one place to witness this huge moment. It was especially emotional seeing Zina walk down the aisle, i held it together for as long as I could but ugly cried at the vows.

Zina:

Walking down the aisle with my dad was such a surreal and memorable experience. The feeling of seeing all the people i've known and loved in the one place, looking back and smiling at me as i walked towards the person who was about to become my husband was something indescribable.

Seeing James break down at the alter when exchanging his vows is something I’ll always remember. I have never seen him cry and he’s not usually a very emotional person so seeing him so vulnerable was something special and unexpected for me.

Getting up early and going for a wedding morning walk and coffee with my girls is another memory i'd treasure. It was such a nice calm way to start the day before the chaos ensued.

Our reception entrance is one of my absolute favourite moments from the day! Most weddings we've attended saved the fun stuff to the end, but I love to dance and i've always found that the dancefloor just doesn't get started early enough. So we decided to do things a little different by kicking the night off with getting everyone straight onto the dance floor, but we really weren't sure how it'll turn out and whether it'll all fail miserably. But when we entered the reception and all the guests joined us on the dancefloor, i remember looking around and just being filled with such genuine happiness when I saw every single person (from my grandparents who I have never seen dance to our niece and flower girl) up there with us just having the best time. It was just the most amazing and perfect start to the evening. I can not tell you how happy I was in that moment and so so glad we ran the risk and did things the way we wanted!

What were your thoughts when you watched your wedding film for the first time?

We were sooooo soooo incredibly happy with it! In fact, we watched it about 20 times within the first 48 hours of receiving it, without any exaggeration. When we watched it for the first time, we were so overwhelmed with all the emotions of the day rushing back to us. It's amazing how well the video captures the feelings and overall vibe of our day - it was like we were reliving every moment. It was also so special seeing the little moments that we may have missed or forgotten from the day!

Let’s chat about your vendors, how did they all do?

IvyLane Collective (florist) - We actually first came across our florist when we were at a venue inspection. They were setting up for a wedding that morning and we were so impressed with what we saw, we took a card. But we didn't want to rush our decision so it took some many months more of Instagram stalking and initial consultations with several florists before making a final decision. Ivylane Collective just stood out miles above the rest - their artistry and vision is just second to none!

Gui Jorge (photographer) - He was one of the first vendors we decided on. We came across some photos that Gui had taken of another couple at our wedding venue early in the planning process and we just fell in love with his candid and natural style. We were over the moon with how our wedding photos turned out - they were absolutely stunning and perfectly capture both the big important moments and the smaller in-between moments of the day. He was also such a lovely guy to work with and managed to help us stay on schedule when we got caught up with everything happening on the day.

Brew Bike - We were so glad we had these guys serving Espresso Martinis and Margaritas at our canape hour. The guys were super helpful and friendly from the get go and the cocktails were delicious - they were a huge hit with our guests!

WedbyJade (celebrant) - We were after someone who was young and fun without being to out-there and was still able to deliver a romantic wedding ceremony - Jade was everything we were after and more! She was super helpful and friendly all throughout the planning, and really helped to calm both our nerves when she popped in to see each of us morning of.

What would you say to couples who are on the fence about booking a videographer for their wedding?

JUST. DO. IT. You will only have this day once and while you could never live that day again, having a video to capture and revisit all those special moments will be the closest you'll ever get. Even if it's the only thing you spend money on - do it!

Words of wisdom for future couples?

Do your research and start it early! Your vendors can make such a huge difference to your wedding day as well as the planning process. There are a lot of different options out there so make sure you spend the time to have a good chat with your vendor so that you can really get a good feel for whether they are a good match. Also make sure you get started on your search early - some of the reputable vendors get can get booked out years in advance!

But most importantly, always remember that it's your day, so don't be afraid to make it truly yours. You'll get a lot of different opinions and ideas from a lot different people, but do what makes you as a couple happy. Don't be afraid to add your personal touches, and if you have a vision or idea that you think might not be doable or is crazy, there are probably ways to make it happen - you just never know unless you try! At least that is what we've found - all our "a little bit out there" ideas which we didn't think were a possibility or going to work all seemed to work out and really helped to make our wedding memorable.

Vendors:

Photographer: Gui Jorge Photography
Celebrant: Wed By Jade
Venue: Circa 1876
Florist: Ivy Lane Collective
Engagement Ring: Canturi
Veil: Tania Maras
Make Up and Hair Stylist: Rina Bai (From Sophie Lau & Co)
Dress Designer: Pronovias
Dress Boutique: Marry Me Bridal
Suit Designer: Mr Fierze
Cake: Cakes By Han
Live Music: Advantage Djs
Stationary: State Of Elliot
Dance Classes: Arthur Murray Inner West
Photobooth: Hunter Valley Mirror Booth
Transport: Hunter Valley Helicopters

KIND WORDS

‘We did so much research to find our perfect videographer as it was extremely important to us and we can not be happier with our choice. From the very first phone call, our experience with Tim has been absolutely amazing - he is a creative genius and just an absolute star!’