Fun Farmyard Wedding in Delaney's Creek, Queensland

Maddy and Zach met in Year 8 and as classic high-school sweethearts with a long history of love and laughter behind them, they knew exactly how they wanted their wedding day to feel - casual, playful, laid-back, tranquil, entertaining and not at all mushy!

Ohana Homestead, nestled within rolling green hills and offering plenty of space to roam free while celebrating carelessly, was the perfect setting for this easy-going couple who just wanted to celebrate their marriage with their closest family and friends.

As soon as I found out Maddy was a huge fan of Disneyland character, Belle, I was on the search for every fantastic and classic Beauty and the Beast quote!  It was hard to stop at only a few for they all symbolise love without judgement and this describes the strong connection between these teenage sweethearts perfectly.  I managed to discreetly and cleverly weave a few of them into their ceremony content.   You may notice one in this blog!

Maddy and Zack are a carefree couple who envisioned a wedding day party to solidify their love for each other and bring their families together for a warm and welcoming, rustic country gathering, complete with warm blankets to cosy up on the plush vintage lounges to enjoying the festivities.

Guests were kept warm at this chilly winter’s reception with these cosy blanets.

Zach and Maddy are a tale of two gorgeous souls drawn together at a cute and impressionable age, and their tale, one both as old as time and as fresh as a rose, begins…

This classic love story began at high school, when logical and pragmatic Zach met friendly and kind Maddy in Year 8.  They were fun friends well before their love for each other became obvious. 

They knew they were on to a good thing when they kept in touch in the most old-fashioned of ways, via the timeless art of writing sweet love letters to each other in Year 10, while Maddy was away on school camp for a month.

Today, Zach cringes when he thinks of those notes of adoration, however Maddy still smiles and fondly recalls that it was then that she realised she had found her Prince Charming.

There wasn’t a single moment in time where Zach and Maddy felt the shift from cute couple to life-long legends.  Their strong connection and bond of love has been one big fusion of many happy moments along their journey together, beginning at school and spanning well into their travels together, blending into each other’s family and friends, and moving into together.

Gorgeous moment captured perfectly by Belinda at Sunset Lane Photography

With years of love already behind them, it was imperative that their ceremony felt meaningful and heart-felt but not over the top or too romantic, as they already felt married and didn’t feel the need to go overboard with wedding day “fluff”.

Although I did manage to learn that Zach had a sweet, romantic side when he told me about his beautiful proposal to Maddy in a cave, where he put plenty of thought into the lighting so he could capture the moment on film, and how he almost broke his knee when he dramatically dropped on it to pop the big question!  Maddy thought it was quite funny when he opened the engagement ring box upside down…

Before their ceremony, and while we were all casually waiting for Maddy to arrive, I had the pleasure of meeting many of their guests, namely Zach’s family members from New Zealand and what a warm and welcoming bunch they are.  Their stories of Zach were hilarious!  However, we were all gripped with the fact that Zach had left his wedding speech at home!  We grabbed a beer for Zach, told him to Google Beauty and the Beast quotes and did our best to distract him by making him post for random God Father-esque photos…

While this was a sweet and simple ceremony, it was full of heart-warming moments, an incredibly relaxed ceremony full of giggles and a few cheeky heckles from the guests. 

Even the nearby cattle came over to the fence line to say their two bobs worth during the ceremony which added more joviality to the scene!

The fun continued well after their ceremony with gorgeous professional Photographers, Belinda and Amanda working seamlessly together to capture all the smiles in timeless happy snaps.  I found it a little hard to leave, and not wanting to head off home just yet, I hung around to soak up the laughter and loving vibe of this close-nit collective as they gathered together for the iconic group photograph…

I’m thrilled to bits that I was able to help Maddy and Zach bring their relaxed ceremony to fruition. 

Venue / Ohana Homestead @ohanahomestead19

Photographers / Belinda at @sunsetlandphotography and Amanda @amandamichelle_photography