Reece and Peta got married in Mudgee, Australia, in the middle of autumn, on a countryside estate where the trees had already gone red, orange and yellow. Burnt orange roses, an arbor dressed in leaves gathered from the property itself, strict black tie and a reception hall strung with bare bulbs carried that palette from the getting ready robes to the last sparkler. Most of the vendors came from the Mudgee community, and that local accent shows up in everything from the florals to the catering. Sydney photographer Raquel Pires documented the whole weekend.
Location: Mudgee, Australia
Style: Autumnal, Rustic, Relaxed
Time of planning: 1 year
Setting: Countryside Estate
Season: Fall
Reece and Peta knew of each other for a few years through mutual friends, and a group holiday turned that loose connection into real time together. Almost ten years later, Peta came home on an ordinary Friday to a romantic dinner Reece had put together, with a proposal served on the side, and she said yes to a ring from Theadore & Co. She remembers that night as their own little love bubble, the start of a life spent looking into the same eyes every evening as they grow old together.
Once the venue and date were locked, they gave themselves about a year to plan and skipped a theme entirely, choosing whatever felt like them at this exact point in their lives. What they cared about most was making sure every friend and relative who travelled to Mudgee had a genuinely good time. Their favorite ritual these days is rewatching the film by Erive Films and scrolling back through the gallery, which Peta says takes them right back to every feeling.
Bride's Morning & Fashion
Peta wore a lace gown by Emmy Mae Bridal with a deep V neckline, a fitted trumpet line and a lace train, and the most interesting decision sits right on the shoulders. Soft sheer sleeves float just off the arm, the puff rebuilt in a fabric so light it adds volume with zero weight. A simple veil handles the movement, while the lace carries all the detail. White pointed heels from Public Desire, the UK label that built its following on social feeds, keep the line sharp at the hem, and her wedding band from Michael Hill sits stacked against the Theadore & Co engagement ring.
Peta wanted to lean into the season, so burnt orange roses became the bouquet for her and every bridesmaid. The stems stay long and bare and the ribbon trails almost to the ground, carried like a red carpet armful, which draws one clean vertical line straight down the gown.
Makeup by Sam Harrod Makeup stays in latte makeup territory, with warm bronze through the cheeks, soft brown on the lids, full lashes and a rosy nude lip, all tuned to the temperature of the roses. Her hair went up in a soft updo with loose pieces left around the face, which keeps the neckline and those sheer sleeves completely clear.
Groom’s Fashion
Reece wore a black tuxedo by InStitchu with satin peak lapels, a white shirt, black studs, a black bow tie and a white pocket square folded to a sharp point. The only color on him is the burnt orange rose on his lapel.
Ceremony
Reece and Peta wanted the ceremony outside from the start, surrounded by the land that sold them on Blue Wren Farm in the first place. They had visited about a year before the wedding, when the trees across the estate were already red, orange and yellow, and Peta decided to work straight from that palette.
Local florist Mudgee Monkey Wedding Florist draped the white timber arbor in autumn leaves, some of them gathered on the property itself, and packed the corners with apricot and rust blooms and dried grasses.
The vows were led by Kali Celebrant Mudgee, a highly recommended local celebrant the couple knew was right the moment they connected. She brought exactly the personality they wanted telling their love story, down to earth, lighthearted and romantic, and she ended up blowing both the couple and their guests away.
Raquel Pires lets the orange run right to the edge of the frame in the portraits under the arbor, so the florals become a wall of heat around two figures in strict white and black. The trailing bouquet ribbon picks up every movement, a detail that only pays off with a photographer who reads timing as well as composition. “Raquel didn’t just photograph our day; she captured the emotion, the little glances, and the moments we never want to forget. Her calming presence made us feel completely at ease, allowing us to be ourselves,” said Peta.
Reception
The couple chose Blue Wren Farm so their guests could stay in one place and still move through different corners of the estate across the weekend. After the ceremony, the celebration rolled straight into pre dinner drinks with live music, just as the sun dropped through the trees and everything across the property seemed to glisten. Guests still bring that hour up years later.
Dinner moves into the reception hall, an industrial shell of polished concrete, exposed steel trusses and bare filament bulbs dropped at staggered heights. The styling softens it with raw timber tables left uncovered, white spindle back chairs, white plates and low clusters of white roses down the center.
The menu, printed on a blush card cut into an arch and titled “feast” in loose script, adds the only pink on the table, and local caterer Mudgee Made kept the food as rooted in the Mudgee community as the florals. Later in the night the camera switches to direct flash, his beer and her glass very much in shot, the indie sleaze party look applied here to black tie.
Advice from the couple:
• Plan the things you have always dreamed of and celebrate the day in a way that feels right for you.
• Having an intimate wedding doesn’t mean you shouldn’t invest in the parts of the celebration that matter most to you. In fact, having a smaller wedding can give you the opportunity to focus more on the things you truly value and create an experience that feels personal to you both.
• Choose what makes you happy, have the people you love around you, and enjoy it. It goes by incredibly quickly.
PHOTOGRAPHER Raquel Pires | VIDEOGRAPHER Erive Films | VENUE Blue Wren Farm | FLORALS Mudgee Monkey Wedding Florist | MAKEUP Sam Harrod Makeup | WEDDING DRESS Emmy Mae Bridal | BRIDE’S SHOES Public Desire | ENGAGEMENT RING Theadore & Co | WEDDING RING Michael Hill | GROOM’S SUIT InStitchu | CATERING Mudgee Made | CELEBRANT Kali Celebrant Mudgee
