Sophie & Damian

12 March 2016
Hopefield Farm Private Residence, Riverina, NSW
Photography by Jennifer Burch Photography

Sophie and Damian organised a unique, festival-style wedding near Wagga Wagga in NSW. Cheekily named 'Wedstock' the festival of love was complete with a tent village and reception marquee. It was a vibrant and fun celebration. The wedding styling was a joyous riot of colour and an ode to Damian's roots in Argentina. The couple came to say their vows at Sophie's red-earthed family farm in rural Australia. Family members, friends and suppliers came together to make this wedding an unforgettable event.

Jennifer Burch of Jennifer Burch Photography was given a light plane ride by a nearby farm owner for an aerial view of the festival! "It was simply spectacular," she said.

Camping in style

Guests who had travelled long distances to be part of Wedstock were invited to stay onsite in the tent village. In true glamping style, large bell tents were set up for friends and family. "Damian and I spent our first night as newlyweds in one of these fabulous tents!"

Sophie and Damian are lovers of music festivals and have both worked as travel agents. "That's how we met. Each month our stores would come together to host an awards night. I met Damian at the first one I attended. He offered to get me a drink from a open bar! We were inseparable for the rest of the evening and every other awards night following that. Our first date was a pub crawl from one end of King Street in Newtown to the other. We had a fantastic time and it shows because we've been together ever since."

Wedding experience

Wedstock was a 3 day event. It started with a South American welcome barbeque on Friday afternoon in honour of Damian and his extended Argentinian family who hosted the barbeque. The wedding, or as Sophie fondly calls it, the headline act was on the Saturday followed by a recovery brunch on Sunday morning. “Our main focus around the theme was fun. Damian and I wanted a relaxed and laid back wedding experience for our guests, especially for those who had travelled long distances.” Hammocks, chill out tent zones and even an art station were set up for guests to do plaster painting and add to a group canvas painting.

You're invited

“My vision for the invitations was in keeping with the festival theme. I wanted the main invitation to resemble a music festival poster. Our stationer Kerry at From The Well, put together a fabulous design with ‘Wedstock 2016’ branding, a rainbow tree and glamping tents on the cover. The headline act was ‘Sophie and Damian tie the knot!’ As the wedding festival went for 3 days and was in the middle of nowhere, we needed to incorporate a lot of information into the invitation so Kerry came up with the brillant idea of having a ‘Festival Guide’ booklet. It was filled with maps, accommodation information, a ‘what to pack’ section, wishing well information and weekend activities. Our guests loved them and our RSVPs were festival tickets with a tear off RSVP section.”

Welcome

“We wanted people to feel like they were entering a festival from the moment they turned into our long dirt driveway!” Colured flags lined the road to the main house and guests were greeted by the 3-metre wide, coloured patchwork welcome sign.

Our style

Sophie and Damian spent the year leading up to the wedding buying and organising the decorations. “We wanted an abundance of lanterns and fairy lights to fill the marquee and give it a magical feel. We also spent a lot of time in opp shops collecting mismatched coloured glassware for the reception tables and hired wooden, vintage furniture.” There was a festive, colorful vibe throughout the whole event with gold sequined table runners, candles and bright vases. Outside the marquee, couches had been constructed from hay bales and covered in coloured blankets and cushions all handmade by friends and family.

Simply happiness

“Damian and I wanted a relaxed day with less formalities and more laughter. One of my clearest memories is waiting at the door of my house to walk out into the garden for the ceremony. I was overcome with emotion and my heart was beating harder than it ever had before. When I walked around the corner with my mum and dad by my side I saw Damian standing at the end of the garden surrounded by all of our friends and family and smiling. It was the happiest moment of my life.”

The gown and the groom

Sophie wore a custom, Lost in Paris gown made from vintage cotton Battenberg lace with fishtail train and low V back. “When I tried on a sample dress I knew it was the one. I felt so comfortable and danced around the store. On the day I didn't wear shoes because I’ve always preferred being barefoot so I wore foot jewels instead.” Sophie’s bridesmaids wore gold and metallic cocktail dresses for a hint of glint. Damian wore blue pants and shirt, a checked vest and an orange and blue check bow tie.

From us

Also in keeping with the festival theme, Sophie and Damian had custom fabric festival wristbands made for all their guests. “It is well known that it’s very hard to get around to talk to everyone in the wonderful chaos that is a wedding reception. However after the speeches, Damian and I took around the big bowl of festival wristbands and handed them out to our guests. This was the perfect excuse to talk to everyone.”

The garden

“The only requirements for the flowers were to incorporate as much colour and as many dahlias as possible. Luckily my mum happens to be a very talented florist so she took the flower arrangements into her own hands.” Sophie loved growing up on the farm and has always delighted in its gardens. “I always thought if I was to get married it would be at home in our garden. My family has lived on the farm for generations and it meant so much to me to have such a big event in my life take place where I already had so much history. My parents put an incredible amount of work into the gardens in the year leading up to the wedding to make it even more amazing than usual, and to keep it green and lush.”

Sweet

“Our wedding cake was the creation of my dear friend Elisabeth Howe from Wren and Rabbit. She made a 3-tier lemon and blueberry cake with gold detailling and hand made gold fondant feathers.”