When Lloyd and I began preparing for our wedding on September 30, 2017 we knew we wanted it to be a low key affair. We weren't going to go in for too many traditions or seeking to create a big hullabaloo. Instead we wanted to have a party that celebrated who we are and to share our lovely hometown with our family and friends. Our motto was "Good music, good wine, enough food and a venue where we can all have a good time". When preparing for our wedding we did simple things. Our outfits were off the rack from normal clothing stores, our invites were made in Microsoft publisher and printed at office works and our decorations were on loan from family and friends.
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We didn't have a huge budget and were thrilled to find how financially accessible and well set up the Braidwood Showground is. This venue is phenomenal and it is definitely worth a look in from local brides and grooms or for other events. It is fully stocked. Initially we when looking at venues we considered hiring a land area which would have meant looking at having to hire everything, including a marquee, furniture, plates, cutlery, glassware etc. and whilst this can be lovely too the cost jumps straight into 4 - 5 figures quickly. Where as the Showground has all of this on hand and ready to go - including a rather fabulous camping ground for guests from away. The showground can easily seat and has catering facilities to accommodate around 220 guests, with ample room left for a dance floor and band. It has a beautifully outdoor balcony area to enjoy the afternoon and it is a fully furnished venue which you can do up in your own personal style, hanging fabrics, bunting, fairy lights and table decorations. Additionally if you're not looking for a church wedding the outdoor grounds make for the perfect backdrop at a wedding ceremony and the afternoon light is glorious allowing for beautiful cocktail hour photographs to be captured.
With the venue sorted we knew that people were going to need a place to stay and so we set about developing our wedding website and sought out a variety of accommodation options around town. Air BnB has recently become a town go-to and offered our guests a large range of self contained accommodation to stay in, additionally pre-existing accommodation options like the local motels and bed and breakfasts provided much of our needed accommodation too. We found that all up our town was able to accommodate around 250 guests before even looking at camping as an option, which is definitely something worth celebrating and I hope encourages a lot more people with out of town guests to hold their big events locally.
As a teacher at the local school I was lucky to make contact with Kathy Pollitt who managed our canteen in 2016. Kathy catered for our wedding beautifully providing salads, sides and desserts to accompany the meat which Mick Clarke of Braidwood Butchery roasted and delivered hot for our 6.30pm feast. We wanted to ensure that our guests were well fed and the wholesome cooking of these two fabulous vendors did not disappoint.
Additionally there are numerous other vendors who supported us in making our wedding a success: Adam Winder of Eagles Rest Wines (Hunter Valley), Aneka Jones and Bella Deo (Braidwood Photographers), Braidwood buses, Braidwood Estate Wines, Dojo Bread, Emma Munnings, Ansku Harjuniemi and Claire Milner (flower arranging with help from Claire at Bunyip Jungle), Joanne Mellier, The Marshall family, Reedy Creek, Roger Thompson (celebrant), Something Like This (Band, Canberra), Tombarra Accommodation (Mongarlowe), Trish Sargeson, William Verdon Jeweller (Customised Wedding Rings) and some current and ex-students of Braidwood Central school (who staffed our event). However, our thanks would not be complete if we didn't recognise Georgie Williams. Although Georgie isn't officially advertising (yet!) as a function manager she is phenomenal and our wedding would not have run so smoothly without her guidance, preparations and having her active, on the ground, at our wedding to oversee everything. Watch this space because Georgie Williams is going to be a force of event management, she is definitely worth getting in contact with. If you're having a DIY Braidwood wedding make sure you enlist Georgie to help you on the night but book in quick because she is sure to find herself incredibly busy.
We really appreciate the effort every single person went to, to help us make our wedding day wonderful. When we first spoke about what our wedding day would like like we agreed that a ‘community wedding’ was everything we could want. The people we love, all pitching in and working together to celebrate our marriage and Lloyd and I both believe that there could not have been a better way to celebrate togetherness.