Sommer & Brenon
Deux Belettes Country Guesthouse
Byron Bay Hinterland
We’re fortunate in this business to be part of many exceptional events – beautiful venues, amazingly creative design, inspiring team efforts, the list goes on. The gastronomic palette is continually evolving too, new produce is discovered, exciting new trends emerge, old classics are remixed…
What prompted me to write this however was an exceptional couple, who raised the bar for me in the approach to their wedding day, and in my opinion can teach us all the best way to handle a wet wedding.
When the rain begins early in the week, we all cross our fingers and toes, thinking “better now than the weekend…. she’ll blow out”.
She didn’t, she just blew harder. The weather intensified with each approaching day, culminating in one of the wettest weddings I’ve had the pleasure to work.
So Saturday April 28 was destined to be. My concern was for our Couple de Jour, Sommer & Brenon – Wedding couples so often peg an enormous amount of hope on the heavens, and their venue of choice Deux Belettes has a seemingly endless amount of laneways and secret gardens to explore. As always, these things are meant to be best enjoyed under sunshine. At Fridays catch up I reinforced my own wet wedding mantra and prepared to pep talk them into facing the inevitable. There was no need. Both were completely relaxed, gracious, appreciative and in love. We had wet weather Plan B in place, and as they reminded me, there was nothing to worry about.
To the day, where the ceremony took place under a small marquee on the propertys’ turning circle. Guests then wandered off under brollies to enjoy the cloisters and gardens, & so too did the waitpeople with canapés and beverage in hand. Sommer & Brenon caught moments of reprieve for their photo shoot, and an emergency hair dryer helped keep everything looking and feeling drier than it actually was…
Dinner was a 7 course degustation feast in the propertys’ Chapel. Heaters made things snug, wind breaks were discretely put into place, and antique champagne buckets hung from the rafters to catch wayward drips. The guests had a ball. Both bride & groom embraced their day and led by example. All guests were satiated in the richness of great company, hearty food, a stunning backdrop, and as Brenon said the day prior, “there’s nothing to worry about”.
Dessert had a procession of umbrellas tiptoe to yet another magical facet of Deux Belettes, where the pizza oven courtyard formed its own umbrella of fairy lights and the Chef flipped dessert to order at the creperie.
Everyone embraced the occasion to its fullest, including the Eatdrink team. A very very memorable event, which the photos capture perfectly – and when they say wet weather makes for great shots, theyre right.
MORALS OF THE STORY;
o Have a wet weather plan & don’t gamble on the weather, its out of our control.
o Ambience, food & great service are essential to a great event. Ambience includes everything from getting the lighting and music right to ensuring your guests are warm & dry, and the vibe is right.
o Lead by example; if youre having the best day of your life, your guests should follow suit. That great vibe becomes inevitable
Congratulations to Sommer & Brenon, & many thanks to Sharon & Ross from Deux Belettes, Maria Birch for her event co-ordination, and Jonathan Wherrett for those great shots.
