Briony + Lachlan - Rowlee Wines

Here's a shortcut to planning a kick-ass wedding: take a leaf from Briony and Lachlan's day. They celebrated in style at Rowlee Wines - a stunning, all-inclusive wedding venue in Orange, NSW - where their goal was for their guests to walk away thinking "yep, that was so them".

For Briony and Lachlan that meant good food and wine (something Rowlee delivers in spades), live music (and a pumping dance floor) and a good old fashioned meat raffle (because, why not?). Personal, laid back and most importantly, a lot of fun, Briony and Lachlan's day was a goodie. Captured by Wedshed fave Kirsten Cunningham, check it out below.

How did you and Lach meet? Not exactly your classic rom-com meet-cute... We actually met through Lach's dad! We were both roped into helping set up a footy club annual ball (think: tables, chairs, and a lot of bossing around!). Lach's dad introduced us mid-table shuffle, and what do you know - a little bit of small talk, a few sneaky glances, and the rest is history!

The venue: Rowlee Wines in Orange. Funnily enough, it was the first and only venue we looked at - very unlike us to be so decisive! We'd actually been to the cellar door years earlier on our first ever trip to Orange and totally fell in love. Then - plot twist - we got engaged in Orange two years later, the day after visiting that same cellar door again! Coincidence? Destiny? Wine-fuelled foreshadowing? Who knows! But when we started looking for venues, it was the first one we Googled. We booked a visit, fell in love all over again, and that was that! Done and dusted, venue locked in, next!

The vibe: We wanted the whole day to feel like us - relaxed, a bit cheeky, not too serious, and definitely not too traditional. Think: garden party meets mini dress meets rouge vows that probably made our parents sweat a little. I knew I would be nervous in front of so many people, so it was really important that everything felt natural and comfortable - nothing too stiff or overdone. We're also massive food and wine people, so that was a big focus too (no dry chicken or warm prosecco here, thanks!). And while we know everything has been done before, we tried to put our own stamp on it - branded tambourines, custom stubby coolers, and yes - a good old fashioned meat tray raffle mid speech (because why not?). We wanted our guests to laugh, eat, drink, dance, and leave thinking "Yep, that was so them".

Best wedding planning resources? I hate to admit it, but TikTok was my answer! My entire algorithm changed the day after we got engaged - it's true what they say, everyone is listening! I leant into it without it becoming overpowering, which is important. I miss seeing the wedding content now!

Expectations vs. reality: Honestly, we went in with zero expectations and just kind of made it up as we went. There were no major meltdowns, no dress disasters, no table plan tantrums - just a lot of lists (I love a list!), a few spreadsheets, and a mildly obsessive schedule. I'm pretty type A, so the planning part was actually kind of fun.. maybe even too fun. If anything, the biggest surprise was how smooth it all went!

Best thing you did? It would have to be choosing (quite last minute I should add - we don't recommend this!) to get a videographer. We had one saying throughout the entire decision making process which was "Would we print this and put it on the wall" - if the answer was 'no', then we didn't make the investment - think things like champagne towers, or a dessert station - the extra finishing touches that may not have been in the original budget but that someone might have seen on a TikTok and started to get carried away... So Lach was pretty surprised when two months out from the big day, I asked if we should consider a videographer. After a bit of justification (what if we black out and forget the entire day?!) this was our one exception to the rule, and the best decision we made. The video itself was beyond our wildest dreams - but the raw footage of the ceremony, speeches, and first dance are now our most cherished possessions.

Hit (or near) miss: We were blissfully unaware of most of the chaos until well after the fact (highly recommend staying in that just-married bubble!). Apparently one of the bus drivers lost the keys to the bus - as in, a whole busload of guests were left waiting to be picked up, whilst another bus company had to swoop in for the rescue! Meanwhile, back on the dance floor, one of our friends committed a little too hard to a questionable dance move and split his suit pants - 10/10 commitment, 0/10 structural integrity. But hey, no-one fell in a fountain and we still got married, so we'll call that a win!

If we had our time again... (anything you'd change in retrospect?). Honestly, we wouldn't change much - which I know is such a smug, unhelpful answer, sorry! But if we're being super picky, we would have eaten more of the food. It looked amazing.. but we wouldnt know! We were too busy hugging everyone and pretending we werent crying during the speeches!

Rapid Fire Questions

Wedding splurge?

Photographer and videographer.

Wedding save?

We opted out of the traditional wedding cake and served cannoli's on the dance floor!

First look?

Yes, but our way. Briony shimmied her way to Lach whilst her bridesmaids cat called from the verandah - we wouldn't have had it any other way!

Best thing you ate or drank on the day?

The beautiful Rowlee Cuvee of course! We can't wait for the 2025 release to be able to buy a case and open one each anniversary.

Aisle song:

Matt Boylan-Smith did an live acoustic cover of Briony's favourite hip hop song, Into You, by Fabolous. The man's got pipes! Chills, literal chills.

Party starter track:

Nothing beat Beyonce's Crazy in Love accompanied by a live sax player!

Ceremony or reception (which won?).

Our reception, as Lach says "If you weren't on the dance floor, then you weren't at my wedding"!

On-budget or over-budget?

On budget!

Honeymoon destination?

We had spent a month in Italy five months prior to the wedding (financially, we don't recommend this either!). So a mini-moon was calling post wedding! We headed down to Bannisters at Mollymook which was complete bliss and the perfect way to round out our wedding week.

CREDITS: Photos Kirsten Cunningham Photography // Video Olt Media // Venue and catering Rowlee Wines // Celebrant Love by Lucy // Florist Bespoke Country Weddings // Bridal gown, veil and robes Kyha // Bride's shoes Jimmy Choos // Accessories Aje // Bridesmaid dresses Aje and House of CB // Suits and ties M.J. Bale // Rings Cartier // Hair Poppy and Frank // Makeup Windsor Studio // Beauty By Kirra Skin & Beauty // Music Matt Boylan Smith