Tips for your Rustic Australian Bush Wedding

Embrace the style and unique beauty of the Australian landscape with a touch of glamour for a wedding that is truly Australian.  Look for country or bush wedding venues in gardens, paddocks on a farm or country resorts. A weathered verandah or deck in a wide open space is perfect, not to mention wineries.

Choose colours reflective of the Australian landscape such as grey greens to representative of the gumtree, rusty brown reds representative of the dusty outback plains and soft blues in honour of the cloudless Aussie skies.

In terms of styling and decor, use decorative items such as rusting horseshoes, an old wheelbarrow, silver galvanised buckets full of native flowers, mirrors glinting on walls, burlap orhessian table cloths, kerosene lamps, rustic baskets, enamel ware, old doilies and linen, old wooden tables, bentwood chairs, crystal glassware and old dinner sets.

For your favours think iconic Australian offerings such as Australian wine, Australian native seeds, small decorative pottery pots, or cram a gift basket with little jars of vegemite, Milo and Tim Tams, alongside homemade jams and pickles or chutneys.

Print your stationery with images of Australian native flowers, an old settler’s cottage or farmhouse.  Or simply use a motif and print it in your wedding colours.

Think flannel flowers, gumtree and wattle foliage. Combine with kangaroo paws, banksias, hakeas, berries, gumnuts, native clematis and boronia. Australian natives tied with silk ribbon in brown, soft pink, soft grey/green can look spectacular and pick up the subtle colours of the Australian bush.

In summer, choose soft, cool and comfortable fabrics, bare shoulders, jewelled sandals – dress for the heat and team with a wrap for the evening. Men will relish the less formal attire, light coloured, lightweight suits, with jackets tossed aside as the day gets hotter, and no ties!

Be bold with your menu and serve traditional Australian favourites such as meat pies, a slab of silverside with white sauce, chunks of damper, wedges of pavlova, custard slice with passionfruit icing, sponge cake with fruit and scones with lashings of jam and cream. If you’re adventurous, treat your guests to native Australian foods such as kangaroo or crocodile and add some traditional desserts and drinks such as peach melba, billy tea and fruit pies.  Beer is a must so include Australian boutique beers on the drinks menu together with the country’s best wines.

Keep the vibe light and upbeat with a traditional bush band and opt for local bands and singers. A playlist of familiar Australian tunes may even inspire the odd sing-a-long!