A dual aisle, oyster bar and Costco cake: Inside Brooke and Tleiha’s Hunter Valley wedding

“We wanted to be intentional with our time.”

Here at Fashion Journal, we make no secret of our love of weddings. We’re suckers for a bit of romance and have a soft spot for weddings that do things differently, whether it’s a Las Vegas elopement, a tropical getaway or a Town Hall celebration.

Brooke Whitten first met her now-wife, Tleiha, when they were teenagers. They grew up in parallel, attending the same parties, sharing mutual friends, but never really crossing paths. It wasn’t until lockdown hit that they properly connected, starting with socially-distanced walks. The rest, Brooke says, is history.

Although Tleiha had been dropping hints about an engagement for years, it was Brooke who proposed first, surprising Tleiha with a custom-made opal ring. Not long after, Tleiha returned the favour with an emerald and sapphire ring.

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When it came to planning their wedding, the pair instantly fell in love with the rolling landscape of The Sienna in the Hunter Valley. “We locked eyes and both knew we were going to get married there,” Brooke remembers. A fairly intimate ceremony, they were joined by just over 50 of their closest family and friends.

“Our wedding was a true reflection of us and what we wanted to do,” Brooke adds. “We let go of a lot of traditions and expectations.” This started with the couple getting ready together in the morning, accompanied by a dual aisle where they walked towards each other from opposite ends before meeting in the middle and walking up to the altar, hand-in-hand.

They spared no expense on food, opting for a welcome dinner the night before, as well as an oyster bar and champagne tower the day of. In a perfect example of high/low, they ordered a Costco cake, splayed with the words ‘Just Married’.

One of their favourite moments came at the end of the day, when Brooke and Tleiha paused to debrief. “We talked about what a perfect day we had had, how brilliantly everything had gone, how it was even real that we were married and just basking in the day that was.”

Fashion Journal: Hi Brooke, congratulations on your beautiful wedding! How did you met Tleiha and when did you two get engaged?

Brooke: We like to say we were passing ships in the night. We first met when we were just 15. From then, we were always running parallel to each other, at the same parties, sharing mutual friends, but just missing each other until lockdown hit. We struck up a conversation, started started socially-distanced walk and the rest is history.

Tleiha had been ‘subtly’ talking about engagement for the longest time. Little did she know I had a custom opal ring in the works and planned a forest getaway with our daughter and best friend in attendance. Once she realised what was happening, we laughed so hard that I couldn’t get any words out. Not long after, Tleiha returned the favour and I received a beautiful emerald and sapphire ring.

What venue did you choose for your wedding ceremony and why?

Tleiha talked me into a lunch at a new venue in the Hunter Valley. We went, and feel in love with The Sienna instantly. During the tour, we locked eyes and both knew we were going to get married there. The venue felt like us – it had colour, artworks, saunas, personality in each corner and felt like a perfect location for our nearest and dearest. It just felt right!

What about after your wedding, where did you have your reception?

The Sienna has a stunning grand hall called Gigi’s on-site. The totally over-the-top chandeliers and wine barrels were what sold us. We had our beautiful florist and stylists, Lily and Mae, dress our tables with candles and had our food served for everyone to share. We wanted it to feel like a big dinner party where the conversations and food were flowing. We wrote handwritten notes to each guest as our place cards, which felt like a lovely way to show our appreciation for them being a part of our lives. Some of our guests have framed them, which is so sweet.

Was it a big or intimate wedding? 

It was fairly intimate. We had 54 guests, including our immediate family and closest friends. We wanted to be intentional with our time and not to feel rushed on such a special day.

Where was your wedding dress from, and what was the process of finding it?

I fell in love with this dress from House of CB immediately after trying it on and it fit like a glove. I had to have it hemmed, of course, because Tleiha didn’t marry me for my height. I just loved the way it was simple and elegant, very bridal.

Finding my second outfit involved more of a search, until Tleiha found me a blazer dress with amazing organza sleeves from Eliya the Label. It was feminine, edgy and right up my alley.

What about Tleiha’s outfit?

Tleiha and I went looking at Belles and Beaux in Newcastle on a whim one day when we were in town and passed the shop. We had been looking together which surprised many but we felt that we make all big calls together so why would this be any different? Tleiha tried on a few and found this beautiful flowy gown with ethereal sleeves. Her face lit up and I knew it was the one.

In true us fashion, it just so happened that they only had one left in her size brand new hidden in the back. Tleiha’s second look was also Eliya the Label – an epic backless mini with embellished tulle. Hot.

What was your inspiration when it came to beauty?

Tleiha and I both felt it was important to feel like us on the day. I wanted something natural and soft, so we were in safe hands with Madeleine Ingram from The FaceLady and her crew. We really just wanted to look and feel like us but elevated, glowy and relaxed.

What kind of food did you have on the day? And how did you choose the cake?

The night before the wedding we had a welcome party in the Olive Garden at the Sienna. We had a pizza and antipasto dinner and a smoking ceremony to bring only the best energy for our wedding. Our guests couldn’t stop talking about the pasta, the cannolis and the cocktails. On our wedding day, we had a champagne tower to start the party, followed by an oyster bar and grazing table at cocktail hour. The oyster bar, hands down, was the crowd favourite.

We had a shared feast, meaning that all the dishes were laid out in the middle of the table, much like you would at home. We had lamb, beef, twice-cooked potatoes, roast veggies and salads. Only the hearty stuff for our mob. Everyone passed the dishes around, sharing food and literally breaking bread with each other.

Funnily enough, neither of us is big on cake, so it wasn’t high on the priority list. We ordered a slab cake from Costco, saying “Just Married”. We couldn’t picture it any other way.

What did you do for music and entertainment?

For music, we had Matt from Lake Mac DJ’s who played all our favourites. He kept the vibes high!

We had Tommy from Wedding Chats to ourselves all day – he interviewed all our guests and produced our two and a half hour video keepsake. He captured our people in the wild, telling embarrassing stories, eating bread and sharing love notes. The best moment was getting Tleiha’s grandma, Beryl calling Tleiha her favourite grandchild on camera. We even had a video premiere the month after the wedding at our house to watch it for the first time with our friends.

Tell us about the photography – how did you capture the event? Was there a certain vibe you were going for?

We had Calla Lily in mind from the get-go; we knew we wanted them for their authentic and candid style. From our chats with Dylan, we knew it was the right fit. He wanted to capture the day as it unfolded and we didn’t want to feel posed. It was a match made in heaven. We also knew we needed a second photographer as we had a dual aisle.

We walked towards each other from opposite ends, meeting in the middle for our walk up the aisle to the altar together. The moment of seeing her across the aisle was so special, then embracing our dads and walking hand in hand to our altar spot was perfect. We have a soft spot for film and our favourite pictures are the film shots that really captured who we are.

We also had Brittany from Some Bride That I Used To Know, capture content for us. She caught snippets of our day and gave us footage of the moments we won’t forget and all the moments in between. We watch our content all the time, especially the videos.

Did you have any other fun or unique quirks about your wedding?

Our wedding was a true reflection of us and what we wanted to do. We let go of a lot of traditions and expectations. We feel like it was the perfect day because of that. We had our friends stay on site for the two nights and it really felt like a big sleepover with our best mates. We spent the next day having a big debrief with everyone at breakfast, talking about the best wedding ever and feeling so grateful for the beautiful life we have.

Tleiha and Lily dreamt up Tleiha’s bouquet and the finished product was so gorgeous and delicious and perfectly Tleiha in every way. She’d envisioned a handbag style with her florals and Lily gave her exactly that.

We also spent the morning of the wedding together, where we got ready and dressed. We always had the intention of spending every moment together, soaking it up and it was the best decision we made. It just felt right to be holding hands and laughing with my wife-to-be.

Looking back, what was the best part of your day?

It’s hard to choose, but there are three standout moments. The first was hearing each other’s vows and sealing the deal. We unknowingly used the same phrase to end our vows: Tleiha finished hers by saying, “I will love you in this lifetime and the next”, while I said, “I will love you in this life, the next and every other universe where our souls find each other”.

Then, at dinner, we both stopped and had a moment to take it all in, which was special. We looked around and saw all of our favourite people all in one room, full of light, love and laughter. And then we had a debrief in bed that night. We talked about what a perfect day we had had, how brilliantly everything had gone, how it was even real that we were married and just basking in the day that was.

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