Introducing Mr and Mrs Larkin – one of the latest Hogans Couples to say, ‘I do’. Being located interstate, James co-ordinated everything to do with the bespoke trilogy-style engagement ring remotely. Fast forward 12 months, and the couple returned to our showroom & workshop in Toowoomba to have his and her bespoke wedding rings crafted for their special day. Today we are delighted to be sharing a short Q&A with this beautiful couple - from how they met, to their magical wedding day hosted on the grounds of Mayfield Winery located in Orange, New South Wales.
Q: Let’s begin with a little introduction. Where did you both meet and who made the first move?
A - Amelia & James: We met through mutual friends at a dinner in Orange, where we were both living at the time in 2020. It was the middle of the first COVID lockdown, so socialising wasn’t so easy. Eventually, we saw each other a few more times and got to know each other before Mill made the first move, and things moved quickly from there, like everything in COVID!
Q: Now for the exciting proposal details. Walk us through the moments leading up to the proposal and the ‘moment’ Amelia said yes.
A - James: I made the most of the October long weekend and organised a nice quiet picnic out at the lake in Orange. It was a beautiful day and thankfully not too many others had the same idea as us, so we shared a couple of drinks and then I finally worked up the courage to ask Mill to marry me, to which she thankfully said yes! Simple but effective.
Q: Amelia’s trilogy-style engagement ring is simply timeless and features three round brilliant cut diamonds set in 18k yellow gold with white gold claws. James, was there a brief that was given to you by Amelia or perhaps one of her sisters, or did you know exactly what design she was interested in?
A - James: No formal verbal brief, but plenty of not-so-subtle suggestions on social media and phone photos left to be easily found, so thankfully I didn’t have to take any risk when making the decision.
Q: Another question for James. How did you find the ring design and procurement process, particularly when being located interstate in New South Wales?
A - James: Fortunately Mill and her family have knowns Hogans for a long time, so it was an obvious choice to source it from them. The process was seamless from start to finish. I had no idea what I was doing, so rang up the store and was given all the details I needed by the team in store, and then felt comfortable and supported until the ring arrived in Orange. It was a credit to the team as we managed the whole process over the phone without ever going in store. The ring arrived quickly and was exactly what I was wanting.
Q: You were lucky enough to celebrate your wedding at Mayfield Winery where you were able to bring in your selection of vendors. Tell us more about your experience planning a wedding and where you sourced inspiration from.
A – Amelia & James: Firstly, Mayfield and the team there were incredible and made everything easy for us from the start. The venue is set amongst beautiful gardens and vineyards so we wanted to utilise those surrounds and spaces they had available. We created a garden style wedding with a sperry tent and spring florals. We loved that we could choose everything we wanted, and Mill spent countless hours getting every last detail perfect. We used This Space Weddings to help us manage and execute everything, and having Jordana and Bek working with us made such a difference in planning and pulling the day together. They helped us with sourcing incredible vendors that really made it the perfect day for us and allowed us to relax and enjoy spending time with each other and our friends and family.
Q: When selecting your wedding rings, did you have particular designs in mind?
A – Amelia & James: We both love understated elegance, so wanted to keep it simple. For Mill, she didn’t want to take away from the beauty of the engagement ring so went with a classic gold band. For James, as someone who has never worn jewellery, he wanted something simple but timeless and also went with a classic gold band.
We thankfully had a chance to visit Hogans in person to choose these!
Q: What was the highlight of your special day?
A – Amelia & James: Without sounding cliché, our highlight was being able to look around and see all of our favourite people having a great time celebrating our special day with us. And also, the dance floor was amazing, we never wanted it to end!
Q: For our final question, what was one thing you would recommend when planning a wedding?
A – Amelia & James: Trust that all the vendors are professionals and know how to make sure that everything is perfect so you can just focus on enjoying the time with all your nearest and dearest. Also think about what the most important thing to you on the day will be and making sure that you prioritise that when choosing your vendors. For us, great food and great music was a must.
Vendors
Ceremony Venue: Mayfield Vineyard
Reception Venue: Mayfield Vineyard
Photographer: Pip Takes A Picture
Videographer: Sommar Films
Make Up & Hair Stylist: Ella Jean Hair & Make Up
Wedding Stationery: La Robe Club
Catering: Short St Kitchen
Event Stylist: This Space Weddings
Flowers: Botanica Flora
Band: The White Tree
Engagement Ring & Wedding Rings: Hogans Family Jewellers
