There are plenty of things I remember about Shonnie and Robbie’s wedding at Dark Horse Vineyard. The burnt orange flowers, their little French bulldog Hugo being involved in everything, the vintage styling and an absolutely ridiculous dance floor. But three years later, there’s still one story that seems to come up more than anything else: the time their celebrant disappeared from their wedding to go and get McDonald’s.
That probably tells you quite a lot about the kind of wedding this was.
mid-wedding mcdonalds run
Shonnie and Robbie planned a wedding that felt unmistakably like them. There were pops of orange everywhere, which apparently confused a few people, but made complete sense if you knew that their home already had a strong 70s feel. Hugo was dressed for the occasion, nobody seemed particularly interested in taking themselves too seriously, and there was absolutely no concern about whether every decision looked like something a wedding was “supposed” to have.
Which is how their celebrant and MC, Jeremy from That Altar Guy, ended up disappearing from Dark Horse Vineyard in the middle of the wedding to make roughly a 40-minute round trip to McDonald’s. Was fetching cheeseburgers and nuggets technically part of his job? Probably not. But Jeremy knew Shonnie and Robbie, he knew they’d be hungry, he knew they’d love it, and he knew it would be fun.
A little while later, Shonnie and Robbie rolled into the Spanish-style villa where Robbie had gotten ready earlier that day in an incredible vintage Cadillac, eating cheeseburgers and feeding each other nuggets in the back seat. Obviously, I photographed it. Later, out on the quieter roads around the Hunter Valley, we finished the Maccas alongside a considerably more expensive bottle of alcohol on the bonnet of a six-figure vintage car. Cheap cheeseburgers, expensive booze, wedding clothes and a beautiful old Cadillac. Perfect.
things that weren't supposed to happen
There were plenty of smaller decisions throughout the day that followed the same philosophy. After the ceremony, Shonnie ditched her heels for slippers and then completely forgot she was wearing them. They accidentally ended up appearing in a heap of her wedding photographs, and instead of wishing she’d remembered to change back into her shoes, one of those slipper photographs is now framed in their home.
I love things like that because so much of wedding planning can become an attempt to eliminate every possible imperfection. Yet years later, it’s often the things that weren’t carefully planned that become part of the story. The slippers, Hugo running around in his custom suit, the Maccas run and everyone roasting each other during the ceremony weren’t interruptions to Shonnie and Robbie’s wedding. They were the wedding.
When I asked Shonnie what she remembers most now, she didn’t talk about the styling or a particular photograph. She remembered how much fun everyone had. Three years later, their friends and family still bring up the funny moments and talk about the overall vibe of the day. Her description of it was simple: there was “zero pressure.” That’s pretty much exactly how I remember it too.
"Do what you want"
When I asked what advice they’d give someone planning a wedding now, Shonnie’s answer was about as straightforward as it gets: “Literally just do what you want.” Don’t build your wedding around what TikTok or Instagram tells you it should look like, and definitely don’t build it around the expectations of some distant relative.
Want a cold cheeseburger in the back of a Cadillac? Have one. Want a niche song for your first dance? Use it. Want to spend $300 having a custom suit made for your dog? Apparently you should do that too.
The other thing Shonnie talked about was choosing vendors who actually understand you. I think Jeremy’s Maccas expedition is probably the perfect example. He didn’t need to do it, and I certainly didn’t need photographs of two newlyweds feeding each other nuggets in the back of a Cadillac. But when the people around you understand what you're trying to create, they lean into those moments rather than constantly dragging you back towards some predetermined version of what a wedding should be.
Three years later, those are the stories Shonnie and Robbie are still telling. I think that says far more about a successful wedding than whether everything looked perfect.
go with the flow
Shonnie once wrote in a review that she hates being in front of the camera, but that photographing their engagement sessions and wedding somehow felt “seamless and easy.” When I caught up with them again recently and asked them to look back on the wedding, she said something I liked even more, “the photos still feel exactly like the day did.”
For me, that’s the whole point. A wedding gallery should absolutely show you what everything looked like, but I want it to do more than that. Years later, I want the photographs to remind you what it felt like to actually be there. In Shonnie and Robbie’s case, apparently that means orange flowers, slippers, a French bulldog, a vintage Cadillac and the lingering smell of McDonald’s. I wouldn’t change a thing.
Vendors
Wedding: Shonnie & Robbie
Venue: Dark Horse Vineyard, Hunter Valley
Wedding planning: Chameleon Directive
Celebrant & MC: Jeremy Bell, That Altar Guy
Catering: Fennel & Co.
Florals: As Sweet As Jasmine
Cake: Melrose Cakes
Car: Cadillac Cartel
Dog chaperone: Hunter Valley Pet Chaperone
Photography: James White Photography
