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Circa 1876 The Convent Wedding

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Wedding Photographer

Richard Johnston

At Lonely Hunter, we only photograph a limited number of weddings each year and do book out quite far in advance.
Don't leave it until we are already booked before you decide to make an enquiry..

Rhiannon & Joshua – Circa 1876, The Convent

Can you tell us a little about yourselves?: I am a HSIE teacher at a high school in Western Sydney and Josh is a registered nurse at Westmead ED. We met through a mutual friend and my cousin, who over a couple of months hatched a plan to set us up one night at a pub in 2016. We were both super shy at first, but once we started talking, it felt like we had known each other forever. Things just seemed to fit perfectly between us, and we have continued to strengthen our relationship over the past 6 and a bit years.

How did the proposal take place that lead to your Circa 1876 The Convent wedding?: It was during the first lockdown in April 2020 on our 4th anniversary. We originally had a dinner at a lovely restaurant in The Rocks planned and Josh planned to pop the question on a post dinner walk under the Harbor Bridge. A couple of weeks before the day, our reservation was cancelled when Sydney went into lockdown. So instead, on the night of our anniversary I was sitting on the couch, watching Grand Designs before our dinner order arrived. Josh walked in, said he needed to give me my anniversary gift. He handed me a card, which I read and at the bottom it said “without further adu…” I looked up and he was on one knee in front of me. All I could say was “really?!” and then finally a big YES. We then shared the news with family and friends on FaceTime. It was a pretty good night.

What have you learnt about each other since being together?: We have learnt to respect every part of each other, including our differences. We have gotten to know the other, that we can know what the other is thinking and feeling easily. We both bring out the best in the other, and have learnt that communication is the key to a successful relationship. We have also learnt that relationships take continued effort, to make sure that the other feels loved and to maintain a meaningful connection.

What is the vision for your Circa 1876 The Convent wedding?: I would say that our aesthetic for the day is classic elegance, because we tried to go for things that were timeless. Our florist also describes it as romantic. We have also tried to keep things relatively simple, in terms of focusing on some main elements for the day and doing them well e.g. florals. We also tried to draw from the venue as anything too modern wouldn’t suit an old building in the Hunter Valley. For our Circa 1876 The Convent wedding, we have also gone all white in order to create a bright space in the deep wood for our reception. Overall, I guess that is what we are hoping for, the day to be romantic and meaningful, but also a really happy and enjoyable day. A big celebration of our love for each other.

Is there any particular reason you chose Circa 1876 The Convent as your wedding venue?: We love the Hunter Valley, it is where we went on our first weekend away together and we have returned every year since. For us, it is a special place that has many happy memories for our relationship. On one of those weekends, we stayed at The Convent and ate at Circa 1876 and fell in love with it. When we were venue shopping, we really didn’t look around much, because we always knew we would get married in the Hunter valley and knew that Circa was the perfect venue for us. I personally LOVE old buildings with character and a history behind them, which The Convent and Circa 1876 have plenty of. The venue is just stunning to look at which is another bonus. It is also a unique location and provided a different wedding aesthetic and experience that we couldn’t have at most other venues.

Is there any other information you would like to share?: Josh and I are both super excited for the day. We have put a lot of effort into making it an enjoyable day for all of our guests, who can join us in hopefully having a fantastic weekend. We are sharing the whole weekend with our nearest and dearest guests, including a dinner on the Friday night before and wine tasting on the Sunday following our wedding at Circa 1876 & The Convent.