Anna and Mark exchanged vows under a big tree in the garden of her childhood home

When Anna Von Drehnen was planning her wedding with her fiancé, Mark Hamilton, she knew exactly what she hoped for the day. “I just wanted the day to feel like Christmas with all of our friends and family together in the garden.”

The couple exchanged vows under a lovely big tree in the backyard of Anna’s childhood home in Moree, in northern New South Wales, before the guests enjoyed a sit-down dinner and a night of dancing in a marquee.

The band kept the guests dancing until the early hours of the next morning, but it was a quieter moment earlier in the day that Anna will always cherish. “Mark and I had a ‘first look’ in the garden. I’m pretty sure all of the bridal party were peeking through the windows,” says Anna.

Then the bridal party joined the bride and groom so the photographer, Heidi Morris, could capture formal photos before the ceremony. “It made the rest of the day so relaxing and fun because we’d already seen each other and we didn’t have that pressure of trying to get the photos done so we could get back to the reception.”