The couple tied the knot at Kate's family's property, surrounded by family and friends.
PHOTOGRAPHY FIONA JANE DENNEY
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Sparks flew when Kate Harding and Jake Nelder met while mustering cattle on the Harding family property seven years ago.
WORDS KATE NELDER PHOTOGRAPHY FIONA JANE DENNEY
Kate Harding and Jake Nelder met while mustering cattle on the Harding family property in 2014.
Kate was on her gap year and was working on the family's property, Gorrie Station, almost 200 kilometres south-east of Katherine in the Northern Territory.
Jake was mustering for a neighbouring property.
Seven years later, in 2021, the couple tied the knot at Gorrie Station, surrounded by their family and friends.
"The boys got ready and headed over to Gorrie about lunchtime. Once the girls left too, I started to get a bit nervous, I guess it sort of hit me that I was about to get married."
Kate arrived at the ceremony in a helicopter, piloted by her father.
"The wedding day was fantastic. Both the ceremony and the reception were full of emotion and lots of fun. It was a wonderful day."
Kate's attendants were her sister, Amy Trembath (far right) , and friends Meg Ryan, Margo Sullivan and Sally Heynen.
The celebrant was Sam Dawson of Married By Sam.
Kate's dress had a slim silhouette and a lace bodice.
Kate with her mother, Helen, and her sister, Amy.
The bridesmaids wore dresses from Shona Joy in earthy tones.
The theme for the wedding was 'Territory Formal'.
'I loved my dress! The lace detail in the bodice was stunning but the simplicity of the crepe skirt meant I didn't feel like it was too over the top.'
Kate's dress was from Made With Love.
The groomsmen wore jeans, white shirts, bow ties and leather suspenders.
"The girls and I all loved the style of these dresses by Shona Joy."
The flowers were arranged by a friend and included lots of natives sourced from markets in South Australia.
The bridal party wave off the helicopter.
The couple tied the knot at Kate's family's property, surrounded by family and friends.
PHOTOGRAPHY FIONA JANE DENNEY
Kate's dress was from Made With Love.
PHOTOGRAPHY FIONA JANE DENNEY
Jake was working as the head stockman on a neighbouring property, Margaret Downs. His employers had cattle agisted on my parents’ property and, when it came time to muster the paddocks, they asked me to help out.
Jake and I met on the tail of a mob of cattle and there were definitely a few sparks from the get go. We crossed paths again a few weeks later at a neighbour’s 21st birthday party. I later found out that Jake had made the trip just to see me.
But it was at a party my family threw for my parents’ 50th birthdays, my sister’s 21st and my 18th that things really kicked off. We didn’t move very far from each other’s side the whole night and it went from there.
In the early years, we spent our days off working on each other’s properties so we could see each other, because we usually didn’t get days off at the same time.
LISTEN: Melinda O’Donoghue is known as the Outback Wedding Dressmaker. Article continues below.
Then Jake got his helicopter licence and has been working as a mustering pilot since 2017. I stayed and worked on stations in the area, taking on the full-time job as overseer at Wyworrie Station at the beginning of 2018. That means our relationship involves a lot of distance. It’s not uncommon for us to go a month or so without seeing each another.
The few days leading up to the wedding were pretty hectic. Mum and Dad had about 60 people staying at Gorrie and there were another 30 or so at my place, so it was a bit of a madhouse. It was a big job feeding everyone and finding beds for them. Mum was absolutely incredible, as she always is, looking after everyone while also helping me get everything organised.
The morning of the wedding was really nice because it was a relief to be able to slow down and enjoy the day. The girls and I cooked bacon and eggs and pancakes for everyone staying at my place: Jake’s family and the bridesmaids and groomsmen. We had to send the boys’ breakfast over to the workers’ donga where they’d been banished so that Jake and I wouldn’t see each other before the ceremony.
The bridesmaids loved their earthy-toned dresses from Shona Joy.
PHOTOGRAPHY FIONA JANE DENNEY
Kate's dress has a slim silhouette and a lace bodice.
PHOTOGRAPHY FIONA JANE DENNEY
“The wedding day was fantastic. Both the ceremony and reception were full of emotion and lots of fun. It was a wonderful day.”
We only had to wait about 10 minutes, because Dad was flying me to the ceremony in his chopper.
The wedding day was fantastic. Both the ceremony and reception were full of emotion and lots of fun. It was a wonderful day.
And now we’re excited for our future. Both Jake and I are really passionate about cattle and working on the land and we can’t wait to raise a family out here.
IN DETAIL
Dresses
Bride’s dress: (River Crepe by Made with Love) I loved my dress! The lace detail in the bodice was stunning but the simplicity of the crepe skirt meant I didn’t feel like it was too over the top. I had the front split added because I wanted to wear something elegant that I could also dance in all night.
Veil: Detachable tulle wings from Made with Love.
Bridesmaids’ dresses: The girls and I all loved the style of these dresses by Shona Joy. They looked great on everyone and were really comfortable to dance in. I loved their earthy tones, which looked amazing at the ceremony surrounded by the eucalypts and native grasses.
Menswear
Jeans Ian stonewash jeans by Cinch, from W Titley & Co.
White dress shirts and bow ties by Connor.
Leather suspenders from Natural Leather.
Hats High Roller felt hats by Circle L.
I left Jake in charge of the boys’ get up and I think he did pretty well. The dress code was what we call ‘Territory Formal’ so jeans fit the bill perfectly. We wanted to have the boys wearing earthy colours, too, so the leather suspenders were the perfect touch.
Flowers
We were really lucky to have a family friend do the flowers for us. She sourced most of them from markets in South Australia, where she lives, and drove them up for us. We wanted lots of Australian natives with pops of colour to complement the girls’ dresses and the location. Premium silk ribbons on the bouquets were from The Whole Bride.
Venue
My family property, Gorrie Station, on the Sturt Plateau, Northern Territory.
Food
We supplied, butchered and cooked all the beef and lamb ourselves. We then had Dragonfly Catering and Events from Katherine do a beautiful selection of roast vegies, with creamy potato gratin as well as cauliflower and broccoli gratin.
Cake
Our lovely neighbour Jenna made the cake for us.
Music
We just used a digital playlist for most of our music. My sister played a song while we signed the register and then during the speeches my sister and dad played a song they’d written.
Celebrant
We were so lucky that a close family friend, Sam Dawson, is a celebrant and was able to marry us. It was so special having someone we knew perform the ceremony.
Photographer
Fiona Denney from Fiona Jane Photography took our photos. Fi is also a close friend of ours and she’s amazing at what she does.
Jewellery
Earrings: All were from Peggy & Twig: The girls had the Audrey, Ava and Willa styles while I wore the Frankie style.
Engagement ring & wedding band: My engagement ring was the Olivia and my wedding ring is a custom-made Thea band, both from Cushla Whiting in Melbourne.
Bridal party
Maid of Honour: My sister, Amy Trembath.
Best Man: Jake’s younger brother, Cody Nelder.
Bridesmaids: Meg Ryan, Margo Sullivan and Sally Heynen.
Groomsmen: Jake’s older brother Heath, Neil Miller and Harry Lawton.
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