George & Tia: A Little Henri Wedding in Thornbury

George and Tia are a relaxed, easy-going couple whose life together is built on laughter. They asked for natural moments, a calm day and photographs that felt like them, and they trusted us with the rest. They married on the first Saturday of spring 2026: an afternoon of portraits at Fairfield Park, then an evening ceremony and a long, happy night at Little Henri in Thornbury. Jay and Sofia photographed the day, with a few rolls of 35mm film along the way.

The groomsmen in the amphitheatre

The day started at the Fairfield Park amphitheatre, the open-air stage with its grassy terraces under tall gums. George and his groomsmen arrived first in black suits, with native flowers in their buttonholes, and George pinned a buttonhole on one of his groomsmen while the bridal party made its way over.

George and his groomsmen in black suits standing in a row in the amphitheatre

George pinning a buttonhole on one of his groomsmen under bare trees in the park

A first look at Fairfield Park

September sunsets come early in Melbourne, so we planned the portraits before the ceremony. George waited alone in the middle of the amphitheatre with his back to the terraces, adjusting his cuffs, while Tia came down the stone steps with her bridesmaids gathered around her. She tapped him on the shoulder, he turned, and the two of them burst out laughing. Tia wore a strapless beaded gown with long beaded sleeves, and George couldn't stop grinning at her.

George adjusting his cuffs as he waits alone in the stone amphitheatre

George waiting with his back turned in the middle of the amphitheatre while Tia and her bridesmaids gather on the terraces behind him

Tia tapping George on the shoulder for their first look in the amphitheatre

George turning to see Tia, both of them smiling in front of the stone terraces

George grinning and looking down as he sees Tia for the first time, tall gums behind him

Tia laughing as she holds up her engagement ring, in a long-sleeved beaded gown

Bouquets in the air

The bridesmaids in navy satin joined them on the steps, with bouquets of proteas, roses and eucalyptus, and the whole bridal party waved from the terraces. Tia showed off her ring, and the bouquets went up into the air.

The bridal party waving and cheering on the amphitheatre steps with George and Tia in the middle

Tia and her three bridesmaids in navy raising their bouquets and cheering in the amphitheatre

Tia with her bridesmaids in navy on the stone terraces of the Fairfield Amphitheatre

Black and white photo of George holding Tia from behind as she leans back laughing

Wandering the park

Then it was just the two of them, wandering. We kept them moving and talking rather than holding poses: up the stone steps with the bouquet, along a white railing under bare trees, and through fallen leaves with the sun low behind the trees. A few frames went onto 35mm film among the trees and at a table by the river, where they stopped for a while. Back in the park, George lifted Tia off her feet, held her from behind on the roadside in a quiet moment we shot in black and white, walked her across the lawn under the huge white gum and danced with her on a grassy slope.

Tia laughing as George reaches for her at their first look on the amphitheatre steps

George and Tia leaning on a white railing under bare trees, Tia smiling into the distance

George and Tia walking through fallen leaves with the sun low behind the trees

Two half frames side by side: George and Tia walking among the trees, on 35mm film

Two half frames side by side: George and Tia at a table by the river, on 35mm film

George laughing in his tuxedo among green trees, one hand held out

Tia smiling up at George against a soft green background

George lifting Tia off her feet as they both laugh under the trees

Tia looking up at George as he leans in close

Close up of Tia’s hand with her ring resting on George’s shoulder, her sleeve covered in beads

George and Tia walking hand in hand across a lawn beneath tall gums

George and Tia dancing on a grassy slope, the frame tilted with their movement

Arriving at Little Henri

By the time the guests arrived at Little Henri, on High Street in Thornbury, the light was going. The family photographs happened first, in front of the timber panelling, while drinks with orange slices waited on the bar and the youngest guests made their way around the room.

An older man in a blue suit touching foreheads with a curly-haired toddler as guests arrive

Tia reading her vows into a microphone, her veil falling down her back

Vows under the arched window

The ceremony was in the covered courtyard, with black bentwood chairs, fairy lights strung along the black walls and green garden walls on either side. George waited at the front with his groomsmen, grinning. The bridesmaids came in through black steel doors hung with white curtains, the flower girl and page boy walked through the restaurant, and then Tia walked in arm in arm, beaming at George from the moment she saw him. They said their vows in front of the tall arched black window, Tia read hers into the microphone, the rings went on, and the whole courtyard clapped.

George and a groomsman grinning as they wait at the front of the courtyard

The flower girl and page boy walking in through the restaurant with a woman in a green dress

Tia walking arm in arm into the ceremony room at Little Henri

Tia beaming at George during the ceremony, her three bridesmaids in navy behind her with their bouquets

George and Tia saying their vows in front of a tall arched black window at Little Henri

The ceremony at Little Henri from the back, guests seated among the greenery and white walls

Black and white photo of Tia sliding the ring onto George’s finger

Guests clapping and smiling from their seats during the ceremony

Signed and married

They signed at a white marble table against the white brick planter, with a bridesmaid and a groomsman as witnesses, and held up their rings for everyone. On the way out they kissed at the black steel doors while the bridesmaids cheered, and Tia raised her bouquet high.

George and Tia grinning as they show their rings after signing

George kissing Tia at the black steel doors as her bridesmaids cheer with their bouquets

Tia raising her bouquet and laughing as she walks out of the ceremony, the frame tilted

The flower girl twirling in her white dress on the floorboards of the timber-panelled room

Grazing, grandparents and a new look

Inside, a long grazing table waited by the bar. There were hugs everywhere, the flower girl twirled on the floorboards, and the grandparents settled onto the leather banquette, where George got a kiss on the cheek. Tia changed into her evening look, strapless, without the sleeves or the veil, and the DJ started in the corner of the timber room.

An older woman kissing George on the cheek on the leather banquette

Tia, now in a strapless gown, and George with an older woman on the leather banquette

Two half frames side by side: a man holding a toddler, and Tia crouching with the flower girl and page boy, on 35mm film

Dancing in the dining room

There was no first dance and no bouquet toss. Instead the dancing simply started: the children first, then the guests in the dining room, then Tia herself with a drink in her hand. A guest book of instant photographs filled up as the night went on.

A guest in a white shirt and a woman in red dancing with their arms in the air

Tia dancing with a drink in her hand on the dark dance floor

George and Tia kissing against the timber panelling late in the night

Cake and speeches

George and Tia took two stools at the bar for a while before they cut their white cake in the timber-panelled room. Then came the speeches, the heart of the night: a man in a blue suit reading his from the page, a woman in green who had everyone beside her laughing, a toast from the groomsmen, and finally George and Tia themselves, each reading from their phone.