CHERRY AND NICK | JIMBOUR HOUSE WEDDING | DARLING DOWNS
Some weddings stop you in your tracks before the day even begins. Cherry and Nick's was one of them — a Downton Abbey dream realised on the Darling Downs, with crimson red details, a sandstone mansion built in the 1870s, and two people who are, at their core, just really good at having fun together.
Cherry and Nick met at work — though "work" in this case was a nightclub called Cartel, where Cherry had just started as the new DJ. Her opening move was giving Nick grief about looking twelve years old. Not exactly a textbook first impression, but it worked. What Cherry didn't know at the time was that she'd actually spotted him a year earlier behind the DJ booth and thought he was cute. The moustache that had caught her eye back then turned out to be full of coal dust and far less impressive than advertised — but by that point, it didn't matter. Months of consistent banter and light flirting later, they were properly, genuinely in love.
A typical night out for these two is dinner and cocktails at their favourite local, seeing where the night takes them. Usually one too many, and inevitably out for a boogie. That energy — fun, romantic, a little bit unplanned — is exactly what carried through into their wedding day.
The Proposal
Nick takes credit for this one, and he earned it. He organised a trip to Airlie Beach under the guise of celebrating a friend's birthday. Everyone was in on it except Cherry. The plan was to propose on Whitehaven Beach — one of the most beautiful stretches of sand in the world — but the moment didn't quite cooperate. Cherry stepped off the sailboat feeling a bit ordinary and made straight for the water. Nick watched the plan dissolve in real time.
He was almost ready to call it when a friend stepped in and casually suggested they walk up to the Whitehaven lookout. At the top, with the inlet stretched out below them and their friends quietly filming, Nick got down on one knee. Cherry turned around. She said yes. It was intimate and a little chaotic and completely them.
The Venue
Jimbour House sits on the Darling Downs about two and a half hours from Brisbane and the Gold Coast — and it is, genuinely, unlike anywhere else in Queensland. The sandstone mansion was built in the mid-1870s and is considered one of the state's most significant historic country homes. The grounds include towering palms, ancient fig trees, formal manicured gardens, a central fountain, and that extraordinary bougainvillea-draped facade that makes every portrait look like it was painted rather than photographed.
What makes Jimbour special beyond its architecture is that you don't just book a venue — you take over the whole estate. Cherry and Nick and their closest people stayed on the property together, which meant the whole weekend had the feeling of a private house party rather than a wedding day. That was entirely the point.
Cherry had been watching Downton Abbey and couldn't shake the idea of getting married somewhere with that same grandeur — the sweeping staircases, the ornate interiors, the sense of stepping into another era. It was actually Nick who found Jimbour, and the moment Cherry saw it, that was that.
The Day
Christie from Haus of Hera pulled the whole vision together — she'd been across the styling from the beginning, and stepped in to take over full coordination a few months out from the day. The result was exactly what Cherry had hoped for: modern and elegant, with a richness to it that felt genuinely different. Deep red accents ran through everything — the florals from Fontana Floral, the table linen, the candles — against the warmth of the sandstone and the estate's timber-panelled interiors.
The ceremony was held on the steps of the mansion itself, with guests seated across the formal lawn as Steve Whitehouse from Celebrations by Steve led proceedings. Cherry walked down the aisle and looked up to see Nick completely overcome — and that, she said, was the moment she'll carry with her forever. Hearing him read his vows, watching him try to hold it together, was everything. Steve kept it intimate and full of meaning, which is exactly what a setting like this calls for.
After that, we got to work. Nick had warned me in advance that cameras tend to bring out the worst in him — something about his subconscious actively working against him the moment a lens appears. To his credit, the photos tell a completely different story. The grand staircase, the bougainvillea wall, the archways and gardens — we moved through the estate and found something worth shooting at every turn. Cherry is a natural, and eventually Nick stopped fighting it.
For the reception dinner, the estate's interior rooms were dressed and lit beautifully — crystal chandeliers, white tablecloths, red blooms, the resident grand piano. C'est Bon handled the food, and GM Event Group kept the dancefloor moving well into the night.
Then Cherry disappeared and came back as a completely different kind of bride. The red Khirzad Femme reception outfit — a satin piece that absolutely stopped the room — was the moment the party properly started. She walked back in to cheering, dancing, and a crowd that was very ready for what came next. These two are, as advertised, huge party people. The dancefloor confirmed it.
Cherry and Nick — it was an absolute privilege to spend that day with you both at one of the most extraordinary properties in Queensland. Thank you for trusting me with it.
See their wedding feature in To The Aisle Weddings
Venue: Jimbour House
Celebrant: Celebrations by Steve
Planner & Stylist: Haus of Hera
Hair: Clay Hair
BridalGown: Made With Love Bridal
Reception Outfit: Khirzad Femme
Catering: C'est Bon Restaurant & Le Bon Bar
DJ: GM Event Group
Transportation: Yaralla Buses
Ready to start planning your own Queensland wedding? I'd love to hear about it. Let's chat → srphotography.net.au/lets-chat
