When Courtney and Joshua were married at Courtney's parents' farm in Alstonville, roughly half way between Ballina and Lismore, the long farming history of this area was borne home - not simply through the seating on the old tractor, but also with the whole vibe of the area. Lismore is a centre for farmers, timber getters, water transport and used to be a rail centre though it is no longer. Despite severe past floods, the most recent and devastating in 2022, the locals have such a love for their area they are determined to rebuild and remain. For this reason so many local couples get married on their own farms or their parents' farms and it's delightful. Casino and Kyogle are busy centres close to Lismore and I've performed so many weddings in this region over the past 7 years. From weddings by dams, under big old fig trees, in back yards and gardens, and in paddocks where the farmer forgot to remove the cattle until the day before the ceremony (eek very messy!!), in macadamia orchards and local halls, again local couples have plenty of choice. If they are working with a tight budget those local halls are wonderful community treasures. But even if they aren't working with a strict budget, value for money is easy to find.
Casino claims to be the cattle capital of NSW. It's possible a few other towns, like Kyogle, might challenge that claim, but let's just agree that cattle and agriculture are critical elements in the local area, of which Lismore is an important cog. Again, those who live and work in farming communities tend to prefer outdoor weddings. Some of what I consider to be my better weddings took place in Kyogle. My first wedding out there was on a big farm where Warren the groom was in his fifties and had never married. He told me he had six sons and they were wild boys who all had homes on his landholding. It must have been huge! He was also in the concreting business and worked hard. His wife to be, Rebecca (Bec), was delightful and had 4 children from her previous marriage. What amazed me was that Warren was such a softie. He was totally smitten by Bec, as was she. Marrying them was a delight almost "marred" by the best man who was a joker from way back. Tim pretended to have lost one of the rings! I remember looking to the heavens and wondering what we could do ... When he suddenly slipped the other box out of his trouser pocket and said, "Only joking!" We all burst out laughing, and I do mean the guests as well. Please refer to the photo below?
I married another young couple on the same farm a few years later. They were friends of the family. The only problem was that it had been steadily raining for days and stopped on the Thursday night just before the Saturday wedding. As I usually do, I turned up to the venue to set up my sound gear. But you have no idea how wet the ground still was, for it was at the bottom of a hill and all that soil water continued to drain with gravity. The grass had been slashed, but because the soil was so wet, I had trouble putting up my stands to hold the speakers. The stands kept falling over until I used two crates to stabilise them. The bride and groom arrived on time and I worried about the bride's beautiful white leather high heels. Strangely she wasn't too worried, or so it seemed. Anyway, the ceremony went well with people chuckling in all the right places and the bride and groom happily walked away after being declared as Mr and Mrs Callaghan. By the time I retrieved my sound gear and managed to load up my car, my shoes were sodden. To be honest, I haven't worn them since for I know they will have a "blow out". No glue could survive that much moisture and suction from mud below.
Fortunately I haven't had too many weddings that have been washed out. Some have been postponed for up to half an hour; and where hay bails have been uncovered and rained on, generally adults choose not to sit down during the ceremony. The kids on the other hand ... let's just say a few times big wet patches on children's derrieres have been obvious.
Casino claims to be the cattle capital of NSW. It's possible a few other towns, like Kyogle, might challenge that claim, but let's just agree that cattle and agriculture are critical elements in the local area, of which Lismore is an important cog. Again, those who live and work in farming communities tend to prefer outdoor weddings. Some of what I consider to be my better weddings took place in Kyogle. My first wedding out there was on a big farm where Warren the groom was in his fifties and had never married. He told me he had six sons and they were wild boys who all had homes on his landholding. It must have been huge! He was also in the concreting business and worked hard. His wife to be, Rebecca (Bec), was delightful and had 4 children from her previous marriage. What amazed me was that Warren was such a softie. He was totally smitten by Bec, as was she. Marrying them was a delight almost "marred" by the best man who was a joker from way back. Tim pretended to have lost one of the rings! I remember looking to the heavens and wondering what we could do ... When he suddenly slipped the other box out of his trouser pocket and said, "Only joking!" We all burst out laughing, and I do mean the guests as well. Please refer to the photo below?
I married another young couple on the same farm a few years later. They were friends of the family. The only problem was that it had been steadily raining for days and stopped on the Thursday night just before the Saturday wedding. As I usually do, I turned up to the venue to set up my sound gear. But you have no idea how wet the ground still was, for it was at the bottom of a hill and all that soil water continued to drain with gravity. The grass had been slashed, but because the soil was so wet, I had trouble putting up my stands to hold the speakers. The stands kept falling over until I used two crates to stabilise them. The bride and groom arrived on time and I worried about the bride's beautiful white leather high heels. Strangely she wasn't too worried, or so it seemed. Anyway, the ceremony went well with people chuckling in all the right places and the bride and groom happily walked away after being declared as Mr and Mrs Callaghan. By the time I retrieved my sound gear and managed to load up my car, my shoes were sodden. To be honest, I haven't worn them since for I know they will have a "blow out". No glue could survive that much moisture and suction from mud below.
Fortunately I haven't had too many weddings that have been washed out. Some have been postponed for up to half an hour; and where hay bails have been uncovered and rained on, generally adults choose not to sit down during the ceremony. The kids on the other hand ... let's just say a few times big wet patches on children's derrieres have been obvious.
Why Choose Caz for your Marriage Ceremony?
Because where I live is in the heartland of Northern Rivers, I can easily reach any location between the Gold Coast, Tweed Heads, Byron Bay, Ballina and Lismore. So if you want to work with a local who isn't afraid of roads that might have potholes, why don't you go back to the Home Page and click the Contact button. I'd be delighted to hear from you if you are within the Lismore / Northern Rivers catchment area.
