Bendigo Wedding Photographer

Aaron + Steph’s Harcourt Wedding

Oh my gosh. These guys? This biggest sweethearts! It was the biggest honour to spend the day with these two, and their nearest and dearest.

 

They have both been so cruisey right from the start, and right up until the moment I left on their wedding night… So many smiles, so much laughter. Just… lovely. It was a really nice feeling to be a part of it all!

 

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The boys started off at one of Aaron’s mates house, a beautiful home in Strathdale. They were ironing their shirts, playing video games and listening to some tunes when I got there, and just made me feel so welcome.

They helped each other with their ties (which may or may not have taken a little while to nail!) and just let me do my thing!

No real nerves. Just boys having a few beers.

Over at Aaron + Steph’s home, the girls were getting their finishing touches of makeup done and Steph was excitedly/nervously pacing the lounge room waiting for the time to get her dress on!

The Bridesmaids, a mixture of friends and family were all in their cute matching robes, and having a good laugh too.

Steph is just the most genuinely lovely person. Still running around, making sure everyone else was OK, even on her big day.

The girls were drinking champagne, with an orange liqueur that had 24 carat gold flakes in it! Something Steph & Aaron had picked up on their European travels quite a few years ago. Steph said that Aaron had a bottle of something too, that they were waiting to crack on their wedding day…  Seriously special!

Finally, I gave Steph the nod… to go and put her dress on. Such a stunning, STUNNING Bride!

And then… It was time to head out to Bress Cidery for the ceremony!

To calm the nerves (and get the formalities out of the way early), Steph + Aaron decided on a first look pre-ceremony. They wanted to see each other before they saw everybody else, a reveal of types.

So while Aaron waited patiently, facing the other way, Steph walked up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. The moment he turned around was so special. We were all expecting tears, but somehow they manages to hold them back. But the smiles? Well, they speak for themselves.

Steph + Aaron also wanted to do all their wedding portraits before the ceremony too. They wanted to be able to party with all of their guests as soon as the vows were said.

So, that we did.

Bress Cidery is the most picturesque venue. Surrounded by vines, paddocks and stunning views of Mount Alexander, it is such a great place to get married!

Soon, the guests started to arrive – So the bridal party retreated to a barrel room to wait in secret so no one saw them before the ceremony started.

Now, even though they had seen each other… I started to see nerves from Aaron. He waited patiently at the alter for his beautiful Bride to appear. And when she did? Phwoarrrr!

All. The. Feels.

The ceremony was beautiful. The couple saying their own vows, and having their friends come and do some special readings.

Once the ceremony was complete, Mr + Mrs Skeen (Yeow!!) were able to mingle with their guests without having to disappear for photos – Exactly what they wanted!

Pretty quickly, we moved inside… because, FREEZING! It was the beginning of September, and there was literally no sign of sun to be seen!

Luckily, the big barrel room at Bress is AWESOME, and everyone was more than happy to hang out in there!

The tables were all adorned with mini, personalised nutella jars, and Steph & Aaron’s friends had placed ‘Bride & Groom’ dinosaurs on the bridal table (in reference to a reading from the ceremony) – Cute!!

The food was… SENSATIONAL. I can still recollect how good it all was! These guys were so lovely to me, instead of having a ‘vendors’ table out the back, they included me in their seating charts, and had a little ‘Leah’ nutella jar made up for me too. This kind of stuff doesn’t happen very often, so when it does… It just gives me the warm & fuzzies. That they would make that extra effort for me, really sums them up as people, I think. Generous, thoughtful & caring.

Steph & Aaron… It was my absolute privilege AND pleasure to be your wedding photographer. As I get ready to deliver your wedding album to you this afternoon, I am reminded of how lucky I am to be able to make life long friendships and get to call it work!

I know you have a lifetime of happiness and exciting times ahead! I hope you continue to travel, make each other laugh, and make lots of babies!

 

Big Love, Leah

~ xoxo ~

 

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Steph & Aaron’s wedding vendors include:

Photographer: Me! (Click here to see more)

Venue: Bress Wine & Cider

Dress: Melissa E Bridal

Suits: Peter Anthony Menswear

Hair & Makeup: Harlow & Fox

Flowers: A friend (Jacqueline)

Cake: A friend (Ashlee)

Celebrant: Robyn Gordes

Music: Knot

Styling & Decor: The Eternal Vase