C O N T I N U E D...
F R O M T H E B R I D E ...
Reception...
Our reception was in a shed... yes a SHED! Mum and Dad screamed when I said I wanted to have the reception in the shed on our farm. It actually used to be an old piggery! It was a big mission to make-over the shed. We started by clearing out all the old junk (tools/ farm equipment), we cleaned, scrubbed and painted it. My husband's dad Ian and my dad David put some new roofing on and with the help of my brother in-law Tim they also put wooden panelling around the inside. The shed was a big big project! It was a great way for both our families to come together and in the end you could tell they all thoroughly enjoyed the transformation and the sweat paid off! At times I did scratch my head and think OH MY GOD WHAT HAVE WE GOT OURSELVES IN FOR! - a venue would be much easier! Mum was scratching her head the whole time the poor thing, but when she saw how much work was getting done and it was actually coming together she put her decorators hat on and came up with the ideas of the hessian lining and curtains, the chandeliers, mirrors and lanterns. Basically we made it functional and she made it look amazing! I must admit I had a lot of friends turn their noses up when I sent out the invites and the venue said 'The Shed' ... The reaction of people as they walked into the shed was priceless! Now everyone wants to have their wedding in 'The Shed'!
Decorations...
We decorated the shed with hessian lining on the ceiling, wooden panelling around the walls, French linen curtains draped across the entrance and lots and lots of candles. As a photographer I was very conscious of lighting so we had a lighting expert fit ambient lighting for us. We hung chandeliers and lanterns and had candelabras on the tables to create the beautiful ambience. We collected lots of decorations over the 6 months leading up to the wedding with horses being the theme. We placed many orders with Bed, Bath and Table for vases and decorations. I hung a lot of beautiful black and white images from our gallery around the walls and then a big mirror hung in the middle of the shed to reflect the ambient light from the chandeliers.
On the Menu...
We had a sit down reception with alternate serving of Pork and Chicken for entrée, Beef and lamb for main. The beef was local stock and the lamb came from our butcher in Turramurra. As it was a farm wedding we wanted to use prize meat to show off the best of the local produce. Greg and his team from Cateraid cooked the food to perfection! Their service in the lead-up to the wedding and on the day of the wedding was impeccable. Greg the owner of Cateraid was pivotal in making our vision of a shed wedding come true. Cateraid set up a commercial kitchen and cooked the food for 120 people in a little shed next to the big shed without a hassle and it was YUMMY!
Wedding Favours...
We gave our guests a horseshoe with a big bow that they could take home and hang on the wall. I collected the horse shoes for a few months from our stables. My 95 year old grandad grinded all the rust off and then polished and painted them to look brand new! I then attached ribbon through the holes and the menu to the back.
Special Memories...
Arriving on my horse to the sounds of my favourite song The Man from Snow River. I rode across our paddock with my 4 girlfriends Holly, Hannah, Kathie and Louise, on my horse Rooster. It was a long and nerve wracking lead up preparing myself and Rooster for the ride. Horses are scared of lots of things so I had to ride around for months before with a veil in my hair flowing behind my horse to make sure he wouldn't get scared and buck or bolt on the day. You can imagine people coming to our stables thought I was a bit of a nut in my riding gear with a veil coming out of my helmet! When I told Rhonda [Hemmingway] I'd be riding my horse to the ceremony she almost fainted... I think she thought I was joking! I had no chance to practise as I didn't want to mark or ruin the dress so it was all left to the day and I just hoped the dress would go over the horse and not show my knickers! We also practised with fake garlands to make sure the flowers around the horse's necks weren't going to upset them. I had a lot of nervous energy on the day and the horses pick up on this so I had to control my emotions big time or we could have had a disaster!
Nell our dog was the ring bearer and another memorable moment on the day was having her a part of the ceremony. When we went to sign the register she put her paw up on the table right near the certificate as if she herself wanted to sign the register! Our minister Reverend Ware laughed and said he drew the line at the dog signing the register! We love our animals so much and everyone knew the dog and horse would play big roles!
I loved having Marcus Bell photograph. After my own dad, David Oliver, Marcus is my hero photographer. His work is sensational and he flew down for the weekend to photograph our wedding. He just took my breath away with the images he captured! I cried and cried and cried when I saw the images from our wedding. He did such a beautiful job capturing every single person and our true feelings, emotions and personalities!
Reverend Ware, our school chaplain, did our ceremony for us. Scott and I both met at Barker and Reverend Ware used to coach Scott in rugby. We are both very fond of our memories from school and Reverend Ware. He knows us so well and performed the most beautiful ceremony for us..... it was better than what we could have ever dreamed of!
Dad took some photos of me after the wedding at sunrise with Rooster by the dam in the most beautiful mist. Dad was itching to take some shots on the wedding day but had to step back and take on the role of father of the bride. Seeing him so excited to get the camera out and take the most beautiful misty reflection shot of rooster and me was a highlight!
Wedding Night...
We camped by the river on our property in true 'Man From Snowy River Style'!
Wedding Soundtrack...
We had a guitar and violin duo Simon and Glenn (Skarratt and Watts) who started off the afternoon with the Man From Snowy River for the ceremony. They continues with Aussie bush ballads and then Irish music kicked in after a few drinks. Everyone was dancing before the main meal was even served! Simon and Glenn were absolutely fantastic!
Later on we had Furnace and the Fundamentals, a 6 piece band, take over for the commencement of the dance floor. They kept the party going till 1am! The boys asked me if they had any noise restrictions...my answer was "the cattle won't complain too much!"
Honeymoon...
Kim's Retreat and the Northern Territory.
The future...
Work, live, love and look at our pictures everyday! And get excited for when our kids get married one day to relive it all!
Wedding Photography...
We actually had two photographers, Marcus from Studio Impressions (because he is the best there is and an amazing friend and talent!) and Alex Vo from David Oliver Photography. Marcus as mentioned is a true hero of mine. His style of photography is true to the photojournalist style we love and strive to achieve through our work.
Alex Vo from David Oliver Photography is my assistant and second shooter on weddings. I photographed Alex's wedding with Dad almost 10 years ago. He is the most amazing shooter and a lovely person. He is my absolute backbone on a wedding day when I'm shooting. He is everywhere I need him to be and I couldn't have had my wedding without him there, not only shooting but as a support. He did an amazing job second shooting for Marcus and assisting him.
We love that our wedding photos are just us! They have captured everyone and everything about the day... Marcus absolutely outdid himself on the wedding day. Between myself and dad we have a combined almost 45 years experience in the industry. We set the wedding up amongst some beautiful scenery at the right time of day for light and the right time of year... seeing how Marcus went with the photos was so exciting for us and WOW did he blow us away!
We also had Bruce pottinger from L&P photographics make an amazing video of the day with some beautiful time-lapse footage that really allowed us to relive the day in motion and enjoy parts we missed or forgot even happened!
Photography Studio Impressions & David & Clare Oliver Photography Ceremony + Reception Venue Private property Bride's Dress Rhonda Hemmingway Bridesmaids Dresses Zimmermann Hair Danielle Tedesco 0408 113 371 Makeup Makeup by Ashleigh 0427 207 501 Flowers Bouquets & animal wreaths by Yeng Tan, reception and ceremony flowers by Collette Gallacher Catering Cateraid Dessert Buffet The Brownie Bar Entertainment Skarratt and Watts 1800 675 565 + Furnace and the Fundamentals
Did you miss Part I of Scott and Clare's country wedding? Click here
MW x