Real Wedding – Jacqui & Brendon, Beech Forest VIC

Using the romantic redwood trees in the Otway Ranges as the backdrop for their incredibly intimate ceremony, Jacqui and Brendon said their ‘I do’s in front of their closest loved once with celebrant superstar Chloe Jetson leading the way.

It was important to this pair that they kept their day relaxed, but for it to still feel like a once in a lifetime moment and this is exactly what they achieved when they turned a small cottage into the perfect reception space to host a delectable dinner.

Jake Hogan was there to capture this special celebration and we thing you will agree it’s a winner!

In Jacqui’s words…

The meeting.

We met at the start of 2012, on a night out in Geelong. A mutual friend introduced us and we hit it off straight away.

The ‘one’.

It’s hard to say, but I feel like we both knew pretty early on that we had found someone pretty special.

The proposal.

Brendon proposed while we were on a holiday around Europe. I had been hoping he would propose sometime on our holiday, but whenever I would make little suggestions about it, he would be very dismissive of the idea, really making me think it wasn’t on his radar at all!

Our final destination was Santorini, and on a beautiful morning while we watched the sun rise, Brendon got down on one knee and asked the big question. We celebrated that day on a stunning cruise around the island.

Style inspiration.

When we sat down and really thought about how we saw ourselves getting married, we knew we wanted a small and intimate event, in a beautiful location. We had visited the Californian Redwoods in Beech Forest together a few times and it was an easy decision to hold our small ceremony within the stunning backdrop. We wanted a very relaxed vibe, but still wanted our guests to feel like they were at a wedding. Once we had the ceremony location, I went about finding somewhere for everyone to stay together, and where we could also hold the small reception all at the one location. I came across Glenaire Cottages, and the location and set up was ideal. We visited a few times before the wedding to suss out the space and were then able to turn one of the cottages into an intimate dinner location, with spectacular views.

The dress.

The dress was easy. My mum, sister and I went to Melbourne one day, and in the second shop we went to I was able to find what I was looking for. I wasn’t too fussy, and knew I wanted something that would fit in nicely with the beautiful surrounds.

Favourite moment.

For both of us, our favourite moment was seeing each other through the trees as I walked down the ‘aisle’. It was a pretty long walk, and we were able to see glimpses of each other as I made my way towards Brendon. It was exciting knowing we were about to be husband and wife.

Meaning of marriage.

I think it is a symbol to everyone that we chose each other forever and will commit to one another each and every day. It is a way to show the world we are proud to be with each other forever, to love them, treat them right and make them happy each day.

Wedding soundtrack.

I walked down the aisle to ‘Feels like home’ Martha Marlow.

We then just had a playlist we had pulled together of all our favourite songs that played following the ceremony, and into the evening.

Funny stories (or near disasters).

As our wedding was quite small, we found it pretty easy to organize.

Our lovely caterer however did have a little trouble getting to the venue. There was unfortunately a car accident on the way to venue and traffic was blocked off. The team from Annie’s Kitchen approached the police, and received an escort past the accident so they could still make it to our wedding on time which we were very appreciative of!

Words of wisdom.

It is so important to do what you want and make the day a reflection of you both.

Engagement parties can be a festival of fun, to see what we mean, check out Sheetal and Andrew’s perfect party.

JACQUI AND BRENDON’S TRIBE

Ceremony location: Californian Redwoods, Beech Forest – a beautiful location in the Otway’s, well worth a visit if you haven’t been there.

Reception venue: Glenaire Cottages, Glenaire – cute timber cottages overlooking Apollo Bay. Bo and Neil were so welcoming and happy for us to do whatever we wanted to make our day special.

Celebrant/Officiant: Chloe Jetson – Chloe was amazing. As soon as we met her we knew she was the one for us! She was so relaxed, but professional, organised and wrote a beautiful ceremony that reflected our relationship perfectly.

Photography: Jake Hogan Photography

Videography: Love Soldier – Jake and Stu are absolute legends! I cannot recommend them both highly enough. We spent a fair bit on time together after our ceremony and it really did feel like we were hanging out with a couple of mates! And to top it off, the images and video they captured are more perfect then we could have ever asked for.

Styling and Florist: Autumn Melbourne (my sister) – she did a stunning job at making our reception beautiful.

Catering: Annies Kitchen – the team from Annies Kitchen were lovely! They cooked beautiful food and went above and beyond to make the evening run smoothly for us.

Hair and Makeup: Blush Bar

The Dress: Hannii Melbourne

Veil / head wear: Pearls and Roses, Geelong

Shoes: Wittner

Rings: Charles Rose

Grooms suit: Eddie Elias

Cake / Cake topper: My mum

Signage: Sketch and Etch

Honeymoon: Rimba, Bali, Indonesia