Updated by Belinda on Jan 29, 2015 in Blog Post, Wedding | 10 comments

Wild weather didn’t stop the excitement, nor could it dampen the heartfelt emotion and love overflowing from family and friends at Olivia & Richard’s wedding celebrations on Friday 16th January, 2015.

Olivia and Richard set out to create a Downton Abbey themed wedding with a modern edge and they succeeded. The garden party moved inside, but the attention to detail and the stunning glass walls created the feeling that you were outside and natural light flooded the venue. It was a perfect wedding and celebration of two very special people.

Starting at Heritage Hair Gallery, St Leonards, with the girls getting ready in the morning was a sign of how the day would become. Laughter and stories of friendships were shared while Sam Swierc created hair styling and Brianna Schipper did makeup. Two incredibly talented women who transformed the bridal party in a few short hours. And what a gorgeous setting for photos with gold gilded mirrors, black and white wallpapers and hundreds of antique pieces displayed in the salon. So much fun!

We went back to Olivia’s family home to finish getting ready and the boys dressed at the couple’s home.

Bron, my second shooter and best friend, captured the boy’s story while I photographed the girls. Louise Scott from Timeless Elegance came to help Liv get into her dress and it became a real family affair. The bouquets made with love by Emily Titmus, Apple Blossom Weddings, were stunning as always, with latte roses complimenting the soft belt Olivia wore around her waist.

The guys, looked handsome in grey suits with tan shoes and buttonholes with a key attached. Richard’s suit was from Routley’s and the guys found theirs at Roger David. I loved the simple grey edging on Richard’s shirt giving small detail with no need for a tie.

The wind was wild and increasing all the time, but the only change that was needed for the service was a slight relocation to be moved inside. Richard worked with the staff at Quamby Estate, the groomsmen and florist, Emily Titmus, to set up helium filled Silver and White balloons, and decorate the inside of Quamby instead of the gardens and it truly looked stunning.

When Olivia walked down the aisle on her father’s arm, it brought a tear to Richard’s eyes and he looked at her like his world had new purpose. It was such a powerful affirmation of his deep love for her and she glowed with happiness.

Victoria Simon, as the marriage celebrant, started the ceremony by introducing the Bridal Party; Teresa, Tali, Kurt, Mitch and Sean and the ring bearer, Tali’s young son, Will. She then asked everyone to raise their right hand and repeat after her, the guests’ vows with everyone promising to have a great time and enjoy their special day. All the guests promised to eat all the food, drink all the wine and introduce themselves to others throughout the evening. They promised to bust-a-move on the dance floor and celebrate!

Another really special part of the service was the Love-Lock Ceremony which originated in Eastern Europe … a very fitting ritual as the couple have Lithuanian & Polish heritage. Using a padlock and tiny keys, Olivia and Richard locked together their enduring love, closing the padlocks so they can never be pulled apart.  In this ritual, their love is fastened in absolute, eternal unity. The keys were then tied to a helium balloon and released later in the afternoon. The padlocks were put into a small glass box with their names etched onto it.

Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote: “Love is the master key that opens the gates of happiness” So, I guess you could say that the motif of ‘key to my heart’ became a thing that took and became a life of its own.

Olivia spent hours and hours with family and friends helping to make intricate and meaningful table decorations. Some of the details included vintage key boxes. The image on the rear of the boxes was photoshopped by their friend Tom Wilson, then the purple stencil work on the images was hand painted by Richard and Olivia. Keys inside the boxes were all threaded and tied as part of the ‘Sweat Shop Team’ including Olivia’s parents and some extra support from Kurt’s girlfriend, Emily.

Lizzie Benstead helped create the menus along with Bruno & Debbie Jankus. Lizzie hand glued over 700 pearls to the menus and the gift bags, which had iron on transfers and custom embossed stamping as well. Every single menu at the reception was unique, each having different embellishments. Chinese paper fans lay in a basket with vintage lace lining and were given out to the girls during the speeches.

The candlesticks and metal buckets were hand painted and distressed by Olivia, and she had so much fun doing them! Lots of the tiered cake stands were borrowed from friends and sat on the lolly buffet which had a floral two tiered painted cake stand from Italy, which belonged to Olivia’s grandparents, who had received it for their wedding as a gift, and now has been passed on to the newly weds. The kiss biscuits were an old family recipe, from Liv’s Grandmamma which were baked by her mum, Debbie and her bestie, Tracey, with help from Grandmamma and Kurt.

The Cake was made from purple and green macaroons from Delicious Little Things with a chocolate mud cake on top. 

Kurt, Liv’s ‘bridesman’, stood in for their sister Reanna as maid of honour, and was also the DJ for the night, bringing in his sound gear from home. Hard to believe that all normally lives in his bedroom! Kurt has a healthy respect for classics and the Midnight Special from cars certainly got the people moving!

I was honoured to be a part of Olivia and Richard’s day. Thank you xx