Elise and Brody

There is something just beautiful about a garden wedding. From the photographs among the greenery, to the romance and magic of mother nature. Victoria’s Mount Macedon region provides almost a mystical mountain feel to the atmosphere. I love the romance of today’s celebration!

Elise and Brody met through mutual friends. “Brodie & I had been friends through mutual friends for years. We’d both secretly had feelings for each other but it wasn’t until my brother-in-law, who worked with Brodie at the time, began talking about me at work and what I was up to etc… My scheming brother-in-law was also doing groundwork with me, making sure I knew as much about Brodie as possible. Eventually Brodie called to ask if I’d be interested in catching up, to which I eagerly agreed. Within months we were inseparable and to this day we’ve barely been apart. So what started as a friend, we’ve now become best friends and lifelong partners.”

Today’s photographs are by the girls at Red Telegram who capture such beauty and magic in their photographs while still retaining an elegance.

Elise and Brody held their ceremony and reception at Campaspe House in Woodend. “We were sure of only a couple of things for our wedding. It was to be intimate, the location had to allow somewhere for the ceremony, somewhere for the reception and accommodation. And we wanted it to be as relaxing as possible for our guests without the need to drive from location to location. Campaspe House was even more appropriate because we had the whole place to ourselves, not something we came across easily when researching locations.

I remember arriving to inspect Campaspe House, I knew the moment I arrived it was perfect. I literally couldn’t keep the smile off my face. The sweeping driveway, the manicured gardens, and the warm country feel of seclusion, it really did have it all. Then the food, which everyone still raves about, the service, that went beyond serving us food and drinks but included entertaining the kids and making us feel like the place was ours, and the behind the scenes effort from the staff made it go above and beyond anything money can buy.”

“One of the most humorous things that happened during the day was early in the morning, we’d checked out of our hotel to go to the wedding location. I was handing the keys into reception while everyone else was piling into the cars to leave. As I was walking back I saw my sister Shahn sprinting from the car back into the hotel room, before sheepishly returning with the wedding dress! She’d accidentally left it hanging in the wardrobe… to this day we still laugh about forgetting the dress!”

Elise’s sister played an extra special role in the day. “One of the most amazing details about our wedding was that my sister Shahn designed and made my dress.

It is something I look back on fondly, we are all so proud of her and it was definitely a highlight that she could do this for me. Even though she lives about 4 hours away, she travelled home for fittings and did anything possible to help me come up with a dress that I absolutely loved. As if that wasn’t enough she also made her own stunning dress, one for my other sister and my mum. She is so passionately talented and I couldn’t have been happier with the outcome. How many people can say their sister made their wedding dress?”

Music choices were important. “Brodie and I love music, which makes agreeing on one song difficult. The location was perfect, the atmosphere was made by the surroundings and the people; we just needed a song that blended all that together without being overpowering. It was my sister who eventually suggested ‘the feather song’ from Forrest Gump. It was just right.”

Family made the day for the newlyweds. “We loved having a ‘weekend wedding’ was something we will forever cherish. It was waking up and having breakfast with all our family, sitting around the pool before the ceremony while the kids swam, enjoying a night of great food, singing, dancing, and laughter, and then waking up the next morning to do it all again – just instead of the ceremony we played board games in the lounges while it poured with rain outside, just like we would have done if we’d all still lived at home.”

Elise and Brodie kept their guest list intimate – to only 24. “The thing about our wedding was that it really was designed for us. We had agreed from the very beginning that it was to be our way or not at all. With this simple approach we set out to make sure we didn’t lose focus on the ultimate goal – us. It wasn’t about spending lots of money or doing anything outrageous. It was about celebrating our relationship in front of our immediate family. It was hard deciding not to have friends there but we couldn’t draw a line and if we’d done the ‘big wedding’ neither of us would have enjoyed it, so what was the point. We decided to head away for a weekend wedding that meant everyone in our family could be together. It doesn’t happen very often as some of my siblings live interstate and Brodie’s family hadn’t been on a family holiday for many years.”

“Another important detail was that my Aunty made the flowers for me. I was so happy with the results and it felt extremely humbling to have family members included in the day – even if they weren’t there.

The jewellery I wore was given to me by my grandmother to wear to my debutante ball several years earlier. It was important to include things that reminded me of friends, and I will always have fond memories of both occasions – as my best friend from childhood was my deb partner, and then, Brodie in our wedding – two of the most important men in my life on two of my most memorable days, all tied together with jewellery from my grandmother. I also borrowed my mum’s cameo to pin onto the flowers as my something borrowed; my sister wore a cameo on her wedding day also borrowed from my mum.”

Elise’s priority was to stay relaxed throughout the day. “I really wanted no stress, and everyone just to enjoy the lead up and the day. It was important to me that the details didn’t dominate the day. If it didn’t have special importance to us it really wasn’t getting any more attention than absolutely necessary. I printed the invitations and place cards and the wedding centre pieces were organised by my mum, the music was organised by me, an iPod with all our favourite songs – can it get any easier? Brodie and I also made the decision to forego the bonbonierre in favour of paying for the wedding night accommodation for all our guests. We knew that it took them quite some effort to be there with us and we wanted the memories of the weekend to be their keepsake.”

The weather gods held off for Elise and Brodie. “Brodie and I barely slept the night before. We’d been watching the weather intently in the lead up and were not comforted by the forecast of torrential rain and thunderstorms. I had said from the beginning that I didn’t care if it rained, I love rain. But the thought of flooding rain certainly pushed that love. We worried about when the weather would come, and would it be before 4pm. All that stress was wasted. The storm front missed Woodend and it didn’t rain until about midnight the night of the wedding, and it didn’t stop until we left for our honeymoon 2 days later (after about 40mm of rain and flooding pathways and roads at Campaspe House – sure glad we had a Friday wedding).

A friend who was in Melbourne, about and hour away, at the time sent us a message saying how sorry she was about the weather and hoped we still enjoyed the day. She’d had to pull over (to the side of the road) because the rain was so heavy. Meanwhile we were sitting outside drinking champagne – the weather gods were definitely on our side.”

A relaxed reception followed the photographic session. “Brodie is not comfortable being centre of attention or a big dancer, so we made a compromise prior to the wedding. He wouldn’t have to dance, if he could play me a song on his guitar instead. The guitar was actually a present from me to celebrate our engagement so it was even more fitting. It was extremely beautiful and touching… although his enthusiasm did cause him to break a guitar string. We both agreed if that’s the worse that happened on the day we can live with that.”

Congratulations Elise and Brodie! Thank you for sharing your wedding day with us today at Polka Dot Bride! Thank you also to the girls at Red Telegram for sharing today’s images!

Photographs by Red Telegram Photography