Jaci and Ben
I love the fresh fun of a backyard wedding and the romance of marrying in a garden you’ve spent so much time in. The garden you’ve kicked a football in, watched the sun set with a gin & tonic in hand and now, celebrate your marriage in. The only problem is, I don’t think I’d ever be able to move! Jaci and Ben married at their home on the Gold Coast and the glittering candlelight, masses of white blooms and sentimental touches only added to the magic of their love story.
Jaci tells of how they met. “We met through mutual friends while we were studying at university. We were celebrating a friend’s 20th birthday at a popular Gold Coast club and Ben was the only guy on the dance floor surrounded by girls – all of the other boys were too cool to dance and were standing around holding onto their stubbies. I knew that I had to meet this guy … so I did … and the rest is history.”
Photos today are by Bek Grace Photography. I love Bek’s graceful way of capturing images.
Jaci chose a gown from Luv Bridal with shoes from Badgley Mischka. Her rose bouquet was created by Divine Wedding Flowers.
Jaci walked down the aisle to Ingrid Michaelson – The Way I Am. Jaci explains, “We were married on the property Ben (the groom) grew up on and the reception was held in a marquee we set up in our backyard (also located on the same property).”
Jaci describes the wedding day as, “Everything we could have hoped for – relaxed, fun, and one giant celebration.”
Of their photographer, Jaci remarks, “Bek was absolutely amazing throughout the lead up to and on our wedding day. We did an engagement shoot prior to the wedding so that we could get to know each other and she was warm, friendly, fun and relaxed. She was totally happy to go along with whatever we were doing on the day and she totally fitted into the whole feeling of our wedding. She captured all of our ‘special’ moments perfectly and others that we were too busy to notice. She did an amazing job!”
Jaci says, “Having the wedding at our home I did a lot of the wedding set up myself. The DIY included all of the set up, chalk board signage, post-ceremony drinks and “we tied the knot” jars, table settings, place settings, centrepieces, lolly bar, all of the wedding favours, arrangement of the reception and venue flowers.”
Jaci tells, “We had my mother-in-law make our wedding cake and she used the groom’s grandmother’s cake tin to make the top tier. We also did a lot of things that were a little unconventional – we used large stones instead of a guestbook for guests to leave a message on and we used hay bales instead of chairs for our ceremony seating. We also dedicated the first hour on the dance floor to the songs we used to hear in the club where we first met – The Rose and Crown, Gold Coast. It brought back a lot of memories for our friends and, of course, us.”
As favors, guests received handmade hot chocolate on a stick placed in a sweet striped mug,
For their first dance, Jaci remembers, “We danced to Grover Washington’s “Just the Two of Us”. We wanted a fun song that wasn’t too serious but still had a ‘first dance’ feel to it. It suited us perfectly and it allowed us to pull out our unconventional ‘first dance’ moves.”
Congratulations on your marriage Jaci and Ben! Thank you for sharing your wedding day with us! Thank you also to Bek Grace Photography for sharing today’s images!
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