Belinda and Ben

I love the country and Echuca is not part of the world I am unfamiliar with – so striking a balance between the beauty of the Australian backdrop and the modern style of a couple can be tough but today’s wedding does just that!

Belinda tells their story. “Ben and I met through one of my cousins years before I moved to Yarrawonga (Ben’s home town). A year or so after moving to Yarrawonga Ben swept me off my feet with an interesting dance to Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” at a 21st birthday party… The rest is history!!! ”

Daniella Melfi Photographer captured the romantic country wedding photographs today!

Belinda notes, “The direction I wanted to take with my wedding was relaxed, laid back and lots of fun!! I didn’t want any hassles at all for our guests, family, bridal party and most importantly us!!! We decided to have our wedding in Echuca/Moama as it is a beautiful place, and central meeting point for most of our friends & families being from both Melbourne and Yarrawonga.”

Belinda chose a Fiorenza gown from Eternal Bridal while her bridesmaids wore dark grey gowns from White Runway.

Lynn’s Florist Echuca styled the bouquets, Belinda remarking, “The brides bouquet was a mix of hydrangeas & roses and the bridesmaids carried small bunches of hydrangeas.”

Moama on Murray Resort was chosen for the ceremony. Belinda explaining, ” We chose to have our ceremony at Moama on Murray Resort as we wanted as many of our guests to be able to stay in the one spot, wander down for the ceremony and then all be together the following day for a catch up bbq and drinks to reminisce on the day/night that was…”

For her walk down the aisle, Belinda chose, “Little Chief by Xavier Rudd – An amazing song that captures exactly how I feel about Ben… A song that gives me goosebumps every time I listen to it.. I loved having the most relaxed/laid back morning imaginable with my Mum, Sister and favourite girls in the world. And then having my wonderful Dad walk me down the aisle.. He made it all light hearted and we had a bit of a laugh walking down. ”

“We were blessed with beautiful weather and were married with the river flowing in the background surrounded by, and under beautiful big gum trees. The walkway leading to the decked area where we were married was lined with Shepherds Hooks and Hanging Balls. It really was a truly romantic garden setting without being over the top.”

“The children in my bridal party made our day so much more special. My Junior groomsman (nephew) Nathan, Flower Girl (niece) Olivia and Page Boy (God son) Jett… They kept us guessing and laughing the whole day.. We just wondered what they were going to do next!”

Of their photographer, Belinda says, “Our photographer and I went to the same high school. She was the year level below me and after finishing school I had not seen her for a few years. I had the pleasure of being a bridesmaid in my best friend’s wedding and Dannii was her photographer. From that day onwards I had always said that I would be having Dannii as my wedding photographer. So as soon as Ben proposed she was one of the very first phone calls I made to make sure I could lock her in for our wedding.

Her approach to photography is amazing. Being quite pregnant at the time of shooting our wedding didn’t stop Dannii from climbing trees and balconies or crawling through bushland to capture that perfect photo! She was just amazing. Even my husband who absolutely hates having photos taken said that Dannii made it light hearted and entertaining! I couldn’t be happier with our photos, they are so natural and that was exactly what I was after. ”

Buses transported guests from the ceremony venue to the reception.”Our reception venue Radcliffe’s in Echuca was picked and booked on the evening of the day that we were engaged. Ben and I went out for dinner after he proposed and we walked past a beautiful red brick building in the heart of the Port of Echuca that we poked our heads into to have a look. We were blown away at what we found… a beautiful restaurant and a fully enclosed Conservatory Garden that looks like something out of a fairy tale.

The room is enclosed with beautiful green vines hanging from the ceiling and walls with twinkling fairy lights intertwined throughout the vines and coach lights surround the edges of the room. It was everything that I was after.. a relaxed yet magical setting at the same time.”

Tracy’s Cakes Echuca created the wedding cake.”Our cake was hands down one of my favourite things about our wedding! I had a vision in my head of what I wanted.. I couldn’t find a picture to match. So I did my best to explain to Tracy of Tracy’s Cakes Echuca what it was that I was after!! I left it all up to her…”

For their first dance, Belinda recalls, “Our first dance was to Breathe by Faith Hill – A beautiful song that I used to sit on the school bus each morning and listen to on my ‘disc-man’!! I remember always saying I will have this played at my wedding. We absolutely winged our first dance… We laughed the whole way through which again is us all over!”

Congratulations Belinda and Ben! Thank you for sharing your ay with us! Thank you also to Daniella Melfi Photographer for sharing today’s wedding!