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Caroline & Xander

Nothing makes sense more in the warmer weather than a vintage garden party wedding. What a way to enjoy the warmer days! Caroline & Xander escaped bucketing rain on their wedding day, just long enough so they could enjoy the sunset and golden light before it began to rain again the following day.  They chose Welsch Photography  to capture it all.

Caroline recalls the story of how she and Xander came to be. “We met at a mutual friend’s 25th birthday party. The theme was “Red” and Xander was dressed as Scarlett Johansson, wearing a blonde wig and fake boobs, and I was dressed as a Baywatch babe. We clicked straight away.”

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Caroline wore a Pronovias gown from Brides Of Beecroft.  She also wore Diana Ferrari shoes – just! She tells, “The week leading up to wedding I asked Xander to spray my shoes with the waterproofing sealant. He followed the shop assistant’s instructions to the letter by placing tape over the heel, which was a shiny silver. When he removed the tape all of the silver coating of the heels came off, making the shoes look horrible! With 3 days to go until the wedding he managed to find the only remaining pair of shoes available in NSW and have them shipped to him in time. I never knew a thing about this until after the wedding!”

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The floral arrangements were styled by Lovely Rita Design through The Wedding Designer.

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The couple chose Xander’s parent’s home in Port Stephens for their wedding, noting, “Both the ceremony and reception were held at Xander’s parents’ property in Port Stephens. The ceremony was in a nice nook of the garden with afternoon tea served on the verandah and surrounding lawn. For the reception we had a large rope and pole marquee with open sides to allow guests to make as much use of the lovely garden space as possible. We even had a native koala decide to take residence in a tree at the front gate to greet guests!”

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Of the processional, Caroline remembers, “My bridesmaids walked to Angus & Julia Stone – The Wedding Song. I walked down to Elvis Presley – Today, Tomorrow & Forever. I get my love of 60’s music from my dad and it was really special to walk down the aisle with him to this special song.”

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Lorraine Stokes performed the marriage ceremony, Caroline noting, “Our lovely celebrant was Lorraine Stokes. She has this presence about her that makes you feel like she’s part of the family and really puts you at ease.”

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Guests enjoyed garden party style afternoon tea and lawn games to celebrate the nuptials.

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Of their photographers, Caroline remarks, “Karl and Bec Welsch (Welsch Photography) were great! They had a sense of calm that really made us feel comfortable. We often didn’t even notice they were there, but they still managed to capture all of the special moments beautifully.”

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“The weather in the days leading up to the wedding was looking a bit worrying, pouring with rain the day before. However as the guests started to arrive the clouds cleared up and the sun came out. We even managed to get the gorgeous sunset photos we hoped for. Strangely it was raining in the evening one suburb away, but we never saw a drop. The day after, as the cleanup commenced the rain started coming down really heavily. We couldn’t have been luckier!”

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The reception was held in a marquee on the lawns on Xander’s parents’ home. Every crafty detail was planned and executed beautifully by The Wedding Designer, Caroline remembering, “The Wedding Designer, from Newcastle, did a stunning job decorating the whole venue. They took care of absolutely all of the details, including designing stationery, labels and signs, based on our invitations. They have a lot of rustic furniture which they used to decorate the marquee and also placed vintage couches around the garden. We especially loved the beautiful arbor they made for the ceremony and the hankie bunting they hung through the marquee.”

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The heartfelt thought and details extended from the invitations to the favors, the bride telling, “Xander’s mum, Peri, helped us handcraft our gorgeous invitations. We used vintage fabrics to make mini bunting to complement our rustic theme. We also gave guests a jar of honey each from Xander’s beehive, which is located on the same property.”

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I Do Wedding Cakes and Amanda Douglass Catering ensured guests were full of food, wine and delicious cake. The bride remembering, “Our delicious cake was made by Penny from I Do Wedding Cakes in Medowie. The amazing catering was by Amanda Douglass. We were worried a buffet dinner would be dull and uninspiring, but we had so many comments from our guests about how delicious and fresh the food was.”

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“All the beautiful speeches were so touching. In particular I didn’t expect my sister, who was maid of honour, to speak. However she got up and gave a surprise toast that reduced us to tears. We loved the relaxed vibe of the wedding that made it feel more like a party than a formal event.”

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Of their first dance, Caroline remembers, “Our first dance was to Jack Johnson’s Angel. Despite not being amazing dancers we really enjoyed the moment. We immediately followed the first dance with a dance with our parents to John Paul Young’s Love Is In The Air which was a lot of fun.”

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Congratulations Caroline and Xander! Thank you for sharing your beautiful day with us! Thank you to Welsch Photography  for sending this wedding our way!