Kellie & Jye
This colourful Easter Long Weekend wedding is so full of romance and joy. Kellie and Jye made sure to include everyone- both their own dog, their nieces and nephews right through to older family members in their day and with such a celebration in mind, it was only right that they made it so full of vibrant colour. They chose Sarah Godenzi Photography to capture their day.
Kellie tells their story. “We are high school sweet hearts. Not sure if it is cute or creepy that Jye ‘loved’ me since we met in Year 7 (1997)? We got together in Year 11 (2001) and the rest is history. We were never going to get married though. We didn’t think it was important for us. But one day, that just changed. And we knew we wanted to be husband and wife.”
The groom chose a suit from Calibre.
Kellie chose her wedding gown at Karen Willis Holmes, noting, “I knew I would find dress shopping hard, given my body shape. I went to Karen Willis Holmes in Armadale on the recommendation of a friend and I ended up spending hours in there. The lovely Sarah was fantastic. I think she knew what would work for me straight away but I insisted – no bling! In the end though, Sarah was right. I gave in and tried on some of their beaded dresses.
I never thought they would work for me but the Elvina one did suit me best. I wanted something different but still timeless with the option to change it up a bit. I didn’t want a veil, so the Genevieve over skirt was the perfect alternative for me. Plus, I removed it and the cap sleeves I had added for the reception to change up my outfit. My dress ticked all the boxes for me. And Jye too (I think!).”
Red Earth Flowers created floral arrangements filled with colour for the wedding and the bride added a very special brooch. Kellie notes “I had to have Samantha Wills earrings! Jye bought them for me for my 30th the month before the wedding. I also wore a Tiffany & Co bracelet my closest girlfriends bought me as a 30th gift on the day.
I wore my Oma’s aquamarine ring (my something blue) and my Nanna’s brooch on my bouquet (my something borrowed). My something new was my dress.
My something old is probably one of my favourite ever buys. I really wanted designer shoes to go with my dress but I didn’t really didn’t have the budget for them. What do they say, champagne on a beer budget? That’s me! So I did a bit of research online and came across The Real Real website where I found a pair of vintage Manolo Blahnik heels in my size! Same design that Carrie Bradshaw wore in the episode of Sex and the City where she marries herself. You know they one? Perfect!”
Kellie and Jye were married at Yarra Ranges Estate, Kellie tells, “We wanted a simple, easy venue with a nice outlook that felt like ‘us’. When we drove up to Yarra Ranges Estate and saw the view and the venue, we knew that was it. The venue itself has concrete floor, exposed steel, wood and is open to the surrounding views. The outlook includes their vineyard, rolling hills and bush – very Australian and beautiful. We even had kangaroos at our rehearsal! Anna and Anton are warm and really lovely to deal with.”
For her walk down the aisle, Kellie remembers, “We chose the John Mayer acoustic version of Beyonce’s ‘XO’ and it was played by musician, James Marris.”
“There were some really cute moments involving the kids. One of our page boys, Owen, saw all the people looking at him as he got to the top of the aisle and completely turned to run in the opposite direction. He also went up to my sister as she was doing her reading, just stood right in front and looked up at her. It was a really cute moment and I think it helped ease her nerves.
Cooper also stole the show. At one point during the ceremony he called out really loudly ‘Kellieeee’. I said, yes darling. And he said even more loudly ‘Kellie, you’ve got a bug on your dress’. I think the best one though was when he was just walking around while we were doing our vows and it was almost like we got in his way. So we moved further a part to allow him to walk between us but he just decided to stay there. Stuck right between us, peering out to the crowd. It was like he was trying to hide or be invisible. Very endearing, everyone thought he was the best.”
Rob Grave officiated the ceremony, Kellie remembering, “We wanted it to be very relaxed but still a little sentimental. We have been together for so long, but never celebrated us….no anniversaries or anything. So this was our chance! Our celebrant, Rob Grave, was the only celebrant we met with. He was referred to us from our friends and we called him 5 minutes after our first meeting to ask him if he would marry us. We liked his laid back demeanor, it suited us. And his ability to be serious too. He’s just very genuine and not cheesy!”
“We wrote our own vows and kept all the formalities to a minimum. Jye gets a little tongue-tied when he is nervous and he did slip up at one point – but it made everyone laugh and helped us relax! My sister read ‘I carry your heart with me (I carry it in my heart)’ by E. E. Cummings as it’s always been my favourite poem.
We also had no decoration, no floral arches or anything like that. We wanted the view to be the only back drop. We did have colourful arrangements hanging from milk bottles and colourful petals all down the aisle. It wasn’t planned that our baby (our labrador), Griffen, would be there for the ceremony. We hired a dog sitter to bring him to the venue just for a few photos. But of course, we ran a little behind schedule. Jye says it was one of his favourite parts of the day, during the ceremony, he was looking at me and could see Griffen standing behind me too.”
Of their photographer, Kellie remarks, “Sarah was fantastic from our first meeting and we knew we would have incredible pictures on our wedding day. I had seen her work before and once we met, it made us feel very at ease that our day would be captured perfectly for us. There was no stress or rushed moments on the day. Sarah and her partner Lee Vella, our videographer, just came in and got to work. We didn’t have to do a thing. They made us feel very comfortable, we laughed and had a good time.”
The Cake Company created a semi naked cake for the newlyweds, decorated with bright blooms.
“I found Etsy to be a fantastic, cost effective resource and used it for a few of my wedding pieces. All our wedding stationery was designed by Ruby May Designs on Etsy, two lovely women based in Sydney. We also had wooden table numbers made through MintageDesigns and our awesome foil stamped coasters by PicturePerfectPapier. We also gave each guest Easter eggs at their place setting. They not only tied in well with the splashes of colour we had on the tables, but it was a nice early chocolate fix with Easter the next day.”
Celebrations continued inside the venue, the bride noting “With their European influence and their son as the chef, we knew the food would be delicious and plentiful, which was a high priority for us. And they didn’t disappoint. We had canapes and roaming entrees on the lawn where musician, James Marris, entertained our guests with acoustic tunes. The pork belly, mini burgers and prawns were stand outs.
Then we moved into the venue for sit down mains of eye fillet or lamb cutlets. Followed by cake and a dessert buffet. All the meals were of high quality and delicious. Until the sun went down, you could still appreciate the views from inside and then once it was dark, the fairy lights came on, along with our ‘XO’ letter lights from Heart Shaped Pebbles to make the room shine.”
The newlyweds chose a favourite song for their first dance, the bride remembering “Coldplay is our favourite band and ‘Fix You’ has always been our song, so it was a no brainer. We didn’t learn anything, we would have sucked at that. We just enjoyed the moment doing the dorky little shuffle that we do. It was a great moment to just let it all sink in.”
As the finishing touch for today’s wedding story I am thrilled to share this film from Lee Vella of the day.
Congratulations Kellie and Jye! Thank you fro sharing the stories of your day with us, thank you also to Sarah Godenzi Photography for sharing this wedding with us.
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