Kelly & Ben

I really don’t think a wedding could be filled with more country charm than Kelly & Ben’s sweet Bendigo farm wedding. Think photos under the peppercorn trees, relaxing on hay bales with cool drinks from a nearby caravan bar, before diving in for a bite to eat from the enormous, plentiful grazing table. There were vows under the gum tree, speeches as the sun set in country style over the paddocks, and a tower of macarons just the ticket for a dance floor treat. Every moment, beautifully captured by Smith + Archer.

The couple, who met while Ben was working on a job site near Kelly’s home, became engaged on a quiet night at home. Kelly telling  “After getting our son out of the shower I was getting him dressed and Ben had hidden the ring in his night time nappy. I found it when putting the nappy underneath our son Kai. He got down on his knee and asked me to marry him. Kai (our son) knew something was happening and wanted kisses from us both so it was very special.”

The bride wore a lace, illusion neck gown from Bendigo Bridal Collections, telling “I went shopping by myself actually. I had an idea in my head on what I wanted and was lucky enough to find it at the first shop I went into. I knew it felt right so I bought it on the spot.”

“My parents both walked me down the aisle as they both support me and I really wanted to include them both,” tells Kelly.

Kelly & Ben wed on their own farm near Bendigo, a place where they grow olives for their business Earthgoods Bendigo. Kelly explaining “We got married on our own property. We chose our favourite tree near the creek and a nice shady spot for the ceremony. The reception was in our garden at the back of our house.”

Kelly and Ben chose Kerrie Grossman to officiate their ceremony. “We wanted a really relaxed ceremony. We had hay bales and wood for the guests to sit on. We wanted it colourful so our invite specially asked for people to express their self with colour. We didn’t want anyone on their phones during the ceremony so our celebrant reiterated this several times. We just wanted everyone to enjoy the moment and enjoy all the special moments we had chosen” tells the bride.

The newlyweds bagged up confetti for their guests, leading to their favourite photo of the day. “We love the confetti shot! It captures us both perfectly and features the confetti we so wanted to be included in our day.”

The couple made sure to include their sons in their wedding – the couple’s son Kai carrying a surprise sign down the aisle ahead of his mother.

Fig The Fox styled the native floral arrangements, Kelly noting “I wanted natives and king proteas on the day. A non-structured bouquet and a flower crown to match. Emily our florist really out did herself. She styled the reception with beautiful dahlias and greenery that also featured at our ceremony.
We wanted to keep it colourful and relaxed and the bouquets and flower crowns were just so much better than I had even imagined.”

Ben tells “Kelly did the whole something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue tradition but with a spin. Her something blue was getting the bridesmaids to write notes on the bottom of her wedding shoes. She also wore a bracelet that I had given to her not long after we met.”

Guests enjoyed a bountiful grazing table, Kelly noting ” I am gluten free so we made sure all of the catering was gluten-free friendly and the cake and macaron tower was entirely gluten free and was a standout. We also really wanted a whole grazing table full of delicious food to feature before our caterer delivered sliders and other warm food to our guests.”

The bride and groom kicked off the dance floor with a first dance to “The Lumineer’s “Ho Hey” played by One More Song noting “Our band played it perfectly and we just wanted something that meant something to us. We both loved this song so it was an easy choice.”

The Caravan Bar served up drinks all night long, Kelly noting “Our vendors were all so amazing! On the day our band, and the caravan bar serving drinks for us really helped create a relaxed vibe.”

  The reception was filled with handmade details, tells Kelly. “We built the whole ceremony area, hung the lighting in the reception, made timber signs that then were hand drawn by a friend who does calligraphy. We placed all the bottles and barrels around the reception that were later styled by Emily (our florist). We made all of the favours ourselves for our guests. Ben built a beautiful wooden swing that we hung from our tree that became a great talking point for the reception and featured in many selfies on the night!”

Of their photographer, the bride tells “Ali was amazing! She was unobtrusive you didn’t even know she was taking pics! Ali managed to get all the shots in a fun way one on one with Ben and me. She included music that created wonderful background music for us when we were having our solo pics. The bridal party snaps were so much fun and we loved that we got candid pics as well as some wonderful ones together.
We just love the photos that we have at sunset in our paddocks. Ali was the right person to photograph our wedding.”

A big congratulations Kelly & Ben! Thank you for sharing your beautiful day with us! Thank you also to Smith + Archer for sharing today’s gorgeous celebration!