Bringing a little glamour to the Southern Highlands, Kayla and Blake married in front of The Stables of Bendooley Estate. Romantic in every luxurious detail, from the breathtaking floral installations to the blustery outdoor ceremony, through to the simple elegance of styling, it was a truly beautiful day to remember! All Grown Up Weddings captured every moment.

Knowing each other through family, Kayla tells, ”Blake and I were acquaintances through my sister’s circle of friends. We started seeing each other after I attended a party at his house. We dated for a couple of months and then I finally asked him if he was going to ask me to be his girlfriend. That was 7 and a half years ago!”

Encapsulating the romance and elegance of the day, Kayla wore the classic princess style ‘Alejo’ gown by Rosa Clara, from Marry Me Bridal. In a case of serendipity, the bride remembers, ”It was the first dress I tried on at the second bridal shop my bridesmaids and I went to on day one of looking! It was perfect!” The groom wore a classic black Gibson suit with satin lapels and a black Hugo Boss shirt.

Although not a straight or easy path, Kayla enjoyed pulling together their wedding details immensely! She tells, ”I actually enjoyed every part of the wedding planning, enough that I’d think about it as a career. It would be so wonderful to be able to bring people the joy that I felt when all of our plans and vision came together. Our wedding style was classic, simple but elegant. We planned the wedding ourselves and I took the lead. There were challenging times, not being able to find bridesmaid dresses for months and suits not being ordered but in the end it was the best (almost) 2 years of my life.”

Weather is always a factor when planning an outdoor ceremony, as Kayla and Blake well know! They tell, ”We had our ceremony just outside The Stables, Bendooley Estate, with the doors closed and a big floral installation above our heads. Our friends and family sat on wooden benches on the grass area before us. The day was windy but the adrenaline kicked in and it was by far the best day of our lives. We couldn’t have asked for it to be any better, we felt so loved by all our family and friends watching us on. We made the wedding the way we wanted, it was perfect in every way to us and felt like a true reflection of us. During the ceremony we lit a special candle for Blake’s dad who sadly passed away many years ago. We made sure all of the most important people to us were there and that’s all we could ask for.”

Flowers were big part of this glam highlands wedding, specifically, hanging ones! The bride shares, ”Our florist Jess from Botanica Style Co was amazing; she helped us with our vision for a green and white colour palette – timeless and elegant. We wanted an array of white flowers – roses, peonies and different textured greenery. We had hanging installations for the ceremony, over the dance floor and closest to the bridal table. We also had table runners and the bridesmaids bouquets matched mine.”

The blustery celebrations taking place amongst gorgeous countryside were all captured by Anna Turner from All Grown Up Weddings, with Kayla saying, ”She was wonderful. So easy to work with and just a dream photographer. Our photos are amazing!! All of our vendors were amazing. We were so lucky to find and book each and every one of them. Rita at Divine Celebrancy was notably amazing; she was so warm and just perfect for us. A lot of our guests asked us how we found her and commented on how amazing she was.”

Wanting a classic and timeless yet country based venue, the bride and groom discovered The Stables, Bendooley Estate, before it was built. They remember, ”We had one venue. We actually booked it before the build was complete and took a gamble, as we loved the architect’s drawings and the vision the owner and staff had for the venue. Not to mention their other venue The Book Barn is stunning.”

The speeches were a highlight, filled with sentimental moments, and riotous laughs also. Kayla tells, ”My dad was the emcee for the night; he definitely had quite a few funny moments and made it special. Blake’s mum Sonya mentioned a joke about the word LOL in her speech, the exact same thing Blake was going to mention in his. And Blake made one mistake in his speech, saying that without me he’d be complete, quickly correcting himself and saying incomplete!”

A quick practice of their first dance while the sun was setting over the hills was a memorable moment captured. The bride remembers, ”We actually took dance lessons for our first dance and had a choreographed dance to ‘The Way You Look Tonight’ by Frank Sinatra. Funnily enough we practiced outside while we had photos taken and did it perfectly and then when we had our first dance we made a few errors, luckily only we knew!”

Remembering some of their favourite moments from the golden, breezy, timeless day that was, Kayla and Blake share, ”It was all really special! It all got real at the ceremony when I walked down the aisle to Blake and Blake saw me walking down the aisle. It was so special to share our commitment to each other in front of our family and friends. Honestly it was the best day. All the planning and effort was so so worthwhile. We also couldn’t fault the staff at The Stables, Bendooley Estate; they were so thoughtful and caring.”

Thank you so much to our bride and groom for sharing your stunning wedding day with us, and congratulations! Thank you also to All Grown Up Weddings for your beautiful images.