For Ash and Jess, they were commited to planning a day that was completely suited their vibe. Casual, relaxed and a little bit boho, the pair opted for a country B&B as their venue, inviting guests to witness their ceremony, celebrating with cheese and champagne, before they exchanged private vows, with only photographer Jake of Jake Hogan Photography (who received rave reviews from both Ash and Jess), present as a witness. When we say do your wedding your way? It is weddings like Ash and Jess where they only included what they wanted, that stands out as a shining example.

After meeting on Tinder “Each other’s pictures captured both our attentions! We had our first date at the cinemas (watching Disney’s Incredibles 2)”. It was during 2020’s lockdown that these two decided that they would tie the knot. Sharing “Ash decided to have us paint a portrait of one another for some fun! We were not allowed to look until each of us was finished. Much to my (Jess’) surprise, Ash didn’t paint a portrait of me, instead, her beautiful painting asked me to marry her!”

The entirety of the day – including the brides getting ready, was at country homestead Barrabool Park. The brides noting  “We chose one location for the entirety of the day. When we went and viewed the location it took our breaths away! With the beautiful scenery and nature, it was a backdrop of its own! We didn’t have a reception so there was no need for a second venue!”

Both Jess and Ash wanted their wedding day attire to match the low key vibes of the day, telling  “Both of us decided we wanted a more relaxed boho style as this screams us! It was a no brainer from both of us that heels were out of the picture! And for Jess, no shoes for the most part was the way to go as this is her to a tee! We both wanted to wear dresses/skirts as this represents both of us.”

Jess and Ash walked down the aisle together, escorted by their dads, to an acoustic version of  Mary Lambert’s “She Keeps Me Warm”. “We are so grateful for them!” they said.  The brides got an extra special surprise when their fathers arrived with rainbow bowties.

“During our walk down the aisle, our niece Henley decided she wanted to join in too! This made everyone giggle and we love her so much that we didn’t mind!”

The official duties of the day were performed by Jessie Belle. Ash and Jess telling “As we were eloping, we only had a ceremony. It was small, and relaxed, which is the vibe we wanted. We didn’t have any known readings, however, our wonderful celebrant made up her own reading based on questions put forward to our nieces and nephews, about love and marriage, as she knew we wanted to involve the kids somehow. This was so unique and special to us.”

 

Knowing they wanted their wedding to be low key, casual and most of all, easy for them both, Ash and Jess knew that booking Big Love Elopements would be the easiest decision of their day. “We would not have had a wedding without the amazing Jake and Jessie! As a team, these two made our day one of the most memorable special days of our life! Their relaxed vibes tied in with ours and we couldn’t have asked for a better duo!

We were so grateful to have worked with Jessie and Jake! They were able to make our wedding unique to us from the touch of leopard print outfit worn by Jessie to including our niece and nephews words in the ceremony! Our dads and brother surprised us with rainbow socks and bow ties to show their support in a quirky but subtle way!”

 

Jess and Ash ditched the idea of a wedding party, but still made sure they honoured those they adore. “As we had an elopement we didn’t have a wedding party as such however we still had Jess’ little cousin Lokki as ring bearer. Ash had her brother Adam as her witness and Jess her Nanna (Maureen) we were so grateful for everyone who came to the wedding (during restrictions we were able to choose our nearest and dearest)”.

Ash and Jess opted out of a reception, but did celebrate with their guests over champagne and cheese!

Advice from Jess and Ash to you for your own big day? “Just RELAX! Everything will run smoothly if you relax! Don’t overthink anything and just have fun!” In fact, these two note that wedding planning, together, remains a wonderful lesson to them both. “We loved being able to realise we are such a good team! But honestly, we didn’t plan too much, which was the best planning of them all!”

These two adored working with photographer Jake. “Where to start! Jake Hogan is the best photographer we could have ever found! We are so grateful we stumbled across him. He made our whole experience a breeze! From our first FaceTime to meeting him everything went so smooth! Jake made us feel super relaxed and completely comfortable to be ourselves! He captured moments that we will cherish forever! We are forever grateful for him!”

The brides made the most of their private photo sessions, sharing their wedding vows without an audience. The moment remaining one of their favourite moments of the day. “It was a beautiful private moment only we can share.”

The flowers on the day were styled by Petals N Stems.”Our family friend Sharon (from Petals N Stems) made our bouquets for us, we just asked for natives and she worked her magic!”

Thank you for sharing your beautiful day with us Jess & Ash! What a beautiful day you had, congratulations! Thank you also to Jake Hogan Photography for sharing today’s beautiful images.