With the beautiful historic Citizen Kandebridge as their backdrop, Amelia and Jamie invited their loved ones to witness the next steps in their love story. Their intimate wedding was full of soft details, Parisian touches and an english garden vibe – slightly wild yet bursting with life. And with Ella Ottaviano by their side, they now have an incredible gallery to look back on forever.

After living and experiencing Sydney’s Inner West for 10 years, Amelia moved to Bowral for a quieter country life. Jamie had told her he was going through Bowral soon to drop his grandmother’s best friend Pam home after she’d been visiting. After hearing this Amelia thought for sure that he was just making up excuses to be near her, but sure enough – he really did drive her home! “I thought, ‘What kind of 30-year-old man drives hours to drive his grandmother’s elderly friend home?’ I almost couldn’t believe it – like it was a funny excuse to be near me and finally go on a proper date. But sure enough, he really was driving her home, and now I know him, this does not surprise me at all; he’s the kindest, most family-oriented man I’ve ever met. Green flags everywhere,” she shared. “What’s also a fantastic and hilarious connection – that woman Pam? Turns out Ella, our photographer, is her granddaughter!”

On a bush walk down “Lover’s Walk”, Jamie kept pointing out how beautiful the view was – so much so that Amelia knew something big was coming! “He was clearly very nervous because he exclaimed the same thing about four times, waiting for the right moment. It was so sweet, and I was so excited. I had a very hopeful feeling that something was coming. Then he proposed, and I could only say “oh my god” about ten times because I was so overjoyed. On the walk back, I felt like I was walking on a cloud; my heart was racing. He said he was experiencing the same. We were both in shock and giggling the whole way home.”

Amelia did her own skin and makeup for the day, as she knew she wanted to feel like herself and is a big lover of all things skincare and makeup. “I was really happy with how it ended up looking – I did about three rehearsal tries of the look before the big day! My biggest tip – use Charlotte Tilbury setting spray! I remember coming home 14 hours later, and my makeup looked exactly the same, which wowed me!”

There were two things that Amelia wanted her outfit to feel: classic and Parisian. She nailed both with this gorgeous white gown with a cinched waist, billowy sleeves, and thigh split leading down into the long train. “I wanted to feel elegant on the day, and I’m really happy with what I chose,” she shared.

For the florals, Amelia and Jamie chose Blooms of Bowral and went with a wildflower, english garden style. Thinks lots of white and blue wildflowers and overgrown foliage! “I wanted it to feel again a bit like our personalities, half classic and cottage-y, and then something a bit more wild and overgrown. I absolutely loved the flowers. If I had a bigger budget, I would’ve done them 10 times over to cover the venue! It was also such a sweet memory with the flowers; the morning after our wedding, I went and walked down and gave all our elderly neighbours the bouquets for their homes, and it was such a nice moment to speak about the wedding with them and give them something to enjoy for the week!”

Their venue of choice for the day was the beautiful Berrima Vault House, now known as Citizen Kandebridge. “We wanted something that would really suit us and our personalities – we loved learning about the history behind the building, the country/cottage feel to half of the building then also the more edgy, dark and cosy side to the other half of the venue. It worked out perfectly for us – a lot of the younger crew ended up dancing outside with all the flowers, with some of the older (or more introverted) folk sitting inside in the darker, cosy, huge fireplace lounge areas. I personally loved these. It meant I could go for a louder moment with my friends outside, then come in and sit down by the huge fireplace to catch up with family and friends. Honestly, one of my favourite parts of the day was having both sides to the venue and going between both!”

Jamie’s most memorable moment was just before Amelia walked down the aisle to join him, vibrating with the anticipation of what was to come. “Everyone always told me that the day would just fly by, so I tried to be aware of every little moment. I vividly remember standing by myself at the end of the aisle, shaking in my boots. And then seeing her for the first time, smiling and walking towards me looking so beautiful, and all my anxiousness leaving immediately.”

She walked down the aisle with her dad as Lana Del Ray’s “Say Yes To Heaven” played. Amelia’s dad was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease five years ago, making the walk all the more meaningful to both of them. “A memory I’ll always hold close to me. My dad is such a wonderful person and someone I really look up to, so this was a memory I’ll treasure forever.”

With only 38 guests, Jamie and Amelia wanted their ceremony to feel really intimate, close enough that they could meet eyes with everyone in the space. “We each did speeches, both absolutely blubbering through it and feeling like our souls were on fire. I can’t explain it – the combination of the nerves and the intensity of the love; I’ve never felt it before. Absolute adrenaline and joy. There were tears, and there was laughter. It was so beautiful.”

Their favourite vendors of the day were their photographer, Ella, and celebrant, Jo Wright. “They both have an energy we really connected with and made the day so special. I would recommend them to anyone looking to plan a wedding!” Amelia shared.

“Signing the forms made it feel really real and got us super excited for the day. We loved hearing about how other people do their weddings and doing our ‘homework’ to write our vows. It was a really special time, a very reflective moment.”

The day itself can be incredibly overwhelming, so Amelia and Jamie’s advice to combat that overwhelm is this: schedule some alone time. “We got told a lot that the day rushes by or that you often get separated throughout the evening. So, right after we signed our wedding certificate, we got taken into the stunning fireplace lounge on our own, with everyone else outside enjoying champagne. We got to sit by the fireplace for ten minutes, have a drink together and let everything sink in. I loved that moment – to hold hands, laugh that we were finally married and could let the nerves flow away and get excited for the rest of the night. It was such a great choice to do this, and I recommend everyone do the same!”

Ella Ottaviano was the perfect photographer for this couple, and Amelia and Jamie couldn’t have been happier with the results! “We used the absolutely lovely Ella. She was wonderful and did such a great job. She kept me feeling really calm and collected throughout it all. Everyone kept mentioning how lovely she was.”

The top five things that made this soft, intimate wedding so special included:

“1. Of course, my husband. The best person I’ve ever met. It was the best day of my life. To feel that kind of powerful love was just incredible.

2. Dad walking me down the aisle.

3. Having everyone we love in one place all together for the day.

4. Joining a new family and having siblings!

5. My parents and their speeches, seeing their dynamic, and hoping I have that just like they do 50 years from now.”

This shot of Amelia and Jamie at their intimate wedding table after the anxiety-inducing part of the day was over is one of their absolute favourites! “I can feel the sheer relief and excitement within us both. We’d done the nerve-wracking start (I kept dreaming I’d face plant while walking down the aisle!) and could finally eat a DELICIOUS dinner and celebrate the joy. I think it really captured our relief and a moment where we could relax and love each other in our quieter way,” Amelia shared. “There’s also another photo of myself with Jamie’s family that I also really love – as an only child, it was wild and exciting to suddenly join a large family and have Jamie’s mum hold my hand in a way of saying “welcome to the family”. Really beautiful.”

Sitting at their reception, surrounded by their loved ones, were some of Amelia and Jamie’s favourite moments of the night. Especially when Amelia’s parents started an impromptu stand-up routine! “All our parents did speeches. However, my parents, in their usual hilarious dynamic, ended up becoming basically unintended stand-up comedians of the night. My dad, when doing his speech, was echoed by my mother’s hilarious takes as she was sitting next to him, ending in roars of laughter throughout the room. The same happened when Mum did her speech; he would go to grab the microphone from her and say something funny. It ended up in this glorious dynamic of my parent’s humour that felt so perfectly captured. Everyone came up to me throughout the night, exclaiming how much they loved their relationship. Looking at my parents and their nearly 50 years of marriage, it felt like such a beautiful glance at what myself and Jamie’s future could be.”

A huge thanks to Ella Ottaviano for capturing and sharing this intimate wedding! Congratulations, Amelia and Jamie – we hope you’re so proud of the beautiful day you created!