Romantic Wedding at Lancemore Lindenderry Red Hill

When Stephanie and Tim started planning their wedding, they kept coming back to one idea: an elevated garden party. Lancemore Lindenderry Red Hill delivered the perfect backdrop, with towering trees, vineyards and a courtyard that filled with jazz music, candlelight and their favourite people. Add in her vintage lace gown, a vendor list full of old friends and a surprise performance from the bride, and photographer Hayden O’Neill from By Hayden had plenty of unforgettable moments to document!

The one night Tim decided to join his friends out on the town was the night he met Stephanie! “We met by a chance introduction through a mutual friend. We were both out in Mornington with our friendship groups, which was rare for Tim, which makes the way we met more serendipitous. Tim was hooked from the moment we were introduced, and we spent the majority of the night together,” Stephanie shares.

It was a sunny, beautiful August afternoon as Tim dropped to one knee and popped that all-important question that led them here today. “We got engaged at our family farm in Daylesford, a very sentimental place for Tim. It was a beautiful sunny day in early August, and having spent the day exploring at a nearby country town, Tim popped the question whilst the sun was setting over the farm with our 18-month-old in tow.”

Lancemore Lindenderry Red Hill was the backdrop for this romantic wedding. Complete with beautiful garden and reception areas and the added benefit of on-site accommodation, it was the perfect choice. “We really wanted to get married close to home and got married out in the vineyard area between the big trees, and held the reception in the courtyard area outside. Given Victoria’s unpredictable weather in March, it was a bit of a risk to host the reception outside, but we lucked out with a beautiful Autumn afternoon,” Stephanie explained.

Tim and his five groomsmen wore classic black tuxedos from the talented Oscar Hunt team. The only difference was Tim’s slightly more formal look with longer lapels and a dinner shirt.

In Stephanie’s own wedding party, she had five bridesmaids, dressed in mismatched gold and tan dresses.

Stephanie walked down the aisle with her dad, Michael, in arm as an instrumental version of The Verve’s “Bittersweet Symphony”.

She wore a beautiful vintage gown from Vague Atelier, a mother-daughter-owned boutique that sources all of their gowns individually. “I fell in love with a vintage Italian lace and silk bodice and skirt from Vague Atelier, which I immediately knew would suit me & was so surprised that the measurements of the dress were almost perfect, so it felt very meant to be and only needed minimal alterations. It was somewhat risky and stressful buying something online before trying it on, but Margherita and Paula were so thorough and helpful; it made the experience feel really special, and I just trusted my gut feeling that it would all work out.”

Their garden ceremony was relaxed, wholesome, and full of meaning. “One of Tim’s best friends, Max, was our officiant on the day, which made our ceremony feel really personal and like an honest representation of us. We wanted the beautiful surrounds at Lindenderry to speak for themselves, and for the colour palette between bridesmaids’ dresses and florals to all feel natural and effortless. We also had a very special reading done by one of Steph’s best friends and bridesmaids, Bella, which was personally written by Bella.”

The talented Indi from Coast & Crop put together all of these beautiful flowers. “We wanted our flowers to be really simple and elegant, which was perfectly executed by Indi, a local florist on the Mornington Peninsula,” Steph explained.

If there was one piece of advice Stephanie would share with couples currently planning their weddings, it would be this: “Just to soak it up and enjoy the whole process. The day itself will be over before you know it, so we recommend trying not to stress the small things and just enjoying celebrating with your future husband or wife and those invited to your big day. And enjoy the process of planning! It shouldn’t be stressful, so the more you can enjoy that, the more special the actual wedding day will feel too.”

Capturing this romantic garden wedding alongside the couple was the incredible Hayden O’Neil! “Tim went to school with Hayden’s brother and was well aware of his amazing surf and lifestyle photography. So, when we saw Hayden photographing another friend’s wedding, we thought he would be the perfect choice for us. Throughout the entire process, he was so professional and easy to deal with. This was particularly evident on the day, when he managed our time with him so well and wasn’t intrusive at all. For anyone newly engaged, we couldn’t recommend Hayden more!” Steph shared.

“Besides our photographer Hayden, we were particularly impressed with our content creator Grace. Similarly to Hayden, Tim knew Grace through her partner and was well aware of her incredible video and social media work. Grace produced one 60-second video for us and three 20-second clips for social media. Like Hayden, she was so easy to deal with in the lead-up to the wedding and on the day, and we felt like she captured the vibe of our big day perfectly.”

Of all of these beautiful, romantic details, Stephanie’s top five favourites included:

“1. The ceremony: everything went so perfectly, and the setting was so beautiful.

2. Our “celebrant”: instead of opting for a traditional celebrant, one of Tim’s oldest friends was our officiant. It made everything feel a lot more personable and would highly recommend.

3. The reception: running the risk of having the reception out in the courtyard was definitely worth it. The space was so magical and a nice point of difference.

4. DJ & band: it was definitely worth investing in both. The band provided such a great atmosphere during the reception, and the DJ post-dinner capped off the day perfectly.

5. My song: My wedding present to Tim was singing a jazz song with the band after our speeches. This was a big surprise for both Tim and our guests.”

From the moment Steph and Tim entered their reception space, they were overjoyed with how incredible everything looked and to see all of their favourite people in the one space. “To have all of your favourite people in the same space is truly special, so looking around at everyone laughing and having a great time was a favourite moment.”

We know and love the Orlando Combo over here at Polka Dot Wedding, so it’s always a joy to see them in action! “We had a fantastic jazz band – the Orlando Combo, which was one of the first things we organised. We could conceptualise our wedding being outdoors at Lindenderry with the jazz band and the feeling this would bring guests as they mingle over a glass of champagne,” Stephanie gushed.

Instead of a first dance, Stephanie and Tim did a big cake-cutting ceremony where they blew out the candles on this incredible long cake! “Besides the ceremony photographs, probably our favourite image is a landscape image taken of us blowing out the candles on our cake. It’s in black and white, capturing a special moment so perfectly.”