Jessie & Aaron - by Lilly at Dawn Photography

Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love, what is unique about you and your relationship…

We had an unlikely meeting through one of my best friends and since that day we have been inseparable. Aaron works in IT and I’m an Emerging Artist, Fine Art student and work in sales for a sign company. The small differences we have were just those we were missing as individuals which is one of the reasons we work so well together.

Aaron’s my biggest supporter of my art and my life in general, as am I to him. He didn’t know that he could enjoy art until I dragged him along to exhibitions and now he thinks he’s a Connoisseur! We’ve given each other new things to love and discovered new shared interests like going on weekend adventures, trying every type of sashimi possible, binging ridiculous amounts of TV series and discovering an obsession for mini schnauzers! We never thought we’d own little dogs, I wasn’t even a dog lover, but now we own two of them, Kaiser and Ruby, and don’t we treat them like children! Something that we both always wanted was a partner that would slot in perfectly with each other’s families, which we certainly found. I got the sister I never had and Aaron has become best mates with my Dad and my Brother. I never thought that my husband would end up
having a bromance with my father to the extent of going out and buying a mountain bike to go riding with him on weekends or asking me “what are you parents doing tonight? I need to have a beer with Davey”. Crazy, but I freaking love it!

We are the type of the couple who literally cannot fight. If we have a disagreement it lasts for 2 seconds or ends with us cracking up laughing from trying to be stern and serious. Laughing is one of the vital elements to our relationship, there’s not a day that goes by without it (it’s mostly at each other!). It may be cliché but we both strongly believe that everything happens for a reason, so with every step, good or bad that we took before each other was only bringing us closer to the day we would say, “I do” to spending the rest of our lives together.

Tell us about your special day, was there a specific theme or style? Tell us a little about the setting, the styling and some of your favourite details…

We wanted a non-traditional wedding, boho styled, in an area we could get fabulous outdoor photos, and planned so our guests could have a blast – which we certainly achieved! We only looked at one wedding venue and were sold on first sight. Cassegrain Wines in Port Macquarie NSW, has luscious green formal gardens, a barrel room (where the wine barrels are stored and where the production happens) with quite a rustic/industrial feel, a spacious restaurant with a veranda overlooking the vines and grounds, endless hidden spots for quirky photo’s, and the fact it’s a winery was a cherry on top (we love wine), what more could we have asked for!

Aaron didn’t mind how we were going to set up the wedding but as soon as he saw all the macramé, coloured vases, Indian ottomans and mismatched patterned throws I was collecting, he knew that our wedding would truly represent the type of people we are. The styling was topped off with stunning wild and native flowers of multiple colours by Touchwood Flowers, exactly what I had envisioned since I was a young girl. In the days leading up to the big day, the weather was not flash at all! Rain was destined to arrive on our wedding day. We were planning on having the ceremony in the gardens, but we decided not to take the risk and made the decision to have the ceremony in the barrel room – which we were so glad we did as it made our day even more unique! No one had attended a wedding in a barrel room before so they thought it was a very “Jessie and Aaron thing to do”. One of the reasons we didn’t stress about the weather though was because we knew Bonnie our amazing photographer would capture incredible moments no matter what, and man did she deliver!

Tell us about your main outfits:

For me there was no other option, I was always going to wear a Grace Loves Lace dress. I wanted lots of lace, flattering, slightly alternative style that is still sophisticated, and of course one that had WOW factor. ‘Emanuela’ was the one and the one that brought the tears. Paired with a wild flower crown on the day, I felt like a bohemian princess. My three beautiful bridesmaids wore simple but elegant silk style dresses in blush, emerald green and burgundy which absolutely popped in the overcast weather and against the choice of bouquets and gum leaf wreaths in their hair.

Aaron went with his groomsmen to pick out their suits, which sure did make me nervous! But to my pleasant surprise, the suits of choice fitted in perfectly with our styling; brown chinos with a grey suit jacket from Peter Jackson, dark brown suede shoes, and Aaron wore a patterned tie. Turns out I didn’t need to force my boho style onto Aaron, he’s got a little bit of that in him after all!

What were some of the most memorable/unique moments from the day?

Along with Aaron and I having the best day, we wanted our family and friends to as well. It seems safe to say that they did. They partied and danced all night long at the reception under a roof strung with fairy lights, and to the music of our friend’s rock band who were guaranteed to make some noise whether our grandparents liked it or not (which they did, they danced like they hadn’t done so in years!). My Dad got up and sung “Blister in the sun”, which I think we all had bets on him doing so, and Aaron joined in too, whilst I danced with my Brother and Mum, everyone else laughed and cheered on with drink in hand – that memory will never be forgotten! There were many moments of our day that we wish could never end, but a truly special one took place when our photographer snuck us away from the reception for ten minutes and back into the barrel room. We turned the lights off into darkness and took quite intimate photos between the barrels with LED lights and smoke bombs. In this moment, gazing into one another’s eyes, our arms wrapped around our bodies, we forgot about everyone else, it was just the two of us finally having the realisation that we really did just marry the loves of our lives. We were content, deeply happy and melting with love.

Any advice for other couples planning to spend the rest of their lives together?

Try not to stress about the small details and things that are out of your control! A wedding is essentially the opening event to the rest of your lives together, nothing can ruin your day when your love is what you and everyone else is there for. Your guests just want to see you smile, as does your new husband or wife.