Real wedding: Joe and Jen

Two animal lovers, alpaca ring bearers, you already know this will be good.

Joe and Jen, a former biosecurity worker and a veterinarian, were friends during uni. They breifly drifted apart, but then rekindled their friendship after a hiatus. The friendship blossomed into love, and led us to the Bendooley stables where they would get hitched on a Sunday in December.

The Ceremony

On the lush grounds of Bendooley Estate, we were treated to lovely weather as guests assembled for the ceremony, led by Michelle Pilot as our celebrant. The surprise guests who almost stole the show were two alpacas, from alpaca kisses (https://www.alpacakisses.com/) as the ring bearers. They were too cute!

What made it an extra special ceremony was that Jen walked down the aisle to a recording of Joe’s on making, he was learning to play guitar for this very moment. Beforehand, Joe sent me the recording and I ran it through some software to improve the sound quality. Joe was more than happy with the result!

Cocktail Hour

At the closure of the ceremony, the wooden barn doors were opened and the Bendooley staff began roaming around with some delightful canapes and flutes of champagne while Joe and Jen got some portrait shots on the grounds, with the rolling hills of the southern highlands as the backdrop.

The Reception

I cannot understate how good the vibe was here! Everyone was so happy, upbeat and relaxed. Joe and Jen did the rounds and chatted with guests during dinner, and in general everyone was up on their feet and mingling a lot.

We were seated again during speeches, and we did the classic shoe game – with a twist! this version had more crowd participation. Half of the questions were directed to bride and groom as usual, then the 2nd round was done surgery style to all the guests, voting with a cup for Jen, and a place card for Joe. Some good Laughs were had, with some surprising answers!

The Party

Joe and Jen began the party with their first dance. I had a few seconds of technicality difficulties playing their track, and had to quickly switch to my iPad as a backup – but everyone was in such high spirits that it didn’t matter.

As the night rolled through, the lights went down and the volume was turned up. 90s pop songs got the biggest reactions so that’s what I went with.

Towards the end, Joe and Jen had the great idea of doing their farewell 30 minutes before the room closed – which allowed them plenty of time to say goodbye properly to everyone afterwards. I now recommend this as an option to a lot of couples, especially those who don’t want to feel rushed. It worked out great, and rounded the relaxed vibe out nicely for what was truly an unforgettable day and night.

Congratulations to Joe and Jen, and all the best to your animal filled-future (they are starting a vet business together now!)