Pearls over a rose tattoo
Our day began with two little wooden ring boxes engraved with Kylie and Sandy’s names, sitting beside a pair of white heels. Sandy was getting ready at home in a bright white room, and we caught her in a mirror on a stool while a loved one worked through the final details. Then the fitted white gown went on, with strands of pearls draped over the roses tattooed on her shoulder. We stood on the window side and let the white walls bounce the light back, which keeps skin soft and satin glowing without a single lamp.
Proteas in the backyard
Sandy took her bouquet out into the backyard, a loose armful of king proteas, banksias, roses and gum leaves, and stood with a loved one in a dark floral dress for a quiet moment against the timber fence. A few younger family members joined her for a group photo on the grass, all pastel dresses and one smart grey waistcoat. A backyard is a good place for these first family frames: there is room to step back, the light is open and everyone is relaxed before the drive to the venue.
A feathered hat for Kylie
Kylie was getting ready at Bellbrae Harvest itself, and her details told us the kind of day it would be: a pale felt hat with feathers and a satin bow, gold strappy sandals and a protea bouquet on a wicker chair. Inside, there were long hugs with an older loved one and with a younger one in front of the glass doors, her gown hanging on the wall behind them. Then Kylie stepped out among the gums in her hat, flowers on her hip, and the bush did the rest of the styling.
Family under the gums
Before the ceremony we gathered Kylie’s family under the trees, a row of loved ones in coral, rose and red dresses beside two men in pressed white shirts. Then smaller groups: Kylie between an older couple, then with two of the younger ones, one of them borrowing a matching hat for the occasion. Shade from tall gums is our favourite light for family photos on a hot afternoon. It is even, nobody squints, and the greens behind them stay soft instead of turning into bright patches.
Two walks to one arch
The ceremony started with two entrances. Sandy arrived and came up the gravel track between her brothers, and we could see the white vintage car parked behind them under the trees. Kylie’s dad walked her in through a timber doorway hung with white fabric and old painted doors, and she was grinning before she reached the guests. Out front, a row of loved ones had turned up in bright party wigs, purple, blue, green, yellow and orange, glasses in hand. Two aisles means two vantage points, so we planned where each of us would stand well before the first guest sat down.
A high five at the vows
Kylie and Sandy stood under a round arch of gum leaves, white roses and ferns, with the guests on timber benches facing them. The celebrant kept things light at the microphone, and the laughter kept coming. When the paperwork came out in a red folder, the two of them high fived across it. A circle arch is a gift for a photographer: it frames two people perfectly from straight on and still looks good from the side. After the hug, they walked back out holding hands, beaming, while the confetti came down.
Everyone by the lily pond
The whole crowd squeezed in for one big group photo, arms up and wigs on, then we moved the families down to the edge of the lily pond for smaller groups. We set them with the water and the leaning gums behind them, because a pond gives a calm, even background that never competes with the faces. Between groups, the two brides had a moment of their own in the clear marquee by the water, holding hands and laughing at something only they heard, with a couple of older loved ones waiting on a green velvet sofa.
Jetty, gate and golden paddock
Then it was just Kylie and Sandy. We walked them out along the little timber jetty on the pond, with the marquee and guests small behind them, then on to an old post and rail gate and a slope of dry grass where Kylie threw her bouquet in the air. Bellbrae Harvest wedding photos at this hour are all about the low sun: we turned them so it lit their hair from behind, and their two different gowns turned gold against the paddock. A close frame of their hands, rings and bangles together finished the set.
Footy, festoons and black gloves
Back at the arch, somebody produced a footy and the brides fooled around for one last daylight frame, the ball spinning above their heads. Then they skipped up the gravel drive together, gowns in hand. As the light faded, Kylie and Sandy had their first dance on a red rug under the festoon lights, guests watching from the benches. Inside, the dance floor took over: friends in wide black hats and long black gloves danced around Sandy, and the night ended with the two brides in white hats, cheek to cheek in the crowd.
