Wedding Ceremony & Reception | 17 November 2018 | Emily & Mitchell | St Aubyn’s On Clairvaux, Bathurst, Central Tablelands
Emily and Mitchell are perfect together. They are caring, gentle, hilarious and fiercely loyal to their family and friends. Their wedding was full of many wonderful moments, happy tears. endless love and a huge helping of fun!!….but more about that in a moment.
I vividly remember my first phone conversation with Emily, in July this year after she submitted an enquiry wishing information on my Wedding MC & Wedding DJ services. Well, we connected immediately and as I asked her a little about her wedding and what she desired, I could feel the love she has for Mitchell and her family and friends. I also learned that their wedding planning journey had been marred a little by the actions of a couple of other providers whose actions were not the most professional – whilst this saddened me greatly at the time, as our conversation progressed, I started becoming more and more excited about the potential opportunities to help Emily and Mitchell create a wedding day that totally represented them and which their guests would always remember!
Emily and Mitch ultimately chose St Aubyn’s on Clairvaux as the location for their ceremony and reception. St Aubyn’s is a gorgeous secluded family property in Bathurst in the Central West of NSW with beautiful established gardens for the ceremony and an elegant rustic shed for the reception. It was just perfect for Emily and Mitch’s wedding!!
Guests arrived and commenced gathering in the stunning garden ceremony area. Mitch and his grooms men lined up to await the arrival of the bridesmaids and Emily. The time had finally arrived and following a welcome from Bronwyn Dollin Marriage Celebrant, the processional music filled the air and the flower girl and bridesmaids commenced walking down the aisle. Once they had reached their position, Emily and her Dad, Geoffry, stepped into view and waited for a moment. At this point Mitch had his first glimpse of Emily and was completely overcome with emotion (check out the video of this moment directly below). At the same time, as Emily and Geoffry were still standing in position, Emily honoured the memory of her Mum with a beautiful message. Emily and Geoffry then waited a few moments before commencing their walk down the aisle. Such a beautiful, heartfelt moment full of overwhelming love.
Browyn then proceeded to conduct a warm and meaningful ceremony which included some pearls of wisdom from Mitch’s Mum, Cathy; Emily and Mitch’s Love Story and before we knew it, Emily and Mitch were exchanging vows, exchanging rings and pronounced as husband and wife, which was of course, sealed with a kiss! Yes Emily and Mitch were now MARRIED!!! This was followed by the signing of the Marriage Register, a blessing and then they made their way back down the aisle under a shower of rose petals and congratulation from the invited family and friends!
All the while our photographer, Danni Evans Photography and videographer, Pixflix Productions were discreetly and expertly capturing it all. I must also mention the stunning florals that adorned the arbour, which was so elegantly decorated by Wilde Ivy (who also provided the matching florals for the reception), fit in perfectly with the surrounds and added a lovely pop in the background. Emily and Mitch then had a few group photographs, immediate family photographs and then head off with the wedding party for more photographs around the picturesque property.
Whilst the wedding party were away for photographs guests made their way to the Shed and garden area where a grazing table was available with lots of delectable morsels and an array of lawn games. Soon it was time to move into the Shed and await the arrival of our wedding party. After a very short wait, we welcomed the wedding party accompanied with huge applause and cheers; the biggest, obviously saved for Emily and Mitch.
Without wasting a moment, we proceeded with the first of the speeches which was from none other than our newlyweds. Both Mitch and Emily then delivered beautiful heartfelt speeches that at various times envoked tears from the guests and themselves. Some truly lovely sentiments and thanks were conveyed and a total credit to them both.
Everybody then indulged in a delectable buffet that was lovingly prepared by Mitch’s mum, Cathy. This was enjoyed by all with many availing themselves to second helpings. We then ventured into a little bit of fun with the Newlywed Game followed by the cutting of the Wedding Cake and the second set of speeches. Once again very beautiful heartfelt speeches for “Pop”, Mitchell’s Dad and Bestman, Nigel, a surprise speech from Aunty Monique and then Emily’s Dad, Geoffry. Geoffry ended his speech by asking Emily to share a Daddy Daughter dance with him. Part way into the song we then asked all the other dads and daughters to join them – such a beautiful moment and a sight to behold.
A little break whilst everybody enjoyed a selection of sweets including a wall of donuts, for dessert followed. Whilst this was happening Emily and Mitch ducked out quickly with Danni the photography and Adam the videographer for some sunset shots. On their return we played another game which involved some individual guests which had been pre-selected by our newlyweds. This was a lot of fun and enjoyed by all.
To wrap up the speeches for the evening we had Maid of Honour and Groomsman, Tiffani and Luke; friends, Georgia and Taylor and last but not least, Uncle Jody. Once again some beautiful words and thoughts were conveyed. A quick Bouquet Toss and Garter Toss with a twist, and it was now time for Emily and Mitch to share their very first dance as a married couple. In what started as a slow sway they transitioned into a choreographed routine that had everybody smiling and then that transitioned into another song where Emily and Mitch went and gave guests no option but to join them – but really there was no resistance and in no time the dance floor was full and it remained that way until the end of the night.
They danced to rock, they danced to rock ‘n’ roll, country, reggae, dance and really anything that was played, even the interesting “family traditional dance” to Buffalo Soldier by Bob Marley had them up. Everybody! and I mean everybody, regardless of whether they were young or older, in attendance wanted Emily and Mitch to have the time of their lives and they certainly were fully invested in ensuring that this happened……..and ended up having a wonderful time also!! Time flies when you are having fun and in what seemed no time at all, it was time for the farewell dance, the exit arch and we bid a fond farewell to Emily and Mitch as they commence the beginning of their together forever.
It is often said that things happen for a reason and I feel so wonderfully blessed that fate brought them to me and they both decided to trust and include me in their wedding day as their Bathurst Wedding MC and Bathurst Wedding DJ. It was such a great honour and huge privilege. I loved every second of their magical day..it was a joy to meet your friends and family, my cheeks ached from smiling and a few sneaky tears may or may not have leaked out also. The love they have for each other is undeniable. They light each other up and their love continues to grow with each passing day – for a hopeless romantic like me, this fills my heart with much love and makes it extremely happy. May love, laughter and music fill your lives forever!!!
Photography and Video by DJ:Plus! Entertainment except Video at beginning of post
Songs selected by Bride & Groom;
Bridesmaids Processional: “I Get To Love You” by Instrumental
Bride Processional: “I Get To Love You” by Ruelle (DJ:Plus! Custom Edit)
Register Signing: “Love On The Weekend” by John Mayer, “Say You Won’t Let Go” by Matt Johnson & Jaclyn Davies
Recessional: “Send Me On My Way” by Rusted Root
Wedding Party Entry: “Rock The Party (Everybody Dance Now)” by Bob Sinclar
Bride & Groom Entry: “Rock The Party (Everybody Dance Now)” by Bob Sinclar
Cake Cutting: “Livin’ On Love” by Alan Jackson
First Dance: “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)/Classic/500 Miles” by Sleeping At Last/MKTO/The Proclaimers
Father Daughter Dance: “All That You Are” by Goo Goo Dolls
Bouquet Toss: “Bootylicious” by Destiny’s Child
Garter Toss: “Pour Some Sugar On Me” by Def Leopard
Farewell Dance: “Hangover” by Taio Cruz Feat. Flo Rida
Final Farewell Song: “Forever” by Chris Brown
Other Wedding Professionals
Celebrant: Bronwyn Dollin
Photographer: Danni Evans Photography
Videographer: Pixflix Productions
Floral Design & Styling: Wilde Ivy