Cortney and Hil’s first encounter occurred in 2011, but it was not until 2012 that they started to interact more and a relationship began to develop. Cortney and Hil are a beautiful couple and their wedding celebration was full of family love, warmth and many emotions.

Following their ceremony earlier in the day at Barker College, Hornsby, they chose to celebrate at the Tea Room in the Queen Victoria Building, Sydney. With the room looking stunning, thanks to the lovely ladies from Decorations By Jelena, the fantastic wedding cake by Pretty Parties and the photographic and videographic skills of the team from Hugo Photography & Film, it was such a great celebration. Surrounded by family and friends, we were so privileged to witness a deep tender love that has grown despite the difficulties that these two have faced due to distance, as one was studying in Townville, Queensland and the other in Melbourne, Victoria over the past four years.

From our first meeting in the first week of this year, I could see that Hil totally and utterly adores Cortney, the way he always has his arm around her, the way he looks at her with loving eyes, she is his angel and he treats as such. Just as equally Cortney adores Hil. When they are together, they are rarely separated and Cortney just radiates joy. Together they are an awesome couple who are very deeply in love and work hard to ensure it remains that way.

During the reception there were many emotional moments for both Cortney, Hil, their respective parents, siblings and those nearest and dearest. All the speeches throughout the evening were meaningful as well as entertaining and was enjoyed by all the guests.

Around five weeks before the wedding I received an email from Hil with the subject of “Secret Song”. As nearly all my dealings in regards to the wedding had been with Cortney and her mum, Jeanie, the fact that I was receiving an email from Hil and that subject line had me more than a little curious. On opening the email, I discovered that Hil was planning to surprise Cortney by singing her a song during the wedding reception. It also asked whether I was able to provide two wireless microphones, patch in a guitar and requesting suggestions as to when would be best to sing the song. I replied with all the information he needed and asked that he confirm certain details. As I subsequently learnt during the best man’s speech, Hil is not one for returning texts and if he does, they tend to be very, very brief. This also appears to apply to emails, or so it seems – as when I did receive a response about five days prior to the wedding, it did not contain enough information for me to ensure that I was up to speed on the finer details of exactly how this was going to executed.

On the day of the wedding I came prepared with everything I could think I needed to pull this off, but was not even sure if it was going ahead – until minutes before the doors were to open to commence seating the guests, when in strolls a gentleman with a guitar. Quick patch in, tune, determine the levels and we were set. During the evening, in those rare moments when Cortney was not by his side, he was frantically going over the lyrics to the song and then following the cutting of the cake it was time for him to sing. Personally, I thought it was a beautiful moment, there are some photographs below that I managed to capture, but take a listen yourself to Hil singing Ed Sheeran’s “Tenerife Sea” to Cortney, aided by his friend, whose name I unfortunately didn’t get, on guitar and the best man, Gideon on backup vocals. The applause at the end of the song certainly verifies that it was quite a performance and a special moment.

As mentioned above, it was truly a beautiful wedding and I enjoyed every moment of my involvement in it. Cortney and Hil, thank you so much for the trust you placed in me and the honour and privilege you gave me in allowing me to play a part in this very special day as your Wedding DJ Sydney and for part of the evening, your Wedding MC Sydney. I hope you enjoyed every moment of your amazing wedding day. Based on everything I learnt about the two of you in the lead up to your wedding, you are completely perfect for each other! Your love will continue to grow even stronger with each passing day and I see nothing but a life filled with love for the both of you. Have a fabulous time on your honeymoon in New Zealand!! May, love, laughter and music fill your lives forever!!!

YouTube video

Photography & Video by DJ:Plus! Entertainment


Songs selected by Bride & Groom;

Wedding Party Entry: “Somewhere Over The Rainbow/What A Wonderful World” by Israel Kamakawiwo’ole

Bride & Bride Entry: “Happy” by Pharrell Williams

Cake Cutting: “Only You Can Love Me This Way” by Keith Urban

First Dance: “Unchained Melody” by Righteous Brothers

Parent Dance: “Annie’s Song” by John Denver

Bouquet Toss: “Dear Future Husband” by Meghan Trainor

Farewell Dance: “Uptown Funk” by Mark Ronson Feat. Bruno Mars

Final Farewell: “In Your Arms” by Kina Grannis


Other Wedding Professionals

Photographer & Videographer: Hugo Photography & Film

Floral Design & Stylist: Decorations By Jelena

Cake Design: Pretty Parties