In December last year I was pleased to be able to provide some assistance to facilitate my friends and DJAA colleagues from G&M Event Group in Brisbane provide entertainment for a wedding at The Grounds of Alexandria in Sydney.
The Grounds exposed brickwork, hanging leafy garden, fountain, concrete floors, farm animals and a garden of seasonal vegetables and herbs provides quite a unique and stunning space for a wedding ceremony and reception – an indoor garden of sorts! Situated near the city centre, in the suburb of Alexandria, it surrounds a refurbished 19th century pie factory. Today it is home to a café celebrated for its specialty coffee.
The wedding was for Alexandra and Christopher and the location gave their wedding a very chic, indoor garden wedding vibe, which totally fitted in with who they were! Earlier in the afternoon, their ceremony was also held on the grounds with the fountain as the backdrop. Officiated by Josh Withers, the ceremony was very personal, meaningful and one of the best ceremonies I have had the pleasure of witnessing.
It was a beautiful evening in a wonderful location and everybody had an absolute ball! The dance floor was packed all night, testament to the ability of Glenn and Ben from G&M DJs. It was an honour to have been able to provide assistance and witness Alexandra and Christopher’s love!
The Grounds of Alexandria is a wonderful location for a wedding, an oasis in a city of concrete, tar and steel. If you are looking for a great venue for your ceremony and reception, you cannot go far wrong here!
Photography by DJ:Plus! Entertainment (except Grounds Logo on Brick Wall image – Unknown)
Whilst rain had been forecast, it ended up being a very warm, beautiful sunny day for A & D’s wedding. This beautiful couple have asked for privacy, so whilst there will be no photographs of them or their guests, they have graciously permitted me to to share some décor and location shots of their amazing wedding! A & D chose Deckhouse to celebrate their wedding. Located in the Sydney suburb of Woolwich right on the foreshore at Woolwich Dock, Deckhouse has a lovely setting, is tranquil and hidden but with spectacular views up the harbour to the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the city skyline.
The wedding was filled with plenty of smiles and laughs for many reasons, but mainly because A & D are a fantastically cool couple with beautiful friends and family. There were tears, there was laughter, there was dancing, there was fun and there was the odd beverage. What else can I say about their day? It was a great wedding with a great couple.
A + D thank you for giving me the utmost honour of investing your trust in me as your Wedding MC Sydney & Wedding DJ Sydney. It was such a pleasure to be a part of your day and I enjoyed all our telephone conversations, our meetings and helping you both create your wonderful wedding day. I feel blessed to have witnessed a love that is deep, meaningful and honest; to have witnessed a family that loves you both and will be there if you ever happen to need them. Love is the strongest power…. It has the potential to make impossible possible… My wish for you both is that you are blessed with the power of love for life and always enjoy happiness and togetherness in your life. May, love, laughter and music fill your lives forever!!!
Photography by DJ:Plus! Entertainment
Songs selected by Bride & Groom;
Wedding Party Entry: “Home” by Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
Bride & Bride Entry: “Home” by Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
Cake Cutting: “Let’s Stay Together” by Duan & Only
First Dance: “Thank You” by Chris Cornell/”Cheek To Cheek” by Louis Armstrong & Ella Fitzgerald
Bouquet Toss: “Man! I Feel like a Woman” by Shania Twain
Farewell Dance: “I’ve Had The Time Of My Life” by Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes
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!!!
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
