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stones of the yarra valley wedding photos

Arrival of the bridal party

The bridal party arrives just after sunrise at the wedding venue, Stones of the Yarra Valley. The brothers with the vineyard behind them:

It was a pleasant surprise to know that the photo was more complete than I initially lamented as the groom was also inside it:

Tip for bridesmaids and groomsmen

If possible, pull your plus ones along if there is enough space in the duper early bus for the bridal party. The venue will be swarmed with guests taking photos once they arrive. There is no better time for private photo taking moments, with no crowd in the background, than before the wedding begins.

Another photo of bros without their plus ones:

Tip for the bride and groom

Hire a wedding coordinator as your bridesmaids and groomsmen will disappear for spousal duties:

Tea ceremony inside Stables

Wedding ceremony at the Chapel

None of us took unofficial photos with our phones at the Chapel. This is special in itself as the official photos would not have captured individuals taking photos of the couple using their phones, ruining the official wedding photos.

Wedding lunch at the Barn

These lovelies go back a long time with me. And the big day today is by the final couple among us.

The view of the vineyard from inside the Barn.

Our beloved bride and groom hired a string quartet that complemented the acoustics of the Barn. They played slow Waltz and Viennese Waltz pieces. I begun sizing up the space next to the quartet. Quartets are a rare treat by any measure and if wife and I let this posh set up go, we might never be able to dance to one ever again.

Furthermore, the floor was perfect for dancing the standard Waltz and standard Tango. It was neither too rough nor too smooth. The limiting factor would have to be our shoes themselves, not the venue.

We subsequently practiced some dance routines outside (videos below) when opportunities arose in between key itinerary items such as the bride’s and groom’s speeches.

Outside the Barn

Photo taking continues with the bride, groom and bridal party. The Dairy is in the background and the vineyard is behind the bridal party on the right. The Barn where the lunch is held is opposite the vineyard (outside of the frame on the left). A cool shot of the bride stealing the show, as she always does, throwing her shoes aside:

The Dairy, from another angle, across the small patch of field from the Barn’s patio:

Our children running around on the open field outside the Barn:

To quote one of my favourite movies, Johnny English Strikes Again:

” You’re looking particularly beautiful today. Ching! “

Personal time with wife

Wife and I went outside to recap some dance routines in case the quartet performed anymore delightful pieces which we are confident of dancing to.

This is a Waltz routine we somewhat remember keke:

This is the Tango routine that wifey and I danced for our first dance on our big day a couple of years back:

We are embarrassed in the videos. 献丑了.

Non-dance court shoes,

Grassy field,

Pregnant belly,

General lack of practice,

Returned a questionable outcome keke.

Our actual wedding first dance at Fullerton Hotel can be seen here:

A dance moment to remember

We thank Hana from the bottom of our hearts for taking these two videos for us without our knowledge. We hadn’t informed anyone and went pretty far away from the rest to practise. The purpose was to dance competently indoors next to the quartet when an opportunity arose.

However, from the break onwards, the quartet played a repertoire that didn’t suit the dances we are familiar with. Wife and I ended up without the curated dance video we were hoping for. However, we were still blessed with the practise videos. They are flawed but captured beautiful moments my wife and I had with each other. Thank you again Hana.

A reminder

In case I sidetracked too much, I am not the groom LOL but a groomsman with duties. Brides and grooms please hire wedding coordinators for Stones!

Post wedding lunch before boarding bus

Entrance to the Stables.