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Luke and I met in 2007 at a friends 30th at The Eastern, Bondi. I was instantly attracted to his infectious smile and sense of humour (plus it did not hurt that he was easy on the eye). We exchanged numbers and after several weeks of messages and phone calls he took me on our first date to Max Brenner, Paddington.

In 2009 Luke and I planned a trip to The Barossa Valley for my birthday. While I was enjoying a massage Luke organised a beautiful picnic with local cheese, fruits and wine and on bended knee he proposed next to Jacob’s Creek. It turns out the ring had been hidden in my birthday present and the massage was a diversion so he could get the ring out and re-wrap my present (he had even packed a second ribbon so I would not be suspicious).

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Luke and I were married on Saturday 9th October 2010 at Milton Park Estate, Bowral. Our day was filled with love, humour and fun and we were surrounded by our closest friends and family. We wanted a romantic feel to our day and to compliment the natural beauty of our venue.

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Our ring dish had the words “I carry your heart” engraved. They are the words from our favourite poem by EE Cummins and Luke’s sister read the reading at our ceremony.

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Hair was by Rosa from Total Bliss and make-up by Margaux McLarin-Caddin.

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The bridesmaids’ dresses, flower girl outfit and my second dress were designed and made by designer Karina McIndoe from Iesha Designs. I ended up having two dresses as I wanted a traditional dress for our ceremony and a dress I could dance the night away in at the reception. I worked closely with both designers to ensure my personality could be seen in both dresses. As a surprise she also made me the most stunning veil I had ever seen. My shoes were by Alan Pinkus.

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My ceremony dress was by Connie Di Genni (located in Wollongong, NSW, phone: 0413 493970). Connie  made my traditional gown using french lace & tulle. She had made my dress when I was a flower girl over 20 years ago and I love her work!

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Luke and I have a racehorse named Iridese and he absolutely loves the track. So I was not surprised to see the races on in the back ground while the boys were getting ready..

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… not to mention a TAB form!!

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Amongst all the madness of the day Tash and I take a minute to enjoy the moment. It is memories like this I will cherish forever.

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My beautiful Nan fell and broke her hip 3 days before the wedding. She lent me her diamond earrings as my “something borrowed”. As we have always been very close it was important I had part of her with me on the day.

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Our flower girl Allegra quickly warmed to our photographer, she is so cheeky and loves the camera.

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Our gorgeous flowers were from Leah Mitchell Floral Design

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My aisle!! A bride’s worst nightmare in heels……

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Our ceremony was styled by Sheree from She Designs I have always loved her style and passion for weddings.

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Luke decided he wanted a unique colour for himself and his groomsmen… The boys later told me he tried on every suit in the store before deciding on a chocolate brown single breasted suit with an off white french cuff shirt from Spurling Formal Wear.

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We wanted a personal ceremony so I asked the mother of my friend of ten years, Linda Sinnott (located in The Illawarra, NSW, phone: 0447 488330) to marry us. It was her first wedding as a celebrant which made it all the more special. It meant so much to have something so close to us marrying us.

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Simon’s Jewellery (160 Crown Street, Wollongong, NSW phone: 02 4229 9430) designed my engagement ring and our wedding bands.

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Doing my happy dance!!

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Our mums are the best of friends!! We could not separate them on the day.. But then again why would we want to…..

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Our stationery was designed by Essentric.

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We had photos from our engagement shoot in silver frames all around our reception.

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Our cake was a banana cake with passion fruit icing from Simmone Logue, Double Bay, NSW.

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The idea behind our reception was to plan it like a big dinner party. We had a combination of round and rectangular tables to make the room less formal, Ella’s Holiday (a local jazz band) played softly throughout dinner and continued late into the evening.

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Luke and I secretly went to dance lessons for 6 weeks before our wedding, as a surprise for our guests.  Our first dance was to “The Way You Look Tonight” Steve Tyrell. It was so much fun and eased the stress during the lead up to the wedding.

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Our amazing MC, Geoffrey asked my beautiful Maid of Honour, Natasha to marry him 3 weeks after our wedding. They have been together 10 years!

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One of my favourite memories of our day is dancing the night away with my stunning cousin Nicola…..

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… and all of our friends and family!!

Ms Polka Dot says: Today’s wedding feels so joyous and is full of feminine touches – soft and pretty but at the same time set off elegantly by the dark mens’ suits and green leafy surroundings. Thank you Elesha and Luke for sharing your wedding with us and congratulations on your marriage!

My name is Elesha, and I was recently married to my best friend and love of my life, Luke! We have our own little (canine) family but can’t wait for the world to stop turning so we can settle down and start our (human) family. We love getting outdoors with Jazz & Oscar, spending time doing up of little home and catching up with our friends and family.

Photography by Lakshal Perera