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Stephanie and Gonzalo

I have a lot of love for this bright winery wedding I get to share with you today. Not only did I adore the couple’s story of how they met, but the special touches they had at their reception – filled with bright blooms and plenty of candlelight it was utterly beautiful and I know you’ll love this one as much as I do! The day was captured by Joseph Koprek with a film by The White Tree.

Stephanie tells their romantic story of how their relationship came to be. “We met when we sat next to each other on a flight from Lima to New York. I was coming to the end of my holiday and was due to meet some friends in New York. Gonzalo was living in New York at the time and had been in Lima to visit family. We started to chat and, when we arrived in NY the next morning, Gonzalo offered me a lift to my hotel as he was being picked up with his bank’s limo service. I debated for a few moments and, after deciding that he was probably not a serial killer, accepted his offer. He gave me his card and offered to include me in the internship activities his bank had on at the time. I emailed him that day to thank him for the lift and he invited me to an intern dinner that night. When he came to pick me up from the hotel that night he mentioned that, strangely, no one else was able to make it…. and, the rest, as they say, is history. We kept in touch visiting back and forth between Melbourne, New York, Lima and Hawaii and a year after we met Gonzalo was able to arrange a transfer to the Melbourne office.”

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Stephanie wore a beautiful wedding gown from One Day Bridal and paired it with bright blue Manolo Blahnik shoes. She remembers, “My dress was custom-made by Kyha at One Day Bridal in Elwood and was just stunning – I have never felt more beautiful than when I wore that dress.”

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Stephanie and Gonzalo held their wedding at Stones Of The Yarra Valley. Stephanie explaining, “Both ceremony and reception were at Stones of the Yarra Valley. We both wanted to get married outside and wanted to choose a venue that would showcase the best of Victoria’s scenery for our international guests. Stones was a perfect choice in that it had the relaxed atmosphere we were looking for, stunning views, great food and wine and impeccable service.”

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The wedding day was planned, styled and executed by The Style Co.  Stephanie remembering, “We relied on the wonderful girls at The Style Co for our planning and styling and they could not have done a better job. ”

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Stephanie walked down the aisle to Canon in D. The bridal party was very special to the couple, Stephanie telling, “We loved having Gonzalo’s two brothers and two best friends as groomsmen (again, from Peru) and my friend Grace come home from Ireland to fulfill her first bridesmaid duties made the day extra special”

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Marry Me Megan performed the marriage ceremony.

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Of their photographer, Stephanie tells, ” I actually met Joseph a few years ago at the wedding of one of my best friends. Her now husband is a photographer himself so I knew that whoever they chose would be the best of the best and he did not disappoint. Joseph has now photographed the weddings of three of my good friends and though each has been different in terms of theme and styling the photos have always been gorgeous. Joseph is charming, easy to work with and unobtrusive on the day while still commanding enough attention to get the shots he needs from the crowd. I would recommend him to anyone looking for a quality photographer with a unique style.”

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The Style Co  also styled of the flowers on the day, Stephanie remembering, “The flowers were stunning – bright, colourful and matched perfectly to our colour scheme. The flower installation above the bridal table was a real feature but the small tea lights and vases spread down the length of the communal tables stole the show.”

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“Both Gonzalo and I still had our boarding pass stubs from that flight where we first met and we were able to incorporate these into the styling by having them presented on a board with flowers and other decorations at the wishing well.”

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The first dance was both romantic and slightly hilarious, the couple hiring The White Tree to keep the dance floor moving, Stephanie explains, “Our first dance was a Latin song called Bendita Tu Luz which roughly translates to Blessed by your Gaze. It describes the feeling of appreciation between two people who meet by chance and are forever changed by that meeting – we felt it captured our story perfectly.

I managed to give my new husband a black eye at the reception! There is a Peruvian tradition that at one point during the dancing friends of the groom will come and throw him into the air, which was very amusing, until they came for me. Being a doting new hubby Gonzalo was concerned that his friends (who were a few drinks in by this stage) could drop me on the concrete floor and made sure to position himself right underneath me as I came down. Unfortunately my elbow connected with his eye on the last toss and he was sporting a lovely shiner at the recovery bbq and all through the honeymoon.”

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The White Tree was also there on the day to capture this beautiful wedding film.

Congratulations Stephanie and Gonzalo! Thank you for sharing your day with us! Thank you also to Joseph Koprek for sharing today’s photographs!