Dani & Russ, the English rose and the Australian dude, met through Tinder messaging back and forth for over a fortnight before meeting up for their first date, the night was filled with drinks at the Gallery in Sydney CBD, and a movie before heading over to Darling Harbour for a late night stroll, sharing their first kiss on the corner of Kent & King St and it seemed this first kiss captured their hearts forever and several years later Russ proposed to the girl of his dreams Dani, at the top of Observatory Hill in The Rocks, Sydney, on a blistering hot day, with the most beautiful custom made engagement ring. Dani said, he did very well!.
“My first thoughts of Russ were - wow he's hot! His eyes are amazing, and I've always admired beautiful blue eyes - they are the window to ones soul! Russ' first thoughts were "Damn... this girl be tall, stylish and probably a bit out of my league!". We hit it off straight away”
The couple married at the rustic Cooling Castle Barn Exclusive Wedding Venue, in Kent after several searches for wedding venues, they finally found this gem, via the Hitched.com website and instantly fell in love with its charm, beautiful wooden beamed ceilings and fairy light lit interior that just ouzes the dream wedding setting.
Dani said choosing her dress was filled with dread and anticipation as all of her family were back at home in the UK, whilst she went dress shopping with her housemate in Australia, choosing a gorgeous dress, very art deco, very cheap - and after 6 or so months and 8 kilos less, she decided she no longer liked or fitted the dress and later stumbled upon a gorgeous Australian designed dress by Rachel Gilbert, in the Bridal section of the department store she work in called David Jones. It was on a clearance rack and just happened to be her size - so she tried it on and instantly fell in love with it - buying it there and then, without approval from anyone - even Russ... apparently he wasn't too happy she had purchased a second dress...
The Groomsmens suits were also from my department store. Boston Fine Tailoring Jackets & Saba pants with Calvin Klein shirts., but there was little drama, as the day before the wedding Russ tried his suit on just as a last check and decided extremely last minute that he didn’t like his shirt or pants, so luckily, and I mean super luckily, Dan. Dani’s step dad had a shirt Russ could wear, and he happened to pack a pair of chinos that were close enough in colour to the groomsmens pants he could just about get away with wearing those instead. Dani’s mum read this beautiful reading in the Ceremony at Cooling Castle Barn, from Captain Corellis MandolinChoosing it meant a lot to Dani and Russ, as they really wanted something real, that didn't just make a relationship out to be perfect, because she said, it truthfully isn't, you have to work at it sometimes and you have ups and downs, but at the end of the day - we are both in it for the long haul, we are one tree and not two!
“Love is a temporary madness, it erupts like volcanoes and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. That is just being in love, which any fool can do. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. Those that truly love have roots that grow towards each other underground, and, when all the pretty blossoms have fallen from their branches, they find that they are one tree and not two.” - Louis de Bernieres The wedding breakfast was tastefully decorated by the florist, Karolyn Angiolini from Son-Flowers, Warlingham, and she was incredible. A genius with flowers, she made Dani’s visions reality. So much time went into the garland of foliage for the tables - it looked amazing. The favours needed to be a couple of different ones as they had Aussies that couldn't take thing like succulents back to Australia with them, so they chose handmade fudge for them and succulents/cacti for the rest. It was so innkeeping with the rustic wedding venue and is always a pleasure to include these beautiful details in our wedding videos at Cooling Castle Barn.
This amazing couple’s first dance was very special, as they had never dance together before, so sharing that wonderful moment to their favourite song, Just Breathe by Pearl Jam, was really lovely.
“I loved just reminiscing on the day with Russ, and everyone kept saying to us before hand to make sure you take time to yourselves to take it all in” For Russ in particular his favourite moment, was undeniably, when Dani walked down the aisle - that's an image he will never forget. She looked gorgeous. Whilst for Dani the moment when Russ teared up saying his vows She said that him being so emotionally open was really beautiful, as he doesn't normally openly show his emotions.
“It was a totally new, and quite frankly, a bizarre experience for us being filmed all day, but you guys were incredible. You made us both feel super relaxed and at ease whenever the camera was on us. Your cinematic style of videography was what drew us to you both as its so far removed from the uptight and rigid wedding videos you usually see. It's so fun, and the finished product really is something that we will cherish forever. It highlights, in the most beautiful way possible, the best day of our lives, and we are eternally grateful that we chose you both to capture it”
To anyone thinking of having their video filmed by Ground Films, wedding videographer..
Umm... Have fun! Enjoy every moment you can - the awkwardness of standing there in the freezing cold, having people photograph and film you both, it's actually pretty funny. I found that we laughed a lot. Be open to direction, as they really know what they’re doing and what is going to make a great shot. I'm so glad they pulled us out during sunset - even though I had to grab the nearest coat around (I still don't know whose coat that was) as it was freezing!
Dani & Russ would like to thank all of the suppliers that helped make their day very special and featured to the Wedding video at Cooling Castle Barn, Kent.
The photographer - Alexandra Wysocki - again I found her on hitched and fell in love with her work instantly. She was the easiest decision of the whole wedding. I loved her candid style and her way of taking a seemingly boring subject and making it look beautiful - a piece of art you're proud to hang on your wall. Hair Stylist - Kate Beaumont. I found her online and loved her boho, tousled style. She was a dream to have do my hair on my wedding day - super laid back and genuine. Make-up artist - Emma Lily Curran. I was referred her by Kate - the hair stylist, as she had worked with her a couple of times before, so I trusted her judgement, and she more than lived up to it. Super talented and so, so lovely. DJ was in house, provided by the venue, so didn't have much choice in that, but he was fab. The Band was AMAZING! Just set the night on fire, and we've had so many comments since on how great they were. Everyone had such a fun night, as it was our own private gig - so good! Joe was the loop violinist for the ceremony, reception and wedding breakfast, and again we nailed it with him. We have had amazing feedback from our guests saying they've never heard anything like it before. He is immensely talented and was just what we both needed, a little slice of chill out time during the wedding breakfast thanks to the beautiful background music. The Wedding cake was by a fabulous baker, Creative Cakes, recommended to us by the venue, and it was so last minute when we messaged them, but they pulled off a miracle and it was as delicious as it was beautiful! The rings; Dani's engagement ring was a custom design by Cerrone Jewellers, a Sydney/Melbourne based Couture Jeweller, but inspired by Mociun, a New York based Jeweller. It contains aquamarine, pink sapphire, green, yellow and white diamonds, on a yellow gold band. Dani's wedding ring was Russ' mothers wedding band, so is very sentimental and fits perfectly against my engagement ring. I didn't even have to get it re-sized! Russ' wedding band was from an Australian chain jeweller - Michael Hill. The Toastmaster was given to us by the venue and she was fabulous. So warm and welcoming - even though my step-dad Dan thought she was scary! Haha... She was so lovely and am so glad she was the person to direct our day. If you would like to know more about us, Wedding Videographers in Hampshire, please do enquire through the contact us page.
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