Gippsland Wedding Photographer
Josh: Kayla and I met at Richmond Football Club where we both worked at the time. When I met Kayla I initially thought she was American (she had an accent after spending time overseas). This was in 2018 around the end of August. We didn’t speak much during the first few weeks as we worked in different areas of the club, but had a spark at an end of season work event a couple of weeks later. The spark involved me repeatedly (allegedly) finding Kayla on the dancefloor and proceeding to impress her with my dance moves….
Kayla: Josh came over to me 3 times at different points throughout the night, and started to realise it was more than a coincidence. I was pretty new and was just trying to ‘be normal’ in a social setting but he managed to make that night one of the best nights out due to the sheer amount of laughs we had.
Kayla: I knew pretty early on that Josh and I were going to be the real deal after a couple of weeks, I think at this point in my life I knew what type of person I wanted and Josh got there soon after (thankfully!). We became ‘official’ boyfriend and girlfriend start of December and didn’t look back, moved in with each other a couple of months later, went on trips together, survived a pandemic and then Josh popped the question 2.5 yrs later.
Josh: I booked a weekend away down in Red Hill November 2021 and Kayla wouldn’t stop asking questions!! We were in the middle of the pandemic and it’s not as easy to hide when we were in lockdowns, so I tried my best to keep it a secret but as it was one of the first weekends we were free out of lockdowns, I was able to disguise it as a trip out of our bubble. I had bought a ring (Kayla: and he did a very good job in choosing, too!) and had it sent to Aidan (Groomsman) knowing that Kayla would probably accidentally find it if I hid it at home as we only lived in a small 2 bdr unit. We ordered pizza from Sorrento and I had pre-planned going to a beach called Diamond Bay which was off a little dirt road.
Kayla: Again, none of these details were shared with me… )
Josh: Amazingly we had the whole beach to ourselves, however I wanted to watch the sunset and propose on the cliff top but had to jump over a ‘No Entry allowed’ fence to get there. Kayla kept saying “Josh we can’t be here! You’re a cop!” but alas, we jumped the fence and after I proposed she was a bit more okay with it. I popped the question, she said yes (Kayla: I was so happy that I forgot to actually say “yes” for a moment there, so Josh was awkwardly holding the ring and I was awkwardly waiting for it to be put on my finger until I remembered (oops)). We ate pizza, had some champagne and watched the sunset together.
Kayla: Your typical romantic story, it was perfect and exactly ‘us’. It was like Josh had ordered the beach to be dead quiet, the sunset to be perfect, the weather to have no wind but it sums Josh up – thoughtful and a quiet achiever. (There were no people around too which is exactly what we wanted – we both aren’t fans of public attention and in these situations Josh can remain cool/calm/collected (but internally dying) whereas Kayla is dying and everyone can see it).
We spent the night by ourselves, enjoying the moment and after breakfast the next morning, we let our families and friends know the news. This was also a memorable part of our proposal, sharing the exciting news with our loved ones when we were ready and seeing how happy they were for us. We have so many memories from this weekend.
Getting married. We were so excited for this day & it was perfect. Seeing most of our loved ones in one spot was also emotional. We hadn’t seen a lot of family & some friends due to COVID so this was really special. Our ceremony, particularly seeing each other for the first time was magical. Followed closely by our first dance which went much better than we expected. We really enjoyed our whole day: Bridal party speeches – our groomsmen & bridesmaids/man nailed these & did not leave a dry eye! The party & the dance floor to finish. So much fun!
Who else helped bring your day together?
Our families & lovely bridal party for getting the property ready, doing the ad hoc tasks & supporting us during our wedding weekend to ensure the reception in the marquee & ceremony area was dry! We knew the week of the wedding was going to be busiest for a private property wedding but the non stop rain (very unusual for this time of year) leading into our wedding day made it trickier & required 4 truck loads of mulch shovelled in the pouring rain for the marquee /floor to be set up on but it came together! We cannot thank everyone who helped out that week!
Nanna Joan & Nanna Pat for being our “Flower Nans” & making the walk down the aisle. This was pretty special for Kayla.
Georgia – our on the day coordinator was fabulous & troubleshooted everything. Our day was so seamless and couldn’t tell you what went wrong as she had it all under control! (I’m sure some things went wrong haha!!)
Gippsland Wedding Photographer
Venue: DeBondt Family Farm in Gippsland
Engagement Ring: Louise Jean jewellery
Gippsland Wedding Photographer: Kayla Maree Photography
Hair by: Jeminy Hair
Makeup by: Emma – Katie Winkler makeup
Kayla’s Dress: The Bridal Curator (Curator the label)
Josh dressed by: Oxford suits
Celebrant: Kate Adkins
Florals by: Fig & Willow Flower Bar
Cake and catering by: Brent Sinclair
Videographer: Tea – Tru Story Wedding Films
Music/Band – Hey Jack – Andy
Videographer: Tea – Tru Story Wedding Films
Music/Band – Hey Jack – Andy
Caravan Bar: Boutique Event Co
As a Gippsland wedding photographer, private property and country farm weddings are honestly my favourite. There is something so special and deeply personal about couples who choose to get married on their own land, surrounded by the people they love most. If you’re planning a Gippsland wedding and looking for a photographer who will blend in, keep things relaxed and capture every real moment — I’d love to hear from you!
