The long-awaited wedding of Home And Away lovebirds Leah Patterson and Justin Morgan is finally here and actors Ada Nicodemou and James Stewart are ready to celebrate.
The Australian actors looked back on filming the special day in the scenic NSW Hunter Valley, as they spilled details on what it was really like to shoot the love-filled scenes.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Home And Away stars talk ‘special’ wedding day.
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While the episode, which airs tonight at 7pm AEST, is a joyous occasion, the actors dished on the long days and some unexpected obstacles.
“The thing with a Home And Away wedding is that it looks lovely on screen but it goes for days and it was so hot and there were so many flies,” Nicodemou told 7NEWS.com.au.
“It was pretty full-on,” her co-star Stewart agreed of the 45C heat.
Both actors began to laugh as they reflected on the non-stop flies throughout filming at the scenic winery.
“I reckon we ate about 10 each at least,” Stewart said, adding that each time the director yelled “action” a fly would soon land on someone’s face — or the actors would be rushed to get their lines out before one of the pesky insects made a guest appearance in the scene.
Despite the challenge, the actors laughed that most flies did not make the final cut and were later edited out of the shot.
Along with the flies, Nicodemou says there were “peacocks running around everywhere”.
In between lines, the birds would often make loud, high-pitched screams — even disrupting Justin’s vows at one point.
The wedding is a family affair with Home And Away alumni Matt Little, who played Leah’s son VJ Patterson, and Penny McNamee, who played Justin’s sister Tori Morgan, returning for the special moment.
“We were having so much fun, weren’t we,” Nicodemou said with a laugh.
“Because after two days of shooting, the end was just us dancing on the dance floor and we had the best time! It was a night shoot as well.”
WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW: Ada Nicodemou and James Stewart test how well they know one another.
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The episode was directed by New Zealand-born Ian Hughes, who united and inspired all departments involved in the shoot.
“Ian spent 10 minutes on the first day and he brought everyone into this green, beautiful garden area and did this welcome speech,” Stewart said.
“I think it was like a Maori welcome speech and he acknowledged every department, whether you’re a runner, whether you’re sound, lighting — whoever.
“He acknowledged them and made them feel important, it set the tone.
“I’ve never seen it before in my career.
“And then everyone just brought their A-game, it was love and you can see it on the screen.”
Stewart said he was simply a “passenger” on the journey, able to watch all the different departments coming together.
“It was just joy for me,” he says of the experience.
While this is wedding number four for Leah, the episode marks Justin’s first wedding.
After several proposal attempts, Justin plans the entire wedding himself and does a spectacular job.
“It’s a beautiful, normal wedding which we really wanted,” Nicodemou says.
“I just wanted it to be like a nice wedding with nothing bad happening, and that’s what happened.”
Looking back on the four-year relationship between Leah and Justin, the actors said they love how their characters “laugh a lot and are a really good team”.
“It’s a really nice adult relationship, there’s not a lot of angst,” Nicodemou said.
“They’ve been through way too much together and I think they really support each other.
“And he sings to her! She cooks, he sings — it’s perfect!”
The co-stars have known one another for “a very long time,” with Nicodemou praising how Stewart always “brings something new to every scene, he always has an idea”.
Stewart suggested the magic is in both actors being parents to children of similar ages.
Stewart has a daughter, Scout, while Nicodemou has a son, Jonas.
“Children do something to your ego,” he said.
“It takes over and makes you define what’s important in your life.
“I think we found that definition at the same time.
“Ada and I like to come to work, know our lines, if you can be a little bit early … have a little idea of what you want to do so we can get home and get to our kids.
“I think once that started rolling it’s a really good way of looking at it.”
Watch the unmissable wedding of Leah and Justin on Home And Away tonight at 7pm AEST.