I think we both knew very early on that we had a good thing and quickly came to the realisation that we couldn’t imagine doing life without the other!
Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…
Belle: I grew up on an olive farm in the Gold Coast Hinterland in a big family. I recently turned 30 (on our wedding day) two years after Keegan had proposed. I absolutely adore my family and love spending my days off with our extended family and friends. I studied Criminology and Criminal Justice at Griffith University and am currently a Police Officer working in first response. My proudest moment was starting a family with Keegan and welcoming our cheeky son, Archer, to the family.
Keegan: I love travelling, going to the beach with my family and the snow. My favourite hobby is stirring Belle up and when I’m not doing that, I am a Civil Engineer.
How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions?
Belle: Our first date was over breakfast at a local café and we have been inseparable since. From the moment I met him, Keegan made me laugh like no one else and I felt like we had known each other forever. I instantly felt at home with him. My first impressions of Keegan was he had the most beautiful smile, a big beautiful heart, was a whole lot of fun (and almost as smart as me)! Keegan: My first impression of Belle was that I thought she was very open, honest and bloody cute! I was obsessed with her smile and her down-to-earth nature. I couldn’t be happier with how our paths came from all the way around the world, to cross at just the right time.
When did you first realise that this was someone you’d like to spend the rest of your life with?
Belle: Following on from our first date, we spent almost every day together and breakfast dates soon became tradition. Everything with Keegan was effortless and I felt so content in his company. I think we both knew very early on that we had a good thing and quickly came to the realisation that we couldn’t imagine doing life without the other!
Keegan: From the moment I met Belle, I knew she was the one for me.
Was there a proposal? Tell us a little about it…
Keegan: I had initially planned on proposing whilst on a snow holiday however due to Covid, we were unable to travel to the snow at the time. We celebrated Belle’s birthday on her family’s property and following a sunset picnic and fireworks (to which she believed were for her birthday), I knelt down on one knee and asked her to marry me. She was over the moon & said yes!
Tell us about the vision you had for the mood or style of your wedding…
Belle: Both being winter babies, we love the snow so it made sense to celebrate our love by bringing our favourite people together down in Tinkersfield, a beautiful property at the base of the Snowy Mountains in Crackenback, New South Wales. My family and I had spent many snow seasons at Tinkersfield so it was very sentimental for me to have our wedding there.
We hadn’t seen many snowy weddings being done in Australia and most of the inspiration we had found incorporated dark colours and were quite ‘moody’. I wanted to create something different and show that snow weddings could be soft and colourful too.
Our wedding vision was romantic and whimsical. With the help of my sister’s magical touch, we incorporated my favourite colours with some of my favourite flowers into the wedding details. My sister’s team created a garden of flowers to surround us during the ceremony and reception, it was breathtaking. We wanted to do a first look in the snow with just the three of us before the ceremony. The day prior we found a private spot past Thredbo and as we arrived on the morning of the wedding, it began softly snowing. It was a dream! We had also broken a few ‘traditions’ already so it was important for us to be together as a family the night before so we could wake up together the morning of the wedding. This was one of my favourite things and we started the day with a cup of tea in one hand and a letter we had written for each other in the other.
What was one element you were happy to splurge on?
Belle: Photography and videography! I love the sentimentality of looking back over old memories and wanted to ensure that we would love our wedding photos and film for a lifetime to come. Beck and Nich exceeded any expectations and we loved hanging out with them for the day! We were also dedicated to bringing in all of our A-team vendors interstate and thankfully, all of them were keen to come along for the party!
Did anything happen on your wedding day that you laugh about in hindsight (even if it was stressful at the time)?
Belle: Just as I began walking down the aisle, my veil swept up in the wind and tried to take off behind me before wrapping completely around my Stepdad and almost tripping me over! I laughed the whole way down the aisle but I was low-key worried I was about to have the stack of the century in front of our loved ones.
Tell us about your main outfits, what was unique, is there a story?
Belle: My dress is a custom piece from Darb Bridal Couture. I instantly fell in love from the moment I met Brad and Belinda. During our first meeting, I described my ideal dress to Brad and he began sketching a drawing of exactly what I had in mind. The journey to watching my dress and the finer details come to life was incredibly magical. Brad also created my veil and a custom pocket square, made from the material from my dress, for our son, Archer’s, suit.
Keegan and his groomsmen were dressed in classical and elegant black suits by M.J Bale. Archer’s suit, from Indie Kids, perfectly matched the boys’. My girls were my ‘something blue’ and were dressed in Billy J Bridal and our adorable flower girls were dressed in Chloe and Amelie. We custom-made their combat flower boots to suit their personalities! My niece, Sophie, also created custom jewellery pieces for myself and the girls, including bee earrings, my favourite!
CEREMONY + RECEPTION LOCATION Tinkersfield, Crackenback Valley, NSW / PHOTOGRAPHER Beck Rochi Photography, @beckrocchiphotography / VIDEOGRAPHER Rolling Dawn Films, @rollingdawnfilms / CELEBRANT Michelle Bailey, @celebrant_canberra_shellibrant / ENTERTAINMENT Luke Pauley Music, @lukepauleymusic / STYLING + HIRE + FLORA Ivy & Bleu Events, @ivyandbleuevents / CAKE Bluebird Baking Studio, @bluebirdbakingstudio / STATIONERY White Letter Stationery, @whiteletterstationery / PHOTOBOOTH Selfmatic Photobooth, @selfmatic.co / AUDIO GUESTBOOK At The Beep Audio Guestbook, @atthebeep.co / CUSTOM DRESS + VEIL Darb Bridal Couture, @darbbridal / SUIT M.J. Bale, @mjbale / ENGAGEMENT RING Tiffany & Co, @tiffanyandco / RINGS Stephen Dibb Jewellery, Elk and Club, @stephendibbjewellery / SHOES Billini Boots, @billinishoes / BRIDESMAIDS’ ACCESSORIES La Fleur Fine Jewellery, @lafleurfinejewellery / MAKEUP Samantha Lee, @samanthaleemua / HAIR Ms Francis, @ms_francishair / BRIDESMAID’S DRESS Billy J Bridal, @billy_j_bridal / GROOMSMEN’S SUIT M.J. Bale, @mjbale / RING BEARER ATTIRE Indie Kids, @industriekids / FLOWER GIRLS’ ATTIRE Chloe and Amelie, @chloe_and_amelie
