Bernie asked me to take a photo of the sunset, and as I turned around to face him, he was on one knee.
Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…
We live in regional Victoria, in a town called Warrnambool. Bernie has his own Construction business and loves anything outdoors, from camping to fishing and surfing. Lauren works in the public service and has a wedding and event styling business. Lauren loves everything: weddings, Pilates, and travel! Together, we love exploring new destinations locally or abroad, and our furbaby Stormy!!
How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions?
A mutual friend set us up on a blind date in 2021. We went out for dinner to a local restaurant in Warrnambool called the ‘Hairy Goat’. We spent the whole night chatting and were the last ones in the restaurant, with the staff turning the lights off (giving us the hint it was time to leave). Bernie says it was “love at first sight for him,” and I took a little bit more convincing but thought Bernie was hilarious and handsome.
When did you first realise that this was someone you’d like to spend the rest of your life with?
Bernie: After our first date, I remember telling my mates the day after that I had “met the one and that I was going to marry Lauren.” I don’t know how I knew, but I just knew I had met someone special.
Lauren: I knew early on, but it was solidified when Bernie met my family. We are opposites, but somehow, our personalities complement each other perfectly.
Was there a proposal? Tell us a little about it…
The proposal was in Fiji, somewhere we will forever have such special memories of. Halfway through our trip, Bernie told me that he had a surprise and had booked some accommodation in Momi Bay. (I thought this was ridiculous as we already had accommodation, but I went along anyway.) When we got there, we checked into the most incredible resort and spent the afternoon by the pool drinking cocktails. It was the evening, and we had a dinner reservation at one of the restaurants at the resort, but Bernie said he wanted to have a picnic and watch the sunset before we went to dinner. He called room service and asked for a bottle of champagne – the champagne was taking forever, and Bernie had worked himself into an anxious sweat. He kept calling room service and asking how much longer it would take for the bottle of champagne to arrive, worried we would miss the sunset. We didn’t; it was the most incredible Pinky/orange sunset. Bernie asked me to take a photo of the sunset, and as I turned around to face him, he was on one knee. I was so overwhelmed with happiness that I was speechless that he had to ask me if it was a yes. We celebrated at dinner and accidentally ordered a very expensive bottle of bubbles.
What was one element you were happy to splurge on?
Having such a small wedding, we wanted to ensure that our wedding felt homely and that our closest family and friends enjoyed great food and wine. We worked with our caterer to create a custom Italian-style menu, as nothing felt more homely to us than Italian food, and we had free-flowing cocktails for the duration of our wedding.
We found our photographer, Maegan Brown Moments, on Instagram and based our wedding date on her availability. Her work speaks for itself, but Maegan is not only the most gifted creative but also brought the best energy to our wedding day, and we were so grateful to have had her as our photographer.
We used two local florists, Bloom Bar & Co., for our ceremony flowers. Jess and Meg were incredible to work with and created the most divine floral arrangement of white hydrangeas. We used Pia of Little Paddock Farm & Florals for our reception flowers – Pia is a good friend and talented florist. It was special to have her create our reception table arrangements, which consisted of abstract floral arrangements in all white.
Zoe of Sunday Sprinkles, a local cake artist, created our cake. Zoe hand-crafted hundreds of individual wafers to resemble hydrangea petals to tie in with the hydrangea theme. Our guests said it was the most beautiful and yummiest wedding cake they had ever tasted.
The other element we splurged on was the styling. Coeur Studio, my wedding and events styling business, was born as a result of our wedding. We invested in quality linens and tableware to complement the beautiful sandstone walls of Frolic Lane, creating a timeless yet romantic tablescape. It was so special to have been able to plan, style and design our wedding!
Did anything happen on your wedding day that you laugh about in hindsight (even if it was stressful at the time)?
On the day, nothing matters because you marry your person surrounded by your closest family and friends. The cliché is so true, but your wedding day is the best day of your life, and even if small things don’t go to plan, it doesn’t matter.
Tell us about your main outfits, what was unique, is there a story?
Lauren: I wore a custom gown by Elissa Marie Design. It was such an honour to work with Elissa to create my gown. I had tried on dresses, but they all felt too ‘bridal’ to me – as we were having an intimate lunchtime wedding, I didn’t want anything to be over the top and just wanted something that felt like me. The dress changed and evolved, but I adored the final gown. Funnily enough, we incorporated a ‘v’ into the corset as a design feature, and unbeknownst to me at the time, my Mum’s wedding gown had the same feature, which I thought was so special.
My wedding band and tennis bracelet were from the beautiful Estelle of Annestelle Jewellery, a local jeweller in Warrnambool. Working with Estelle to design these items was so much fun, and they perfectly complemented the overall look.
Bernie: I wanted to support locals when purchasing my suit, so I got it from a local menswear store, Pitstop. Tania from Pitstop was incredible for someone who has no idea about fashion. I wore a white silk jacket with black pants and patent leather shoes. We asked our guests to dress in a black tie, which was a nice contrast against my white suit jacket.
CEREMONY LOCATION Private Property, Port Fairy VIC Australia RECEPTION LOCATION Frolic Lane, Warrnambool VIC Australia PHOTOGRAPHER Maegan Brown Moments, @maeganbrownmoments FLORIST Ceremony – The Bloom Bar & Co, @thebloombarandco; Reception – Little Paddock Farm & Florals, @littlepaddock_farmandflorals PLANNER & STYLIST Coeur Studio, @coeur___studio ENTERTAINMENT Cait Canty Music, @caitcantymusic CELEBRANT Ebony Lynch Celebrant, @ebony.lynch.celebrant CATERING Wyton, @wytonevents CEREMONY STATIONERY Welcome Sign – Lines on Linen, @lines.on.linen Personalized Ribbons – Ink & Roses Calligraphy, @inkandrosescalligraphy RECEPTION STATIONERY Creative Line & Co, @creativeline_andco HIRE Coeur Studio, @coeur___studio CAKE Sunday Sprinkles, @sunday__sprinkles RINGS Annestelle Jewellery, @annestelle_jewellery BRIDAL DRESS & VEIL Elissa Marie Design, @elissamariedesign ACCESSORIES Earrings – Dior, @dior; Bag – Etsy, @etsy MAKEUP Stephanie Bottrell, @steph_mua HAIR Bonni & Clyde, @bonni.and.clyde SUIT & SHOES Pitstop Menswear, @pitstop_menswear
