Beth + Simon by Beck Rocchi Photography - Together Journal

Simon also remembers this trip as a key time in their relationship, it was the ease at which both our lives were able to combine and become one.

Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…

Beth is a physio who works with children, she is always running late, loves hosting a dinner or night away and loves everything about Italy and thinks she should be living there (or Byron). Simon is her antidote being a project manager, organised and calm. He loves anything outdoors, any sports or hobby particularly if it involves a new gadget to play with.

Together they have a 1 year old baby Olive who is the chilliest dream baby in the world, she smiles and is happy to come along for the fun, along with their first baby Edwina a chocolate Labradoodle.

How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions?

We met at the Public House dancefloor in Richmond. Beth was there for a friend Emma’s birthday, and Simon was there with Beth’s old Uni friend Luke. Beth and Luke ran into each other and were catching up when Simon joined in. Simon asked for Beth’s number, and she put the wrong number in (still up for debate if by accident or on purpose), luckily he dialled it in front of her and made her put the real number in.

We chatted over text a few times, then met up for drinks. We lived within walking distance of each other in Richmond, so we met in the middle and talked until we got kicked out of the closing bar. We have spoken every day since then. First impressions were how easy and fun hanging out was, and neither of us wanted to leave.

When did you first realise that this was someone you’d like to spend the rest of your life with?

For Beth, it was on their first overseas trip together to Europe. Missing luggage, almost missed flights, late nights, hungover boat days, and travelling with friends and her family, nothing phased Simon, he smiled and laughed through it all and made it all easy and fun. Simon also remembers this trip as a key time in their relationship, it was the ease at which both our lives were able to combine and become one.

Was there a proposal? Tell us a little about it…

Simon proposed on their annual trip to Byron Bay. He had planned a beach picnic to be there when they arrived on their walk to their favourite beach spot. On brand for every holiday Beth and Simon go on, it was record-breaking rain and floods in Byron that weekend, so Simon redirected the picnic lady one hour before to set up back at the accommodation and insisted on a rainy beach walk anyway.

Simon got down on one knee on the beach under the trees in the rain, and they returned to their accommodation with the picnic set up in their room. It was exactly how every big moment in our lives goes… Chaotic, spontaneous but perfect in the end (with beach holidays consistently rained out!)

Tell us about the vision you had for the mood or style of your wedding.

We had always spoken about how fun a wedding in Italy would be, a holiday away with friends in the sun and spending more than just one night celebrating. We decided on Australia to make sure all our close friends and family could come and had picked a European vibe venue in Byron Bay when COVID hit. With what we thought was a short lockdown and borders closed, we decided to look in Victoria to be safe.

We found an old Homestead that slept 65 people near the coast where we had spent a lot of our early years at Beth’s parent’s beach house. It had a pool, tennis court and accommodation for everyone on site, so it more than fitted the brief of a blank canvas that would give us the weekend away/destination wedding with all our friends we had dreamed of.

The mood/style we were after was lots of colour, generous hearty food and drink, lots of personal touches and European garden vibes…. relaxed, easy and fun!

We had to postpone the wedding a few months before it was due as we were still in lockdown and postponed a second time with restrictions still in place and Beth now pregnant! So 3 years after booking we finally had the day locked in and the priority was even more so about the people, the party, and the colour!

What was one element you were happy to splurge on?

The venue itself was so stunning and lush that it provided a lot of our decoration and colour, and we used the old woodshed for the reception, which already had so much character (and the venue itself was a big splurge!). The venue also gave us so much accommodation for everyone to stay, swim, and play, which made it feel like a holiday away like we originally wanted, so we felt it was money well spent!

Our other big splurge was on the food, so everyone was full and happy. Our caterer helped design our menu with them, which was such an amazing experience. And our photographer, we would have paid anything to get we loved her energy so much 😊

We then had the most incredible group of suppliers who were all small businesses that provided the most incredible, one-off, tailored experiences and delivered beyond our wildest dreams but within our budget (which had gone down a lot after 2 postponed dates and a newborn!)

Did anything happen on your wedding day that you laugh about in hindsight (even if it was stressful at the time)?

Our Italian summer garden party, outdoor ceremony and reception followed by poolside recovery dream came crashing down the week before, when the forecast was for the coldest Easter weekend in 70 years in Victoria. Of course…on brand for us yet again!

We had a little moment to be upset that the weekend would be very different to how we imagined, but after so many delays and issues we were just so excited to have all our favourite people in one spot, with amazing food and music and finally get married, it didn’t take us long to bounce back into action mode. We hired heaters and moved the reception into the Woolshed, organised fire pits and emailed everyone to scrap the dress code and come comfy, warm and ready to dance.

Our suppliers were INSANE, they made it so easy, flexible, and kept it so fun and no trouble with the millions of last minute changes.

The ceremony and all the flowers moved 4 times before we started which Beth was oblivious too as she was inside getting ready. All the guests, groomsmen, photographer and INCREDIBLE florist were carrying around flowers and vases and hand scooping rocks into them to keep them down in the wind.

It rained during Beths vows and everyone had umbrellas and started laughing and we all just carried on and laughed about it! It was a little ridiculous but everyone’s attitude was so fun and light it really didn’t matter and certainly made it memorable.

Tell us about your main outfits, what was unique, is there a story?

Simon always knew he wanted a suit from P Johnson so his was a pretty standard process. He loved the experience of getting a tailored suit and it came ready in plenty of time, not much fuss.

Beth on the other hand tried on lots of dresses about 9 month before but hated everything. Felt silly and too dressed up, she didn’t enjoy the process in the bridal shops with lots of people involved and it just didn’t feel right. Beth and Simon then went away on a 3 month road trip with the baby and dog up the east coast so she decided to get a dress when she came back.

2 months before the wedding Beth still didn’t have a dress or any idea of what she wanted to wear (she wasn’t worried and felt something would turn up but had a VERY panicked bridal party and Mum waiting).

Our INCREDIBLE photographer Beck asked for a mood board and what Beth was wearing and when Beth said she didn’t have anything sorted yet, Beck said to have a look at her friend Tash’s store in the city.

Beth went and loved everything in the store but they were all short party dresses. Tash asked what she was looking for and she said she didn’t have a wedding dress and Tash said what do you want I’ll make you one! It was the most beautiful, relaxed, creative, easy process ever. Beth went in alone and showed Tash some of her favourite inspiration she had found and Tash added her signature statement sleeve and drew up the dress of Beths dreams while they sat on her couch with her Chihuahua Chewbacca.

The dress was made in calico 2 weeks before the wedding to try on, then was made in silk dupion by the Tuesday before the wedding and then final fitting the Thursday night. Tash dropped it to their door as Beth and Simon were leaving for the venue! It was beyond perfect and in true Beth style worked out just in time.