Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love, what is unique about you and your relationship … Despite our friends on both sides pushing for it, we knew each other for around 14 years before we finally got together.
It’s safe to say we both always had a crush but a combination of travel and timing (and both being too shy to ask the other one out!) meant that it took some sweet time to finally go on a date! This story was the reason for our sign on the dancefloor, “It was always you”.
On paper, we’re opposites. I (Claire) work as an advertising Creative and Dane works in finance. I’m all about sequins and dress-ups and Dane is a (much) more laid back surfer-type. Despite this, we seem to balance each other out perfectly. Dane grounds and calms me, and I pull him onto dancefloors and into mosh-pits. We also have the same deep love of our families, friends, and music – so deep down, our values are very much aligned.
Dane is deeply kind and thoughtful – he’d do anything for anyone. Including listening to me chatter incessantly for hours on end. It’s probably the reason he has more mates than anyone I know (making the wedding invite list a tad tricky!). He’s also more patient than anyone I’ve ever met. A trait which has come in handy as he’s tried to introduce me to the world of sports over the past 4 and a bit years (“It’s not an outfit, it’s a uniform…”, “It’s not an audience, it’s the crowd”).
Not to be overly cheesy, but he’s just my favourite person to be around.
Tell us about your special day, was there a specific theme or style? Tell us a little about the setting, the styling and some of your favourite details … We went for a bit of a 70’s vibe with a neutral/gold palette – a good representation of Dane’s nature-loving outdoorsy vibes combined with my love of everything sparkly and vintage. We also had a few sneaky pops of hot pink to make sure things didn’t look too serious! There was also a bit of a cosmic/celestial theme as a nod to my obsession with space – from the stars on mine and my flower girls’ dresses to the cake topper and the bridesmaids’ earrings.
We had a night-time wedding (our ceremony was at 6pm) and honestly couldn’t recommend it more. It felt sparkly and magical with all of the fairy lights and lanterns. It also meant we didn’t have to wake up at a crazy hour, and had a beautiful relaxed day getting ready with our nearest and dearest.
Our aim was to have a fun, easy wedding – minimum stress for us and our guests. We didn’t have an engagement party or kitchen tea or any of those things for the same reason. It was also part of the reason we went with the Grounds at Alexandria as our venue. Besides being gorgeous, and the staff being super helpful, it’s so central and meant our guests didn’t have to pay for accommodation on top of babysitters!
The thing that still makes me emotional is how much effort all our mates went to for us on the day. From our hilarious MCs who gave us custom-made dancefloor props (a triton for Dane the ocean king and a diamante microphone for my love of (terrible) karaoke) to our bridesmaids and groomsmen and my beautiful friend Nicole who did my hair (and didn’t get cranky when I completely ruined it dancing like a mad-woman on the dancefloor haha). Everyone went all out to make sure we felt so loved and special.
My other highlights were the dancefloor – I’m pretty sure every guest was on it from start to finish, complete with knee slides and highly-competitive dance-offs… and our gorgeous flower girls (our nieces) in their star dresses and glittery sneakers. The completely (and rightfully) stole the show. As did our handsome pageboy Harley.
Tell us about your main outfits: My dress was only the second one I tried on. I knew I wanted something different, and ideally, covered in sequins – but still wanted to feel like a bride. As soon as I put it on I loved it and the style made me feel so comfortable all night. The ladies at Hope X Page were an absolute dream and made the whole process so easy. They even sourced the matching veil (and delivered it to my mum for me!).
Dane isn’t the type to wear a traditional suit (he’d be barefoot 2/47 if it were up to him to be honest) so his choice was perfectly him. From what I can surmise, Dane and his groomsmen popped into David Jones on Market Street in Sydney, sourced their entire outfits top to toe, then headed to the pub for a well-earned beer. Haha.
What were some of the most memorable/unique moments from the day? As it was a night-time wedding, we did a first look and photos before the ceremony. When we saw each other, I cried, we laughed and instantly all our nerves disappeared. It meant we got to just really enjoy everything from then on together. We would definitely recommend it!
For the ceremony itself, we didn’t stick to the traditional rules. For example, both my Mum and Dad walked me down the aisle. Our sister-in-law Catiy read the lyrics to John Lennon’s “Real Love” as a reading. Our friend Emma was our celebrant and was amazing at helping us craft a vow-exchange that was inclusive, not too serious and something we were both super comfortable with. We each wrote our own vows which we kept secret from each other… that was a real test for my mascara! We also forgot where we were for a second and accidentally exchanged a sneaky kiss before we were supposed to!
Any advice for other couples planning to spend the rest of their lives together?
Planning: Someone told us to pick 1 or 2 things each that really matter to you for the wedding. For us, it was good music and good food/drink. It really simplified things and helped us prioritise. For example, we didn’t worry about a huge, fancy cake or expensive wedding cars as they weren’t important to us.
Throughout the planning process, we’d say always remember why you’re getting married, don’t get swept up in the potential stress and try to enjoy it! Share the decision making and delegate to willing family and friends when they offer. After the night, no one will remember whether you hand-painted 200 personalised bonbonniere – but they will remember the overall atmosphere and whether you were having fun!
(I also muted all the bridal dress Instagram accounts after I chose my dress, so I wouldn’t start second guessing my choice! Haha.)
Any advice for other couples planning to spend the rest of their lives together?
On the day: We had a secret keyword we agreed on before the wedding day which, whenever one of us said to the other, was a reminder to live in the moment, look around, and take it all in. So many of our friends had told us that the day just flies and we wanted to make sure we were really taking it all in and appreciating the magic. (Ours was “halloumi”, so everyone probably thought we were looking for cheese all night…).
A little bit silly, but it worked!
We can both honestly say that this was one of the very best days of our lives so far. We made a pact that we wouldn’t get swept up in the craziness of wedding planning and the little details that might otherwise stress us out and I’m proud to say that we managed to stick to it!
Venue, Styling Catering, Beverages & Cake: The Grounds of Alexandria | Videographer: Cloudherd Film Co. | Photographer: Willow & Co. | Celebrant: Emma Heath | Entertainment: Bobby Gray | Flora: Florals by Silva (Venue Florals) & Dominique Brammah (Bouquets) | Flowergirl’s dresses: Elestory | Bride’s Dress: Willowby by Waters from Hope X Page | Groom & Groomsmen Jacket & Shirt: Politix | Groom & Groomsmen Pants: Industrie | Bride’s wedding band: Meg Maskell Fine Jewellery | Groom’s ring: Carpe Diem Jewellery | Bride’s Shoes: Asos & Converse (for the dancefloor!) | Groom’s Shoes: Florsheim | Bride’s star hair clips: Leletny | Veil: Hope X Page | Makeup: Makeup by Megan | Hair: Hair by Nik | Bridesmaid’s Dresses & Skirts: Veronika Maine | Bridemaid’s Silk Tops: Witchery
