I could nearly say that I loved her from the very start.
Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…
Ben is a plumber, and I am a paediatric occupational therapist in a small town in Mudgee, NSW. We were both born and raised in Bathurst, NSW and have loved travelling back to spend time with our family and friends on weekends since making a move three years ago. We both love having quiet wholesome weekends that involve going to the markets, going for walks or spending weekends away with our family and friends camping. We love spending time on my parent’s property, just outside of Bathurst, where we got married. It’s such a peaceful zen escape that instantly fills your cup up. We absolutely love spending a day on the golf course or playing pickleball, tennis or riding our bikes together. For the 11 months leading up to the wedding, we were focused on wedding prep. Since the wedding, we have now shifted to focusing on building our house. Let’s just say we love to be busy!
We are both so family-orientated, which is why we decided to have two ceremonies on our wedding day. We also worked so hard to involve our family in our wedding as much as possible as they play such integral roles in our lives. We had an intimate ceremony with just our family members, where we shared our personal vows and exchanged our rings. To make it even more special is that Ben’s mum Nicci, was our marriage celebrant. But to allow her to enjoy the day as mother of the groom, we had three of my aunts tell our love story. We had our grandmothers as our flower girls. We had surprise witnesses and family members to ‘warm’ our wedding rings and hold our vow books. There were so many gorgeous parts of our day that made it so incredibly special to us, which I will always treasure.
How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions?
My first impression of Ben was ‘rude’… When he cut in front of me in the line at one of the local pubs. But it also worked because here we are 4 years later, married. On our first proper meeting, I instantly felt comfortable around Ben. He has this positive, calming energy that is so infectious, and he makes everyone smile wherever he goes. People say he is a young man with an old soul. Upon getting to know Ben more, the next thought that popped into my head was, is there anything this guy isn’t good at? Ben is a naturally gifted sportsperson and is able to try new things and be amazing at them.
I was back home on university holidays in 2020 when Ben and I officially started talking with a match on Tinder. With both of us growing up in Bathurst, it didn’t take us long to figure out that both of our families knew each other, with our older brothers working together and our dads both being builders.
My first impressions of Em are hard to say. I don’t quite remember pushing in front of her at the bar but I do remember her ignoring me at touch footy one afternoon! All because she was too shy… as I was approaching her to have a chat, she noticed I was coming and turned around in desperate need of cover! I love how Em interacted with my family. She really does treat them like her own which was a massive winner in my eyes. I loved the fact she’s also willing to give everything 110% no matter the circumstances. She’s self driven and knows exactly what she wants in life and that is what i love about her the most.
When did you first realise that this was someone you’d like to spend the rest of your life with?
This sounds a bit woo-woo, but I had an instant feeling when we met. He is so gentle, kind, selfless, and family-orientated. Seeing the way that Ben naturally gelled with my family was an easy giveaway that he was here to stay. We met during a tricky stage as I was on Uni holidays, which meant I was only home for a short couple of weeks before heading back down to Albury to finish off the last year of university, not to mention it was Covid. Not once did Ben make out that the 6-hour distance was too hard. He always found ways to impress me – arranging friends to deliver flowers, arranging for girls’ nights at his expense or surprising me with weekend visits. Ben is someone who is always looking for ways to upskill himself or to try something new. He is such a go-getter, which I absolutely admire about him.
Ben – I’m in the same boat as Em is here! From the moment we started talking, I knew that I was in this for the long run and willing to put in the effort to make things work. I could nearly say that I loved her from the very start. She just gave me this feeling of warmth and happiness, Ems a huge family girl! Family comes first in her eyes, and that was massive for me. It made me feel more comfortable when her family also took me into their arms from the beginning, throwing off the same vibes; we all just got along so well.
Was there a proposal? Tell us a little about it…
I had booked a weekend away in the Hunter Valley in April 2023 for my birthday. I had vouchers to use, so we went all out on a hot air balloon ride and then stayed at a lovely little tiny home in a town just outside of Lovedale. I remember thinking to myself, man, if he had a ring, this would be such a perfect weekend. Little did I know, though, after a day of sitting around playing card games, listening to music, and exploring the little farm, I would be toasting a marshmallow later that night and have a ring on my finger. Ben somehow managed to capture the whole proposal on video. I was absolutely gobsmacked! It was so magical; we had the night to ourselves to really soak in all the fresh engagement feelings, and then we spent the rest of the weekend sharing the news with our families and friends. He could not have planned a more perfect weekend!
What was one element you were happy to splurge on?
We made the decision to have our wedding and reception at a family private property to allow us to spend money on other areas of the wedding without having the huge costs of a venue. From the start of wedding planning, we decided to splurge on our photographer and videographer, as they are the one thing we have to relive our day. And our caterer. And boy, oh boy, we are so glad we went with our gut feelings because we regret none of them! Four months post-wedding, we still catch up with family and friends, and they cannot get over how amazing the food was or how lovely and approachable Sarah and Bowen, our videographer and photographer, were on the day. Not to mention the quality of their work!!
Did anything happen on your wedding day that you laugh about in hindsight (even if it was stressful at the time)?
There are so many parts of the day that we look back at and laugh now! My girls and I got ready at my parent’s house, which is where we got married. We were getting ready when all of a sudden people just started walking through the house from all directions, while I was in my wedding dress! Our DJ was late, but it meant that we had an even bigger party when he arrived! We were running an hour behind schedule because we had a surprise family ceremony, but our families thought we were having family portraits, so they were in absolutely no rush to get ready for the ceremony! We forgot our father-daughter/mother-son dance, but re-watching the videos brings us so much joy because it really is a clear representation of how we just go with the flow and have the best time while we do it!
Tell us about your main outfits, what was unique, is there a story? The history of the ceremony dress…
The dress I wore was the first wedding dress that I tried on. I stumbled across Grace Loves Lace on Instagram a few years back and was always obsessed with the simplicity and elegance of their gowns. As soon as I tried Goldie on, I knew she was the one. I felt so ‘me’. I will never forget the look my mum gave me when I waltzed out from behind the curtain! I knew that I wanted to add a pop of colour to my shoes as soon as I tried them on.
We spent a few weekends in Sydney searching for a tux for Ben. He wanted to be unique and stand out from the rest of the men at the wedding wearing black tux. He really liked the velvet jackets but did not find a colour that he was obsessed with. We were about to call it a day when we quickly popped into MJ Bale, and he locked eyes with ‘the one’. Instantly, he knew he was going to wear this on our wedding day. Ben’s favourite colour is pink, so this fitted him perfectly. And to match his pink jacket, I wore pink heels.
LOCATION Private Property PHOTOGRAPHER Sarah from Sarbo Studio, @sarbostudio FLORIST Fresh Florals – Matt from Saint Flora Florist, @saint_flora_florist; Faux Florals – Renelle from Eternity Bloom Co, @eternitybloomco CELEBRANT Say I Do with Nicci, @say_i_do_with_nicci CATERING Margot Burke Catering, @margotburkecatering RINGS Angus and Coote, @angus.coote BRIDAL DRESS Goldie Gown – Grace Loves Lace, @grace_loves_lace BRIDE’S SHOE Bowen Satin Pump Pink – Alias Mae, @aliasmae ACCESSORIES Earring – Grace Drop: Girl With A Pearl, @_girlwithapearl MAKEUP Bride’s Aunt – Anna Schembri HAIR Hair by Nicole, @hairbynicolehoward SUIT JACKET MJ Bale, @mjbale SUIT Bent Threads Menswear, @bentthreadsmenswear GROOM’S SHOE RM Williams, @rmwilliams GROOMSMEN SUIT Bent Threads Menswear, @bentthreadsmenswear BRIDESMAIDS DRESSES Hansen & Gretel, @hansenandgretel; Charcoal Clothing, @charcoal_clothing; Universal Store, @universalstore BRIDESMAIDS SHOE Betts, @bettsshoes BRIDESMAIDS JEWELLERY Willoh Collective, @willohcollective
