Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love, what is unique about you and your relationship…
I told Dan that I was pregnant on the day that he was secretly going to pick up an enagement ring.
He ended up proposing a week later and I found it very difficult to ‘pretend drink’ all of the Champagne that our friends and family kept popping in celebration. Luckily we headed over to WA for a one month road trip soon after, so we had some time to ourselves to process and plan our future together. We now have a 10 month old baby boy, Alby, who has made our lives infinitely better (and unsurprisingly, more exhausting).
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 pretty much planned our whole wedding in about 5 minutes, during a family lunch at The Epicurean. We spend a lot of time down on our property in Red Hill, so it was a natural fit for our wedding ceremony. Our good friends Leah and Craig own the Epicurean and we didn’t even think twice before selecting it as the venue for our reception. We love the big open shed, local wines and the delicious wood fired pizzas. It is perfect for a party! Once we had checked their available dates, we made a quick call to our good friends Tony Evans (Tony Evans Photography / lens legend) and Pip Best (Inlight Ceremonies/ doula in training) to make sure that they were free, then we locked it all in. Dan’s Step Mum Penny and family friend Jane did all of the styling for the ceremony and reception, with the help of our bridal party. We only used native flowers and greenery from the property, which was an excellent decision because it was a searing hot day and other flowers probably wouldn’t have lasted.
Tell us about your main outfits:
Jette – I thought that buying a wedding dress so soon after having a baby was going to be a nightmare, however it was the complete opposite. I happened to be in Myer with Dan’s Step Mum Penny one afternoon so decided to take a look at some white dresses. The Toni Maticevski dress was one of the first dresses I tried on, and I actually gasped (I thought that just happened in the movies). It fit me perfectly and I felt the most beautiful I had in months.
Dan – despite the fact that February is almost always boiling hot in Red Hill, I was set on wearing a tux (and making my bridal party suffer with me). MJ Bale was a natural choice because they make great quality, classic tuxedos at a good price point.
What were some of the most memorable/unique moments from the day?
Being married by one of our best friends Pip Best (Inlight Ceremonies) was by far the most special part of our day. From the moment we were engaged, she was such a thoughtful and insightful companion for the whole wedding journey. Then, the ceremony itself was perfect. There was so much of us in it, we loved it. We really wanted Alby to be a part of our ceremony, however he slept through the whole thing. Babies! We are not ‘posy’ people and we were not interested in spending hours away from our guests to get unnatural wedding shots, which is why we didn’t think twice when asking Tony Evans to be our photographer. He took the most wonderful candid shots and captured were getting ready, as he eased our nerves by quietly cracking jokes at the perfect time and gently got us moving when it was time to get going. Entertainment on the crowd and warned them that the party would start early… and it did. The dance floor ignited at around 8.30pm with our amazing DJ/Saxophonist Dan and didn’t stop until we were kicked out at 1am.
Any advice for other couples planning to spend the rest of their lives together?
We’ve only been married for 6 months so we’re no experts, but documenting key moments is a great way to reflect on wonderful periods of your life together. We are so lucky that we had Tony capture our day so beautifully. We will look back on those photos for many, many years to come.
Photography: Tony Evans Photography | Ceremony location: Private property | Reception location: The Epicurean, Red Hill | Celebrant: Inlight Ceremonies | Bride’s gown: Toni Maticevski | Rings: Mario’s Jewellers | Shoes: Bared Footwear | Makeup & Hair: Makeup by Sophie Knox | Entertainment: Rutherford Entertainment | Styling: Family Friend, Jane | Planner: Lateral Events | Hire: Happy Glamper | Flora: From family property