Kate + Hugh by Nina Hamilton - Together Journal

The waitress couldn’t believe we had gotten married when we showed up in our suit and dress. She asked to see our marriage certificate. And the tables around us all cheered when we found our seat.

Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…
KP – Hugh is a physio and currently completing his Masters in Sports and Exercise Physiotherapy. I’m a policy adviser for Government. We live together with our Golden Retriever in Canberra. We love to spend our weekends together outdoors and doing a slow cook on a Sunday with wine.

When did you first realise that this was someone you’d like to spend the rest of your life with?
HW – After only about a week of dating, I just knew. It was a feeling I hadn’t felt before. I knew Kate was someone I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.

KP – It happened quickly! I think the ‘moment’ was a night where Hugh took me out to dinner to a cheap and cheerful Mexican restaurant, we had lots of wine and didn’t stop talking all night.

Was there a proposal? Tell us a little about it…
HW – We didn’t have a proposal. The idea of eloping came to us during COVID lockdown. We dreamt about going to Italy, eloping on the coast and having a big Italian honeymoon. When borders remained closed, we pulled the pin on Italy and chose Tasmania instead. We couldn’t have been happier with our decision. The wedding reflected us perfectly and it was actually legal too!

Tell us about the vision you had for the mood or style of your wedding…
KP – We wanted to have a low key, intimate and personal wedding. I didn’t have flowers and wore my old faithful shoes. We had a relaxed morning by exploring the Queen’s Domain, having pastries and coffee, and even going to buy a backpack for our upcoming trip to Bruny Island. At the start of the day, it almost felt like any other (really really good) day.

What was one element you were happy to splurge on?
KP – Our photographer Nina and celebrant Rachael made our day. They were so much more than vendors. They brought more energy and fun to the day than we could have imagined. We didn’t need a hundred people to create an atmosphere!

HW – And our dinner afterwards at Peppina was pretty special. The waitress couldn’t believe we had gotten married when we showed up in our suit and dress. She asked to see our marriage certificate. And the tables around us all cheered when we found our seat.

Did anything happen on your wedding day that you laugh about in hindsight (even if it was stressful at the time)?
HW – Our wedding was a complete secret from our family and friends. But in the lead-up, we told Kate’s dad we were going to Tassie, and he decided he wanted to come along. On the day of our wedding, we had to tell him we had plans and couldn’t hang out. When we were walking along the Harbour, we were almost certain we would bump into him and tried to hide behind our umbrellas.

KP – We also loved meeting a little spaniel called Mini. She ran up to us while we were having our photos taken.

Tell us about your main outfits, what was unique, is there a story?
KP – My dress is from Kamperett, an ethical, female-run company based in California. I didn’t try on any other dresses and bought it online without hesitation. It was perfect. I wouldn’t have felt myself in a full-length gown but the dress still made me feel as though it was my wedding day.

Hugh – I got my suit from MJ Bale, after putting it off for months. When we arrived to the store, the assistant told us that we were too late and it would be impossible to find a suit in the timeframe. There were manufacturing and shipping delays due to COVID. I had a look around the store and luckily found the last one in my size. The assistant couldn’t believe it.