Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love, what is unique about you and your relationship…
I, Kirsty am a Graphic Designer and Sebastian is an Underground Mechanical Fitter. We went to school together but never really noticed each other until our mid 20’s when our paths crossed again.
We live in a beautiful country town, surrounded by amazing boutique wineries and fantastic restaurants. We love going on date nights and staying home with our beautiful blue staffy, Gravy.
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…
It was my 30th birthday… well, what I thought was my ‘surprise sequin themed 30th birthday’ but was actually a surprise wedding! Seb told me via a beautiful letter the night before, whilst I was surrounded by my closet friends and family. My Best friend and maid of honour Sophie-Lou, my good friend Alison and my parents, had helped him organise the whole thing without my knowledge! Not even the guest list knew it was a wedding! We had loosely organised a wedding for October the year before at Burnbrae Wines, but finding out my Dad couldn’t attend the date, we had to go back to the drawing board. Sebastian contacted everyone on that list again and being the middle of winter, no one seemed to be booked out! They couldn’t say no to a surprise wedding! We both wanted a boho styled, casual, laid back wedding, that everyone could have a brilliant time at. We ditched a lot of the usual formalities, and really let the excitement of the whole surprise take over! Not once was there an empty dance floor late into the night.
Tell us about your main outfits:
…The dress, the dress, the dress! With me not knowing about the wedding, the dress was a HUGE gamble! I had tried a few on the previous year after we got engaged, but none of them really jumped out at me… until I saw THE blue dress on Instagram. Sophie-Lou knew it had to be the one, but low and behold there was a 3 month wait list for one to made. She LITERALLY scoured the earth and found one in Poland that had only being tried on once or twice. How did they know it would it fit? Sebastian, knowing my gym trainer, secretly got access to my in-body scan from a 6 week challenge! The only adjustment needed was quite a large hemming as I am a little on the short side, to which he had the seamstress arrive at our house late in the night before the wedding! Everything was planned down to the smallest detail!
What were some of the most memorable/unique moments from the day?
Truly, the whole day was just so unique and memorable! It was full of so much emotion, laughter and absolute joy. It completely blew us away. Everything being a surprise to me was SO overwhelming and SO overwhelming and Sebastian’s attention to detail blew me away. He really thought about what I would want and made sure that everything was perfect.
I thought my brother and his girlfriend who were away, were going to miss my huge surprise birthday, but flew over 2 days and 4000kms to attend our secret wedding!
I remember walking down the aisle and seeing all of my friends and family staring back at me with the biggest smiles on their faces, waiting for my reaction to the whole surprise! During the ceremony a single white butterfly landed on my bouquet. It was a sign that from my passed loved ones that this was all going to be ok. Even though it was the middle of winter and the average temperature had been a top of 4 the week leading up to the wedding, the sun came out for the occasion and made for the amazing sunset photos that Steph did such an amazing job capturing.
Our first dance was so much fun! We ditched the formal bridal waltz and got our boogie on, with everyone joining in. I remember the night before the wedding, sitting down with everyone replaying the whole 4 months before hand, over in my head and wondering HOW ON EARTH I had not have picked up on what was happening.
Any advice for other couples planning to spend the rest of their lives together?
Take it as it comes. Your wedding day doesn’t always go to plan… sometimes you don’t even get to plan it at all! You soon realise all those little details don’t really maYer all that much, what matters is, that one day is about the love you two share and the whole room is there sharing and expressing that love with you. Have fun!
Photography: Stephanie Halpin |Videography: TM Productions | Ceremony and Reception location: Burnbrae Wines | Celebrant: Myff Clarke | Bride’s gown: Ru De Seine | Rings: Natalie Marie Jewellery | Hair: Collective Creative Salon | Fragrance: Narciso Rodriguez | Bridesmaid’s jumpsuit: ASOS | Entertainment: Mortimer Brothers | Styling and Flora: Botanica Bird | Planner: Burnbrae Wines | Catering, Beverages and Cake: Mudgee Made | Pre wedding prep accomodation: Perry Street Hotel
