Laura + Jake by Heart and Colour - Together Journal

Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love, what is unique about you and your
relationship:

We met four years ago whilst both serving in the military and haven’t looked back since. We’ve travelled extensively all over the world but currently live in Brisbane. We love the simple things in life; a good glass of red, cooking a roast at home and watching the sunset.

We met in 2017 at work and after spending some time together we realised we share the same morals and values, we make each other laugh until we can’t breathe and generally have the best time around each other. Jake actually proposed on my birthday in 2020 at O’Reilly’s, which is a rainforest retreat in the Gold Coast Hinterland. It took me completely by surprise and I was crying so much I don’t think I was able to get the word ‘yes’ out.

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:

For us, we didn’t have a specific theme. We wanted something unique, laid back and of course in a beautiful location. Our original plan was to get married on Coromandel Peak in New Zealand, but with COVID-19 lingering and international borders closed we decided on the stunning Thalia Haven as our venue on the East Coast of Tasmania.

Eloping was always on the cards for us, as we both hate being the centre of attention and the idea of a big wedding seemed overwhelming. The only other people to attend our wedding were our beautiful parents who have been our greatest role models. Jake’s Dad also managed to live-stream our wedding for our siblings back home, which we really appreciated. We have planned a cocktail party to celebrate with our friends and family in the coming months.

We gave our wedding planner, the incredible Lisa Artaud, a lot of creative freedom when it came to our setting and styling and boy did she deliver the goods! Our florals exceeded expectations and I absolutely adored the toffee roses in my bouquet which came all the way from South America. We love great food, so our menu showcased some of Tasmania’s best produce including oysters, salmon, lamb and duck in a family-style menu. To top off the night, the pistachio wedding cake was served by the fireplace, which is probably the best cake we’ve ever had.

Tell us about your main outfits:

The wedding dress was an Enzoani Nolen gown from White Lily Couture in Brisbane. I’m a sucker for lace and a long train so when I saw this dress, I knew I had to have it. The gold bracelets I wore were a wedding gift from my mother just before the ceremony, but overall I wanted to keep the jewellery minimal. I picked up a couple of small hairpins a week before the wedding and a fluffy jacket online as we knew it would be pretty chilly down in Tasmania.

Jake’s jacket was custom made in burgundy velvet from Stuart Suit Specialist in Brisbane. We actually fell in love with another design from a major retailer, however, when we saw the suit in person it was bright purple, not burgundy. So, we ended up getting it custom made and the end result turned out better than we could have imagined! The remainder of Jake’s outfit was from Ted Baker

What were some of the most memorable/unique moments from the day:

Getting married at Thalia with the roaring ocean in the background is an experience we will never forget. Eloping was so intimate and such a special experience as there was no expectation to please anyone else. We spent the morning of our wedding day exploring Thalia and spending time together chilling out. The most memorable part of the day was definitely our vows – we wrote our own and they definitely bought on the waterworks.

We had so many small beautiful moments pre and post ‘I do’ and feel so blessed to have had Grace, our photographer capture them. Our photos turned out so incredible and more than what we could have dreamed of! We didn’t feel one bit of stress leading up to or during the entire day, which was amazing. Everything just came together brilliantly. Having a wedding planner was definitely one of the best choices we made.

Any advice for other couples planning to spend the rest of their lives together:
Our advice for couples planning their big day is to marry your best friend! If you are thinking about eloping, just do it. Your wedding should represent who you are as a couple – so just focus on what you think is important and everything else will just fall into place.