Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…
We have been together for 5 years and love travelling, coffee and our 2 miniature dachshunds Sadie and Stella. I am a beauty therapist and have worked in the industry for over 10 years and Matt is a miner so you can say opposites attract.
In actual fact we are VERY similar both Gemini, extremely stubborn and like to get our own way 100% of the time. We both enjoy spending time with our friends and whilst I’m happy to chill out at home most of the time, Matt is a bit more social and majority of the time you’ll find him having a beer with his friends. We love outdoor activities like snowboarding and golf and have travelled overseas to some amazing countries. We just love each other.
(Matt) I’m 32 and as my wife has said I don’t mind the odd schooner and having a bit of a laugh, lived in Newcastle my whole life and work in a coal mine not far from home. Love travelling around the world, well back when you could go overseas. Can’t really sit still, like to be on the go a bit. Played rugby for 15 years before injuries struck but we just bought our first home together and am looking forward to the future and setting up a family of own.
How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions?
We officially met on Tinder May 2016 but I had seen Matt at a pub on Anzac day running the yabby races, he has a very boisterous personality so it was hard not to notice him. When I saw his profile come up on Tinder I thought this guy looks familiar.
(Nicole) my first impressions of Matt were that it seemed he liked to have a good time , he was very funny and he had a big genuine smile that I couldn’t help but smile with him.
(Matt)The new age cupid (tinder) brought us together. A first date classic, dinner and a movie! Thought she was sexy as from the get go! From that night on I knew she was something special as it felt like we had known each other forever!
Was there a proposal? Tell us a little about it…
Matt and I decided to get married and booked a wedding date so there was no official surprise proposal. He did do a little surprise proposal and got down on 1 knee whilst we were on a snow holiday in Japan. It was his 3rd attempt that day to so it I was obviously none the wiser.
(Matt) yeah it was a bit of a different type of proposal, we wanted a surprise wedding and spoke about it, then before I knew it the wedding was booked haha if you know Nicole she doesn’t muck around. But I did get my chance in Japan after a full day’s boarding at the bottom of the mountain on a blue bird afternoon.
Tell us about the vision you had for the mood or style of your wedding…
Originally we wanted to have a surprise wedding but COVID ruined those plans when we had to postpone for 6 months. I really wanted to elope and Matt wanted a party so we compromised with having a short ceremony in our reception room that instantly turned into dancing and drinking. We wanted a relaxed fun vibe where people could easily mingle so we had a cocktail style reception and our dancefloor was right in the centre.
We also chose to not have a bridal party, speeches, first dance or cut the cake. All the traditional stuff was thrown out the window so that the day could just flow the way we wanted it to. All we wanted was for our friends and family to help us celebrate and have good time. (Matt) I just left it all to the boss and I’m pretty glad I did.
Did anything happen on your wedding day that you laugh about in hindsight (even if it was stressful at the time)?
Matt wrote a great speech that he forgot to say haha we were having so much fun drinking, dancing and enjoying the moment with our friends and family. We woke up the next day and Matt was like “oh I forgot the speech, want to hear it?”
Tell us about your main outfits, what was unique, is there a story?
I knew from the very beginning that I wanted to wear something non traditional and found Rue De Seine on instagram and fell in LOVE with all their unique designs. The Tucson dress was the first wedding dress I tried on at my fitting at The Bridal Atelier in Sydney, the shape and colours brought me to tears and I remember saying to my friends and family “omg look how good my body looks!” clearly a sign I had found my dream dress.
Location: Caves Coastal / Photographer: Lauren Anne Photography / Celebrant: Holymatrimony / Entertainment: Matt Mclaren Music / Styling: Vintage Peacock / Hire: For The Unique / Marquee: Exotic Soirees / Flora (expect the bouquet): The Naked Florist / Nicole’s gown: Rue De Seine / Matt’s attire: Peter Jacksons / Nicole’s ring: Ruusk / Matt’s ring: Crooked Howlet Designs / Shoes: Senso / Other Jewellery: Alix Yang / Makeup: Makeup By Bonnie Lee
