Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love, what is unique about you and your relationship:
Meagan is a Social Worker in the intensive care unit at a children’s hospital and Nate shares his time between civil construction and being the lead singer in a band.
While our careers keep us busy we make a point of never forgetting the simple pleasures of life – protecting time to spend with family and friends, watching live music and snuggling up on the couch with our doggos Zeppelin and Morrison to watch Friends on repeat.
Nate proposed with a custom made Heidi Gibson ring of diamonds and moonstone (Meagan’s birthstone), on the top of a mountain in Yosemite Valley as the sunset, our favourite song played and we drank beer and ate pretzels. Talk about heaven. The first thing we did after we got engaged was FaceTime our family back in Australia/Europe. The connection was awful and none of us could hear a word that was said, but it worked just enough for everyone to see the new rock and two of the biggest smiles in the world. Knowing that we were being celebrated from all corners of the world that night was pretty special. We then went straight on to a stargazing tour, we have never seen a sky more magic than that night. The guide took us through stories of the cosmos and showed us endless galaxies, and then pointed out to us the two-star signs that could be seen from Yosemite that night… Gemini and Virgo, our star signs. Despite the enormity of what was above us, we felt like there was no one else in the world that night except for us. It was beyond magic.
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 wanted the style of our day to just be an extension of us – everything we love and our home… Crystals, candles, stars, the moon, dusty sunset colours and wildflowers. We put this all to our magic-maker stylist Danielle at Til Death Events and she coined the theme “celestial” for our day. It was perfect and completely captured the vision we had in mind.
We looked at several different venues before we found our home in Summergrove. Being placed on top of a mountain overlooking endless valleys and sunsets it was not only reminiscent of Yosemite Valley where we got engaged, but the synchronicity of it being located nearly exactly between our two home towns of Ballina and Brisbane sealed the deal for us.
We both wear our hearts on our sleeves – throw in our love for our family and a good dose of sentimentalism and that was our guiding light for most decisions for the special details of our day. Our grandparents who couldn’t physically be with us were weaved into every important part of the day. From the photos we had surrounding us getting ready, to the kookaburra feathers in the bouquets and a bit of magic in the appearance of a huge double rainbow straight after our ceremony they were there shining their big love on us, we know that. Our cocktails were named after our dogs and our tables named after our favourite locations in the world Yosemite, New York and Boston. Every detail was considered and representative of our relationship and life together. We loved that we ditched the bridal table and instead had three long communal feasting tables with all our our most treasured people scattered all over them.
We also loved that we had special scents for our day in candles and perfume/cologne. For the rest of our lives, all it takes is for one breathe of those scents and we are transported back to our most favourite day.
Tell us about your main outfits:
Meagan: I wore the Rosa gown by Australian designer Bo and Luca. I initially found dress shopping overwhelming and confusing, I thought I had no idea what I wanted until one night I found this dream of a gown while trawling through Instagram. It was everything I had ever imagined (without even knowing what I had ever imagined). The perfect balance of classic and modern, dreamy and edgy. I had that “this is the one” moment and never looked back. The outfit brief for my bridesmaids was “black, something that you feel comfortable in, can wear again, and has a point of difference”. I went shopping with each of them and couldn’t have been happier with their choices. Each outfit represented and complimented their unique personalities and each other. I mean look at them – what a bunch of babes!
Nate: I wanted a classic tux with a new age twist, something that dated well and that wasn’t going to look back on and wonder what I was thinking. My groomsmen and I all got custom made tux’s from Insitchu in Brisbane, with my subtle point of differences being the details in my lapel, bow tie and shoes. I gifted the boy’s personalised socks that chimed in with our celestial theme and matching watches from my mates watch company.
What were some of the most memorable/unique moments from the day?
As Meagan’s brother put it perfectly in his speech, a lot of weddings you go to include a collection of people known to the bride, or people known to the groom, and a small group of people known to both. Our wedding however was one big happy family. Everyone knew and loved everyone, and this showed in the emotions of the ceremony, the laughs shared during speeches and the wild party that followed. We literally smiled the biggest smiles of our lives from sun up to sun down and beyond. We often look at our photos and laugh about the size of our mouths – they are the perfect representation of our hearts on the day.
We both recall the moment we opened our gifts to one another on the morning of the wedding as particularly special. While at our separate locations having spent the night before with our bridesmaids/groomsmen, any little feeling of being apart was instantly replaced with connectedness by our personal and sentimental gifts. Nate gifted me a Sofia Zakia celestial necklace and I gave him an onyx ring handcrafted by our good mate (and wedding singer – talk about being a man of many talents) Steve Childs. Two tangible items that we wear every day to remind us of our most favourite day, and our most favourite person – each other.
We are lucky enough to have the ‘problem’ of having so many special people in our lives that we had to get creative with how they could all play special roles in our day. Our bridal party was huge and representative of people from all walks and time periods of our lives. Our legend of a celebrant Paul Voge then had the idea of inviting another two of our closest friends who represented groups of equally important people in our lives to talk in the ceremony about who we are as individuals and as a couple to them. Our witnesses were two different family members, as were our MCs.
We are also lucky enough to have incredibly talented and creative friends who made up our team of “vendors”. And the few who we didn’t know before the wedding quickly became our mates throughout the process. This meant that not only did every element of the day truly reflect who we are, but we also had a wild and fun time planning and executing the perfect “us” day.
Any advice for other couples planning to spend the rest of their lives together?
While the aim is to not sweat the small stuff and enjoy every little part of the ride, the reality is that planning your wedding can be a nice little mixture of big-time fun and big-time stressful. We think that being realistic about this sets the path for supporting and checking in with each other throughout, taking friends and family up on offers for help and refocusing yourself on what truly matters to you. And when all else fails (and if budget permits) get yourself an angel of a stylist/planner like Dan from Til Death Events. However, the day of the wedding is your time to shine with the whole “don’t sweat the small stuff” mantra. Once you wake up that morning trust that however the day is meant to be it will be. Be present, slow down, lighten up and soak up every little moment. And once again if budget permits, invest in a ridiculously talented photographer (Kristina Wild) and videographer (Marc Media) to help capture and remind you of every little detail.
Photography: Kristina Wild Photography | Ceremony and Reception location: Summer Grove Estate | Videography: Marc Media | Celebrant: Paul Vog Marriage Celebrant | Bride’s gown: Boa & Luca | Meagan’s celestial jacket: Spell | Groom’s suit: InStitchu | Bride’s ring: Heidi Gibson | Groom’s ring: Michael Hill | Bride’s shoes: Bershka | Groom’s shoes: Florsheim | Jewellery: Tilly Thomas Lux, Lelet NY and Krystle Knight Jewellery | Makeup: Tanielle Jai | Hair: Jessie James |Fragrance: Penhaligon’s | Entertainment: Steven Child’s Music and DJ Anna Sonnenburg| Styling and Planning: Til Death Events | Hire: Hampton Event Hire and Out of the Dark Event Lighting | Flora: Stem Design | Cake: Baked by K | Design: Heart of Juno Designs , Myla and What She Said Co.
