Megan + Phil by Fiona and Bobby Photography

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

Phil is Head Chef at Goonoo Goonoo Station just outside of Tamworth – he’s a lover of food, building race cars, fishing adventures, renovating and a good ol’ Netflix binge! I’m a speech pathologist in Newcastle – I’m a lover of all things sweet and delicious, an easy morning run, the occasional marathon and delicious coffee.

Phil is the type of person who goes to bed at 5 am; I wake up at 5 am! We’re incredibly independent but also incredibly connected. We support each other throughout all of life’s little trials but also aren’t afraid to challenge each other when needed. We met at times in each other’s lives when neither was looking for love; our adventure started in Tasmania with a day trip to the snow, and of course, the rest is history!

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:

Our day was such a celebration! We had 8 guests in total and at the end of the day, I think we pulled it together in 4-6weeks. Our day started at the Old Clare Hotel. We had a casual family breakfast, hair/make up, uber eats poke bowls for lunch and then headed over to Watt Park with all our guests. In typical style, we were early! About 30mins early for our ceremony giving our delightful celebrant a little heart attack when she arrived! Nevertheless, everything was set up by the beautiful Alicia – our florals were next level with each petal hand reflexed. Our ceremony started with me giggling my way up the aisle after being rescued after I tripped up the hill! Our ceremony was sentimental, funny, heartfelt and honest. I walked up the aisle to Taylor Swift’s ‘New Years Day’ and we celebrated afterwards with ‘Me’ (my house music-loving husband was so kind!!). We just wanted love and to be the centre and the focus.

We ventured over to Wendy Whiteley’s garden for some photos before walking down to Lavender Bay and hopping on our boat! Here we did the all-important cake cutting and toasts before Phil and I hopped off and went into Chippendale for ice cream and portraits. Our guests stayed on board for another hour of cruising Sydney harbour, drinks in hand. Fi and Bobby, our ice cream loving photographers joined in the sampling of Anita’s finest and some of the best portraits!!

We walked all over Chippendale and back to Automata where we had the most delicious 12 course degustation dinner on the mezzanine level. Alicia had styled our table to perfection with florals and candles and it could not have been more delightful! Every mouthful was such an adventure and well worth my ever-tightening dress. Of course, we sent everyone home with a yummy cupcake for their supper! Always room for dessert! Alicia from Form over Function took one look at our outfits and styled the most amazing colour palette of soft blushes, apricots and burgundies. The Peonies and David Austin’s were just amazing and I’ll never forget their soft fluffy ruffles.

Tell us about your main outfits:

Phil chose and styled his outfit and it was pure luck our colours came together so beautifully! He was after a smart, timeless suit without being overly formal. When we first bought Phil’s outfit, it was based on version 1.0 of our wedding plans (snow-topped mountain!) Little did we know we would transition from a winter snow wedding to a springtime garden! Beautiful Vera is a strapless silk ball gown with a multi-layered crinkle tulle skirt, accented by a hand draped overlay in nude/blush. We then added the Faille Flower made of silk organza in bougainvillaea pink. This dress was so incredibly light given its volume and a dream to wear! Every time I looked down there was a different colour in the skirt and I loved that!

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

The most memorable moment from our entire day is the pure intimacy of it all. We had 8 guests total. I don’t think we could have re-created the love and intimacy we felt from start to finish with a larger group of people.

Some highlights:

  • Lining up for ice cream at Anita’s Gelato in my dress with metres and metres of tulle and bouquet alongside our ice cream loving photographers.
  • I remember a little mother/daughter moment…standing with my Mum moments before our ceremony, asking her to look after my engagement ring during the ceremony and then following the ceremony, her putting it back on my finger to meet my wedding band.
  • I loved how we didn’t feel the need to follow a wedding script; we kept those moments we wanted/felt were important and ditched the rest! Our topsy turvy, upside down timeline had us enjoy our ceremony followed by champagne and cake cutting on a boat cruise, pit stop for ice cream, then reception dinner! Dessert first, always and forever!
  • I loved how in the moment, it was just Phil and I, and a celebration of us. The words we spoke, the narrative that Amy created of our story together. I remember my sister tearing up while doing her reading, turning to me and saying, “but I practised”!!
  • Our boat ride over the harbour post ceremony was just spectacular and our guests were entertained while we had our portraits done.
  • I loved how flexible and open to our adventures Fiona and Bobby were

Any advice for other couples planning to spend the rest of their lives together:

We’re only new at this, our advice is just to be honest, communicate and live in the moment.

Ceremony location Watt Park, Lavender Bay / Reception location Automata / Photographer Fiona and Bobby Photography / Celebrant: Amy Watson / Styling/Hire/Flora Form Over Function Events Styling / Catering + Beverages Automata / Cake Maja Rose Cake Design / Boat Hire Sydney Harbour Luxe Charters / Car Hire Revel Drive / Gelato Anita’s Gelato / Champagne Barringwood Wines / Groom’s Attire and Shoes Politix Menswear / Bride’s Dress Vera Wang / Groom’s Ring David Parums Design / Bride’s Ring Aurora Diamonds / Bride’s shoes Casadei / Earrings Kate Spade New York / Jewellery Grandmother’s opal ring / Makeup/Hair Sandra Wogrand Eternal 2 Elegance / Fragrance Gucci by Gucci and Blooming Bouquet by Dior