Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love, what is unique about you and your relationship… We are just two passionate people, we love with all our hearts and try to have as much fun as possible.
We’ve been to hundreds of gigs, movies, on tonnes of adventures as well as our fair share of misadventures. We dance away the night with friends and fill our lives with music new and old, it’s played such an important chord in our relationship and our lives.
We are lucky to complement each other in so many ways, it’s not only shared passions but being the strength to one’s weakness or exuberance to one’s calm that makes it so special to be together. We both work in advertising which is great for everything except our livers.
It might not be unique but we love competing and joking with each other, it’s keeping each other grounded whilst being on a rocketship to space – that makes it so exceptional.
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 got married in the Kangaroo Valley, one of the most beautiful places in our hearts – it was so important that everything we did only enhanced our natural environment whilst reflecting our personalities and aesthetic. Equal parts bohemian, rustic, elegant, warm and natural, the ceremony and reception was everything we dreamed of and so much more.
Mel had spent much of her youth on her grandparents dairy farm mooing at cows and chasing butterflies. So it was extra special to us to be able to get married on a farm and have everything from cows, to hawks make an appearance at the wedding. Melross Farm encompasses everything about Kangaroo Valley from the rolling green farm hills, to the stunning escarpment in the backdrop. John and Terrene were an absolute delight throughout and made everything so easy.
Our florist Mister Botanica and Stylist Rhianna Smith Events blew us away with how they styled everything. The flowers were mostly natives with loads of gum leaves and texture and together with Rhi’s styling of elegance brought the space to life and made the space feel so warm. Rhi was an absolute hero in the lead up to the wedding, on the day and the day after taking away the pressures and stresses whilst guiding us through ensuring the day was magical.
Having our friends and family together in such a magical setting was a transcendent experience that we will never forget. We were privileged to have so many of our friends and family support and contribute their wonderful talents throughout the day. Two of our friends who were complete strangers a few weeks before the wedding came together to deliver some of the most amazing music we could ask for during the ceremony – indulging us with tunes from Frank Ocean, Kendrick Lamar, Marvin Gaye, Disclosure and Tamia. The maid of honour, one of our best friends worked tirelessly for months to create us a stunning cake, another friend filled our dancefloor with bangers as the DJ, our cousin designed the invitations, our friend’s mum was a celebrant, our aunties made desert, everyone came together and it was love.
Damien and his Dad share a passion for whisky so we even had a whisky bar at the reception with a selection of their favourites from Ireland, Scotland and Tasmania.
Luckily, we had a ridiculously talented and brilliant photographer in Robert Meredith to capture it all!
Tell us about your main outfits:
The boys wore custom made suits from Institchu with bow-ties and odd patterned socks that may or may not have included Spiderman for Damien.
Mel wore a white Pronovias fitted gown with long flowing sleeves, wearing her mother’s veil. It was a very windy afternoon so the sleeves and veil made her look part whirly air dancer puppet, part most beautiful thing Damien had ever seen.
The bridesmaids shone like radiant emeralds, wearing forest green Shona Joy dresses which was stunning against the green farm backdrop of Melross.
What were some of the most memorable/unique moments from the day?
The most memorable thing about the day? Love… Nothing prepares you for the overwhelming feeling of love. Its everywhere, from everyone for the two of you. It is contagious, exponential, unfathomable, unmissable and unforgettable.
We remember seeing each other for the first time as Mel walked down the aisle. We forgot anyone else existed for a time. That moment took our breath away.
We both wrote our own vows which was like opening our hearts to everyone there in the most beautiful way possible. Hearing something so personal from each other just takes it to another level, we would highly recommend it for everyone.
You may have picked up by now that we love a good dance and an insatiable banger to go with it, our dancefloor was relentless – there were people that looked like they had gone swimming and there wasn’t a pool. We couldn’t have been happier dancing the night away with our friends and family. We decided to close of the night with Stardust’s ‘Music Sounds Better With You’ which was exactly how we felt about everyone on the dancefloor.
Any advice for other couples planning to spend the rest of their lives together?
For your life together: Love yourselves and each other deeply and with all you have. Be honest always.
Set your own standards, everyone is different, embrace it rather than letting it get you down – letting each other thrive and sometimes fail helps you learn and be better together.
For enjoying your wedding as much as we enjoyed ours: On the day, you won’t remember or really care about most of the small details. The love you feel from everyone can be pretty overwhelming. Choose the few things that are important to you as a couple and go hard on those. Don’t stress about the rest. It helps if you have a wedding planner/all round superstar like we did with Rhi.
And no requests to the DJ on the dancefloor.
Venue: Melross Farm Estate, Kangaroo Valley | Photographer: Robert Meredith | Celebrant: Carmel McAuliffe | Entertainment: Tristan Alaba (DJ) | Styling & Planner: Rhianna Smith Events | Flora: Mister Botanica | Catering + Beverages: Garnish Catering | Cake: Maid of Honour | Stationery: Hilary Thackway | Groom & Groomsmen Suits: Institchu | Brides Dress: Pronovias | Ring/s & Earrings: Fairfax & Roberts | Bride’s shoes: Chiara Ferragni | Groom’s Shoes: Aquila | Bride’s Necklace: Erth Jewellry | Bride’s Veil: Her Mum’s | Makeup: Goodness Gracious Beauty | Hair: Andrei Oliver | Fragrance: Jimmy Choo | Bridesmaid Dresses: Shona Joy
