We are a couple of overworked university students in our last weeks of engineering and law at Newcastle University. When we aren’t studying, we love being active together. We train at F45, hike, cycle, camp, adventure to cabins in the woods and eat Tibetan dumplings at the local farmers’ markets on Sundays. We both come from mixed-race families, which comes with the struggle of feeling like you don’t quite belong anywhere. When things get hard, busy or stressful, we always try to remind each other how lucky we are to have someone who not only understands that feeling, but also accepts the other person wholeheartedly. We have a dream of adopting a child and most countries require their adoption candidates to be married for a certain period of time. We had to have a serious talk about what we wanted from our relationship early on and we both discovered we wanted to be together forever, marry and start a family next year. When we first got engaged, we saw marriage as a first step to starting a family, but the closer we got to the elopement, the more we placed importance on cementing the commitment to each other. We had absolutely no idea how the day would go and left it completely up to the Anteloping team. It was really exciting! The flowers and the colours popping against the background of Mount Hothams’ grey gums and snow were so beautiful. My entire aesthetic is to look as Latina as possible. When my dress arrived from Spain, I was terrified I wasn’t going to be able to pull it off or that no one would understand my vision. But I emailed a picture of my dress to Ash and Tanya at Anteloping Elopements and they were so excited. They worked to create the perfect headpiece and makeup look to suit. I topped it off with some big rose gold earrings and it came together perfectly. Our celebrant Kim took us through a guided meditation in the morning. It’s hard to articulate just how beautiful and meaningful that half hour of meditation was. All the anxiety we woke up with was completely stripped away and we were completely present with each other. I found a poem about marriage in Eat, Prey, Love last year that really resonates with us. “Marriage is those two thousand indistinguishable conversations, chatted over two thousand indistinguishable breakfasts, where intimacy turns like a slow wheel. How do you measure the worth of becoming that familiar to somebody — so utterly well-known and so thoroughly ever-present that you become an almost invisible necessity, like air?”
Photography: Joel Allston at Barefoot & Bearded and Anteloping Bride’s flamenco dress: Sibilina Flamenca Groom’s attire: Traditional Filipino barong tagalog Videography: Nathan Kaso Headpiece, Styling & Flora: Ashlee Wheelhouse at Film & Foliage and Anteloping Groom’s ring: Etsy Bride’s rings: From a local family jeweller in Newcastle Location: Mt Hotham, VIC Celebrant: Kim Oakhill Makeup & Hair: Tanya at Chic Artistry and Anteloping Catering: Cooper Thomas at The Wilderness Chef and Anteloping