Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love, what is unique about you and your relationship…
Nick is a warbird and vintage aircraft restorer and I am a vintage-inspired pinup model.
When we met we quickly bonded over our shared love for nostalgia and vintage. Our first date was the night Nick got back from flying an old warbird across Australia for restoration, and for our fourth date he took me flying in it (aerobatics and all).
We’ve been together now for over four years; engaged for nine months and married in October 2019.
We have travelled a lot together; to America, Europe, NZ & the UK. We’ve been to America once every year we have been together, so it is a special place for us. Our travels are always for our hobbies; either air shows, for a particular aircraft project or for Pinup competitions.
After Nick introduced me to warbirds, I developed a love for vintage aircraft too. I had been in the pinup scene for many years before, but after meeting Nick I created ‘The Flying Pinup’. With our interests well and truly combined, we can enjoy them together. Nick has supported me through every pinup competition and I support him at every air show.
In 2019 we had a white wedding ceremony in Australia, before jetting off two days later with our four best friends to Vegas for an Elvis wedding!
Have you faced any challenges you want to share with readers?
After our wedding(s), we were all set to move to America after Nick received a job offer earlier in the year. Throughout our Vegas wedding, we thought we would be back in America in a matter of weeks to live long -term. While planning our wedding we also sold everything we owned and waited for visa approvals, expecting everything to fall into place after preparing for months. After a very long wait with seemingly little progress, we made the difficult decision in February 2020 to call the move off. It was a true tug-of-war with both our sense of adventure and our desire to settle down after a big year in 2019.
In the end, we are extremely lucky to have called off the move, with COVID-19 erupting just weeks afterwards. If we had moved to the USA as planned, we would have found ourselves jobless and broke, and most probably would have had to move back to Australia anyway. We have now recently bought our first home and can’t wait to settle down (and renovate!). It is a true testament to ‘everything happens for a reason’. We thought changing our minds about moving to America might be a huge regret later on, but it turns out our gut instincts were right all along!
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…
From the beginning Nick and I were torn between a traditional white wedding and a Vegas wedding. We wanted to share our wedding day with family friends but also wanted to get married our way. When we sat down and crunched the numbers for a traditional Australian ceremony and reception, it just didn’t sit right with us. If we were going to save for such a big event, we wanted to spend our money on something we really wanted. We thought ‘Why don’t we do both’?! Instead of a reception, we decided to go to Vegas instead.
We ended up having a traditional white wedding ceremony in Australia (Summergrove Estate) with 130 family and friends in attendance. Then two days later, we jumped on a plane with our four best friends and photographers, and headed to Vegas! (One of our friends lives in the UK, so she met us in Vegas).
I had always loved the idea of a Vegas Elvis wedding. When we were both in Vegas in 2018 for a pinup competition, Nick agreed that it would be an amazing experience, and a great alternative to a traditional wedding.
What were some of the most memorable/unique moments from the day?
The whole day of having our dearest friends together in one of our favourite cities was unique and amazing in itself. No one in our group had experienced a Vegas Elvis wedding, so we all went in a little blind. There are so many precious moments to look back on, like the whole group shouting out song requests in the limo between locations, and everyone singing at the top of their lungs. We laughed so much that day and it was awesome to share the Vegas hoopla with the group.
It was also nice to have all of the formalities left behind from our Australian ceremony, which gave us permission to not take the day too seriously and just enjoy being a little bit ridiculous.
We also gained life-long friends in our photographers who, for both our Australian and Vegas weddings, essentially became a part of the bridal party.
Any advice for other couples planning to spend the rest of their lives together?
Get involved in each other’s lives. Support your spouse’s passions and ask how you can make their dreams become a reality. You can both achieve so much by helping each other and working towards each other’s goals like they are shared.
In regards to planning a wedding, do whatever you want. Don’t feel like you have to stick to what is expected, or what others suggest. Once we told our family of our changed plans, everyone was thrilled for us. Even our most conservative family members got a kick out of it and were happy to share only the important bits. Everyone understood that Elvis in Vegas trumped feeding 130 people.
photography: @reneegreencreative / bride’s dress: Forever New @asos / bride’s jacket & tiara: Made by the bride @kellymaddocks / groom’s suit & shirt: @asos / red lipstick: MAC Ruby Woo / bride’s rings: @heidigibsondesigns / bride’s vegas heart ring: ASOS Reclaimed Vintage @asos / groom’s ring: @thegentlemanssmith / groom’s sunglasses: @rayban / ceremony venue & videography: @gracelandweddingchapell / reception: @innout / transport: Five Star Limo LLC booked via The Flamingo Hotel @fivestarlimonv / accommodation: @flamingovegas / after party: @hakkasanlv / shoot location: @theneonmuseumlasvegas / groom’s vegas ring: Unknown Las Vegas Shopping Kiosk / bride’s slippers: @walmart / groom’s shoes: @asos / bride’s earrings: @baublebar / hair & makeup: The bride / bride’s fragrance: L’eau by @jimmychoo / groom’s fragrance: True Star Men by @tommtyhilfiger
