Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love, what is unique about you and your relationship:
Andy and I met on a street corner in the city one night, which I promise is not as suss as it sounds!
Fast forward 7 years and on our annual skiing trip, a very nervous Andy asked me to walk with him down to the river where he presented me with an engagement ring and then promptly forgot to ask me to marry him. Luckily, I was able to join the dots.
Andy and I have had the joy of growing into adults together and sharing some of our most exciting milestones. We’ve travelled the world, bought our first place and shared so many joys and struggles. On our fifth anniversary, my brother said “roughly one-quarter of your existence with Andy? You two are either incredibly lazy or incredibly well suited.”
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:
When we started planning the wedding, the options were slightly overwhelming. We’re both pretty indecisive, but the one thing we agreed on from day one was that we wanted our wedding to be relaxed and fun. Rather than a theme, we let the venue and our own taste guide the style of everything we chose. On top of our list was a venue that could cater for everything from the ceremony to photos to reception so that no one needed to worry about travelling or filling a few hours while we were off taking photos. We fell in love with our venue Ginninderry Homestead as soon as we saw it, so that’s when the planning really took off.
The homestead is set amongst gorgeous gardens which were perfect for our outdoor ceremony, followed by drinks and lawn games for our guests. It was also the setting for some of our favourite details of the day like the stunning floral arbour courtesy of our incredibly talented florist Fionna as well as the caravan bar. Fortunately, the weather gods were kind to us and our guests spent the evening outside chatting and listening to live music. Our legend celebrant Shannon made sure the ceremony was exactly what we wanted and we giggled our way through our vows, which coincidentally and hilariously turned out to be almost exactly the same as each other.
Tell us about your main outfits:
I had my heart set on a dress by Lover the Label pretty early on, but it was a classic case of ending up with one not even remotely like I pictured. I had a great day with my mum and sister travelling to Sydney to try on just about every dress they had in store, where I couldn’t go past the lace detail and shape of the dress I chose. It needed a bit of alteration, since I’m a pint sized 5 foot 2, but I absolutely love how it looked.
Andy took the opportunity to have his suit tailor made and he had the best time choosing fabrics and colours at Institchu.
What were some of the most memorable/unique moments from the day:
It really is the little moments about the day that I look back on the most. Just as my parents were walking me down the aisle, someone’s phone GPS loudly barked out directions, which had everyone including me giggling. It’s not something anyone would plan or hope for but I always look back on it with a smile because it was exactly what I needed to help relax in the moment. Plus, as an added benefit, everyone is smiling in the photos!
We’re also both shocking dancers, so the thought of a traditional first dance was cringe-worthy to us. Instead, we insisted our guests join us for the first dance and we had the best time throwing out questionable moves left, right and centre.
Any advice for other couples planning to spend the rest of their lives together:
Whatever you do, never stop making each other laugh.
Venue: Ginninderry | Photographer: Lauren Campbell | Celebrant: Shannon O’Heir | Entertainment: Liam Wright Music | Hire: Your Event Solution | Flora: Peony N Pearl | Catering + Beverages: Nellie’s café and bar | Cake: Laombre Creations | Bride’s Dress: Lover the Label | Groom & Best Man Suits: Institchu | Ring/s: Arnold Jewellers | Bride’s Shoes: Alias Mae | Groom’s Shoes: Windsor Smith | Bride’s Earrings: Brie Leon | Groom’s Watch: Daniel Wellington | Groom’s tie: Peggy and Finn | Ring box: Etch It | Makeup: Steph Church | Hair: Kate Lily Dressing Hair | Fragrance: Jo Malone | Maid of Honour: Fame & Partners