Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love, what is unique about you and your relationship:
We’re high school sweethearts, meeting at the innocent age of 13 (Sarah) and 14 (Billy).
The 11 year trip to the altar wasn’t an easy one, with life pulling us apart numerous times, however, we always found our way back home in each other’s arms.
I’m a graphic designer. The Print Sisters, my own business, was born in 2016 after I fell in love with assisting couples in designing and curating the wedding stationery and signage of their dreams. Hence when it came to our own wedding, I couldn’t get my head out of my design software – I designed and crafted every little graphical detail of our special day – save the dates, invitation suite, signage (welcome sign, bar menu, wishing well, guest book sign, doughnut sign, bride & groom chair hangers, doughnut bags), day-of stationery (menus, place cards, reserved seating tags, confectionary boxes, gib boxes for parents), custom pyjamas for mother and sister of the bride, I think that covers most of it!
Billy is a diesel mechanic by trade, he spends his days getting his hands dirty. He’s always been a hard worker and loves a challenge. He works in a coal mine in Central QLD.
I guess the unique thing about our relationship is having grown through the trials and triumphs of childhood, teenage-hood and young adulthood together – not many people get to experience these transitions and make it out together. We are each other’s best friend, rock, and we’re at home when we’re with each other. After having been together for so many years, there’s still a spark when we look into each other’s eyes, and if you can make it 12 years and still feel that way then I have no doubt it will be the same in 50 years time.
We welcomed a little baby girl into our lives this year – Maggie Kate. She was born in July. I’m sure many parents can relate, but having a child together adds a whole other dimension to your love.
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:
I’ve always been drawn to more classical styles in fashion, interiors and our wedding was no exception. While the ‘trends’ at the time did inspire us, overall we wanted our day to be a true reflection of ourselves, hence we didn’t curate the components with only ‘trends’ in mind. We both grew up in Central QLD and hadn’t travelled around much. Nearly all of our family reside in Queensland too. I guess you could say we’re all creatures of comfort!
When it came to planning our day, we were initially planning to have it in Port Douglas by the ocean; a tropical paradise. We commenced discussions with wedding vendors up that way but something just didn’t feel right. Billy and I had been wanting to do a driving holiday in Tasmania for a couple of years now, and yet life always got in the way – we both had full-time jobs and I was running The Print Sisters as my side-hustle into the deep dark depths of the night. One night after a couple of beverages, I just threw the idea out there to Billy – “Hey, why don’t we get married in Tasmania?”. We’d always both loved the cold, yet we live in a region that barely gets a week’s worth of winter each year (I put this emotional connection down to us first ‘dating’ in Wintertime).
I figured Tasmania was the perfect setting for a cold wedding! Heck, Billy might even get to wear a suit jacket and not sweat! Billy was immediately on board with the idea and it was then that the Googling and planning began! We’d both never been to Tasmania, so we were going in blind. But what an adventure it would prove to be.
About a month into the planning I was stressing quite a bit about the logistics of organising everything and never having seen the place. I happened to stumble across Lisa from Artaud & Co after frantically googling for a Tasmania based planner. Turns out this angel in disguise was also an event stylist! Lisa and I hit it off right away and she was my absolute saving grace. Over months and months, and hundreds of late-night emails, we planned, curated and perfected our special day. There’s no amount of thanks I can give to Lisa for her assistance throughout the whole thing. We were so delighted with Lisa’s work that we also hired her for on-the-day coordination. My absolute favourite detail of the day was Jardine Botanic’s glorious ceremony florals sitting in the afternoon light at the historic Battery Point Hall where we held our ceremony. The only word that can describe them is ‘heavenly’.
Tell us about your main outfits:
When searching for the perfect wedding dress I had my ultimate goal mapped out well ahead of time – I wanted something simple, classic, streamline, and silk. I’m a fond believer that everyone should have their ‘princess dress’ moment – I had mine at my Year 12 formal (with Billy as my partner!), so now it was time to pull out the ‘lady’ guns; sleek and sophisticated was my goal. I always doubted whether the ‘perfect dress’ moment was actually a real thing, or something just fluffed up by shows like ‘Say Yes to the Dress’. I was proved wrong when I tried on this beauty of a gown at Babushka Ballerina in Brisbane. Tears came to my eyes – I’d found the one.
I had a clear vision of Billy’s attire from the moment we set the wedding destination to be Tassie. I just couldn’t go past the idea of a black velvet jacket. So many people were doing the whole ‘blue’ suit thing, but a traditional black just screamed romance to me. Like almost anything I suggest, Billy was down for it! After doing a bit of research, we determined that custom tailor-made was the way to go. We discovered Montagio in Brisbane and booked a fitting appointment. Eugene, the Brisbane Manager, was the most helpful and stylish guy we had ever come across! He helped us choose all of the little details of Billy’s outfit – the fabric, lining, cut, buttons – everything! He pulled it all together beautifully for us.
What were some of the most memorable/unique moments from the day:
I had my heart set on getting some wedding portraits up on top of Mount Wellington / Kunanyi. It’s about a 45min drive from Hobart and was a risky move considering the few hours you have to get photos done before the Reception. Luckily for us, our amazing photographer Phil and videographer Joel were totally down for it! Just as we arrived up the top, a sleet/snow shower came over, leaving us sitting in the car contemplating whether we had made a big mistake! Regardless though, it was such a special moment! I had never seen sleet/snowfall before. The shower passed, and we were able to get out and get some shots done.
I’ve never been so cold in my life – from memory, I think it was about 4 degrees with a wind chill of -1! All I donned was my dress. Standing out there in the freezing cold with cyclonic winds, and my new husband holding me tightly, such a memorable moment from our special day!
Other than that, the whole day was super special of course. We had an intimate guest list of just 45 people, so it was literally all of our nearest and dearests. Everyone flew interstate to be there for us. Such a beautiful day that made our hearts feel so full. Hobart will now forever hold a very special place in our hearts.
Any advice for other couples planning to spend the rest of their lives together:
Love each other the hardest, on the hardest days! And you’ll find that many of them are whilst wedding planning, haha! Just kidding. Billy and I have always been fond of cute date nights – I think it’s so important to just take some time out of your daily lives and have a romantic evening together.
My advice in terms of the wedding planning adventure – dive deep down into what’s truly important to you both, and make sure you don’t skimp on these items! For us, it was our photographer, videographer, florals and outfits. These were our big spends! Sort the big rocks out first, then all of the little rocks of your day will fit in between!
Expect your budget to blow out – this is a given. Set it accordingly. Don’t stress the small stuff – there’s bound to be something that goes wrong on the day, if not numerous things. Take it in your stride and shrug it off. Don’t let anything ruin the special day for you both; you won’t get to re-live it!
Photographer: Heart & Colour | Videographer: Joel Tronoff | Ceremony location: Battery Point Community Hall, Hobart | Reception, Catering + Beverages: Brooke Street Larder | Celebrant: Jessie Poke Celebrant | Entertainment: The White Tree | Styling + Planner: Artaud & Co | Flora: Jardine Botanic | Cake: Lily May Cake Design | Invitations, Day-of-Stationery & Signage: The Print Sisters | Bride’s gown: Babushka Ballerina | Groom’s suit: Montagio | Rings: Bride – Michael Hill & Angus and Coote, Groom – Greg Neill & Son Jewellers | Shoes: Bride – J Crew, Groom – Aquila | Makeup: Liv Rodgers MUA | Hair: Ben O’Brien Hair Stylist | Fragrance: Valentino (hers) + Solid State (his)
