Steph + Eric by Kate Roberge - Together Journal

I saw Eric around our little wee town and boldly bought him a bag of lollies (mildly creepy). A week later, he bought me a bag of lollies in return. We’ve been inseparable since.

Steph ——Eric and I live on a sheep and beef farm, Rees Valley Station, near Glenorchy. Our daughter Miller is the fifth generation on the farm, which we’re incredibly grateful for. Getting married on the farm was special to us.

I’m the creative director of Orange Blossom Designs Florist and Eric is the pilot at Heli Glenorchy (he flew us to our ceremony site). We both have a passion for the outdoors — farming, hunting, fishing, horse riding — and most of all, we’re both totally obsessed with what we do for a living.

We met in Glenorchy in 2009 and I’d made Eric love me by 2010. I saw Eric around our little wee town and boldly bought him a bag of lollies (mildly creepy). A week later, he bought me a bag of lollies in return. We’ve been inseparable since.

I realised after six months of dating that this was the person I wanted to be with for the rest of my life. He made me laugh every single day, regardless of how my day was going. He makes me feel safe, confident and he keeps me calm. I’m a fiery wee soul. We’re chalk and cheese and it works. Thirteen years later the love only gets better — most days!

We wanted the wedding to represent a little bit of our personalities. We don’t like too much colour, so we went for a black, white and neutral theme. Modern and chic, but with rustic elements to remind us where we are and where we’re from.

The day was so cruisy. Nothing went wrong, however we laughed all afternoon as our celebrant, who is a great friend of mine, was so funny. We told her she could write the words and surprise us on the day and boy did she do that. It was not your typical ceremony but the stories were hilarious — and embarrassing! — and we were in stitches. It really made our day fun.

I had a vision of wearing a full lace gown, but I walked out of Bride and Winter with a simple, stunning Trish Peng gown. I am so in love with that dress! What drew me to it was the simplicity yet edginess. I have tattoos and didn’t want my gown to clash with them, which made choosing difficult. For Eric, wearing a tux is extremely rare. He’s a farm boy who lives in Redband gumboots so flying a helicopter in a tux was quite a change. It made the day feel really important and special.