Real Wedding: Jenna & Dylan – Photography by Free The Bird

We met at university about six years ago. We both signed up to go on a study tour to Germany over the summer holidays. We always knew we’d get married one day, it was just a matter of when. I guess Dylan had made up his mind that the time was right and went ring shopping while I was at work. When I got home he popped the question in the backyard.

We had the wedding at my parent’s property, which meant we had total control over every aspect of the day – despite my dad not initially understanding our vision for wedding! We had to do a quick powerpoint presentaion to get him on board with all of our ideas! It also meant we were able to party well into the night and the next day! We wanted the day to feel more like a huge party rather than a traditional wedding.

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The weather couldn’t have been worse! We had torrential rain, howling winds and only a little bit of sunshine. A few hours before the ceremony was due to start a huge branch fell down right where guests would have been standing! At the time I was sipping champagne and getting my makeup done so had no idea of all the drama unfolding! Later in the night we had to move the dancefloor – literally! It took about 20 of us to pick it up and haul it inside the marquee. Not sure whose idea it was but it was the best! But in the end the weather didn’t matter at all. All of our guests had an amazing time and we wouldn’t have changed a thing. It actually helped create a dramatic and exciting atmosphere, plus we got some incredible photos in the rain!

I had no idea what I wanted when I started looking for the dress, except that it would be simple and not very ‘weddingy’. I spent a few days trying on dresses and couldn’t find anything in my budget that reflected my personality, so I decided to get one made. I actually found the fabric I wanted before I found the dressmaker. I didn’t realise at the time it would need to be completelty hand-stitched because of all of the tiny sequins, but Deborah did a fantastic job!

One of the most memorable moments was the feeling before the ceremony. We knew we’d be nervous but we didn’t realise we would discover a whole new level of nervousness! We wanted to arrive together, so Dylan came over and met me before the ceremony. I’m not sure if it helped the nerves but it was nice to have that time together.

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Photography by Jai Long at Free the Bird | Flora, North St Botanical | Catering, Luckman Catering | Beverages, The Baravan | Brides Dress, Deborah Selleck | Hair & Makeup, Heather Woll | Grooms attire, Briggins | Grooms shoes,  Julius Marlow