Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love, what is unique about you and your relationship…
We don’t have a typical love story, we weren’t high school sweethearts and it wasn’t love at first sight.
In fact I remember the first time I met Matt was in Year 8 form, however Matt denies we were ever in the same class. But what we do both remember is always having a laugh and being able to talk for hours, it is no surprise we stayed such good friends for so many years.
After dating for 12 months we bought our first home together, after 2 years we were engaged and welcomed our much loved furry child ‘Chili Palmer’ and after just over 3 years together we were standing in front our family and friends ready to become husband and wife.
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…
We chose to have a small intimate wedding with only 18 of our closest family and friends. Hay Shed Hill Winery was the perfect location. The ceremony was amongst the vineyards in a lovely shaded opening. We wanted the focus to be on the beautiful surroundings so decided not to have an arbor or large floral arrangements. We chose Rustico for their amazing food. Vanessa was our wedding coordinator and she was a dream to work with, accommodating everything that we wanted. We decided that if we were going to have a small wedding we would make sure we spoil our guests with an abundance of food and drinks.
We had pre-dinner drinks with an amazing grazing table followed by another 5 delicious courses. All our food was placed down the middle of the tables to share and everyone was complaining how full they were after the first course! We started with wine, sparkling and beer and ended the night with espresso martinis.
We could not have chosen a better venue, there was no stress in the organising and they made sure everything went to plan on the day.
Tell us about your main outfits:
I never really knew what style of dress I wanted, I definitely knew what I didn’t like but then it’s also surprising what actually suits your body once you start trying dresses on. I really wanted a no fuss dress, something I could just slip on and feel comfortable. No boning or buttons or anything that would get in the way of enjoying all the amazing food we had arranged.
My dress was the ‘Harlie’ from Made With Love. They have such beautiful dresses with a glamorous boho feel. The dress suited me and our style of wedding perfectly.
I was lucky enough to borrow my best friends veil which was such a special touch and just finished off the look perfectly.
Matt wanted to also go for a relaxed feel and decided on black chinos with a white shirt and cream jacket. It was only the week before the wedding that he decided to wear a bow tie – just to add something a bit more special.
What were some of the most memorable/unique moments from the day?
We decided to spend the morning of the wedding together. I think this helped with any nerves and reinforced that we just wanted to be together and do things our own way, not necessarily the traditional way. It was quite surreal waking up and looking at each other knowing we were getting married later that day.
We spent the morning just like we would on any other weekend away. We wandered in to the main town, found a cafe that looked nice and enjoyed our breakfast and coffee together. It was perfect!
Any advice for other couples planning to spend the rest of their lives together?
It’s hard not to let a wedding become all-consuming and so many couples become stressed and wish for it to be over. Just remember that this day is about the two of you, no one else. Do exactly what you want and don’t try to please everyone. Think about what is most important to you both and what you love when attending other weddings, whether it be the food or the music or the wine selection, and focus on that and not the little things.
Make sure you enjoy yourselves on the day. Delegate jobs to family and friends so you all you need to focus on is getting ready and saying I do. The day really does go fast so make the most of every minute and take the time to speak with all of your guests.
At the end of the day the most important thing to remember is that you get to marry the man or woman of your dreams.
Photographer: Aimee Claire Photography Ceremony location: Hay Shed Hill Winery, Margaret River Reception location & catering: Rustico at Hay Shed Hill, Margaret River Celebrant: Caz Copemen Flora: Rose and Bud Bride’s dress: Harlie dress from Made with Love Bridal Hair: Abby Willing
