Real Wedding – Harmony & Lachie, Boydtown NSW

Black tie at the beach was the brief for Harmony and Lachie’s big day at boutique hotel Seahorse Inn, Boydtown, on the sandy shores of Twofold Bay.

From a pre-ceremony shot to music choices with meaning and the couple’s favourite sweet treats as wedding favours the celebrations were personalised to perfection.

The black and white colour pallet elevated the sense of seaside sophistication, captured in candid beauty by photographer Anna Dewar.

Their favourite moment of the night? The final song – Don’t You (Forget About Me) by Simple Minds – playing to a packed dancefloor full of their loved ones, making their life feel like the end of an 80’s film.

The meeting. 

We met when I moved to Canberra and started a job at a childcare centre in Yarralumla, where Lachlan was already an employee finishing his Certificate IV in Education. We were both determined not to be in relationships at that time, but we became inseparable from the moment we met. Then, after four months, we finally kissed. 

The ‘one’. 

We both feel as though we knew from our first meeting, even though it was so brief. We both later found out he had asked a mutual friend about me right after I left, and I had also contacted that mutual friend to enquire about Lachlan.

The proposal. 

The original plan was for him to surprise me; however, I had caught on to the plan, so Lachlan surprised me at home while we were in bed watching a movie. It definitely caught me off guard, which was his plan, of course the immediate answer was yes!

Planning process. 

Our main goal was to have as much fun as possible and be surrounded by our friends and family. My family and I had spent a lot of time at this beautiful Inn located right on the beach in Eden so we already had such wonderful memories there and we wanted to share it with the rest of our circle.

Style inspiration. 

The vibe of the day was very much black tie at the beach. We wanted champagne towers and stunning white floral arrangements as well as a ton of fairy lights. We wanted it to be the most fabulous party we would ever host and be the guests of honour at and for everyone to feel wonderful and have fun. The overall day was very catered to our personalities and a mix of what we both love.

The ceremony. 

We both spent countless hours working on our vows. It was so important to us to convey our feelings to one another perfectly. Lachlan actually had three sets of vows on the morning of our wedding, he chose his favorite after reading them all to his best man, they decided together just moment before he had to walk down the aisle.

The choice of music was one of the most important parts, I come from a family of music lovers – we use songs to tell each other how we feel, we use it the celebrate the happy times and get through the hard times my parents even names me after the Elton john song Harmony. Lachlan’s family is very similar, and they also found this to be a very important part. I walked down the aisle to Matchbox Twenty Hang on Every Word. We had both just seen the band in February in Canberra, one month before our wedding, and had been upgraded to the front row randomly, so it felt very meant to be.

The outfit. 

Going into wedding dress shopping, I had no idea what I wanted other than for it to be timeless, elegant and simple, as my general style leans in that direction. I ended up purchasing the second dress I tried on at Emerald Bridal however I made quite a few alterations to customise it, and they were so patient and helpful.

Lachlan knew he wanted a black-tie suit with patent black shoes – a very classy sort of old-fashioned look. The sort you wear while you have a glass of whiskey and a cigar. He felt very suave.

Favourite moments.

The very last song of the night was Simple Minds Don’t You (Forget About Me). We wanted our lives to feel like the end of an 80’s film, everyone was dancing and singing along together I will remember this exact moment for the rest of my life and cherish how much fun we had with everyone we love.

Meaning of marriage. 

Growing up, both Lachlan and I had parents who adored each other, who always knew how to have fun, but most importantly, who knew how to work through the tough times. Marriage to us means honesty; it means being understanding and always being kind and knowing we can get through anything together. 

Wedding soundtrack. 

Pre-ceremony groom enters: Joy of my Life – Chris Stapleton

Aisle: Hang on every word – Matchbox Twenty

Signing: Flightless Bird, American Mouth – Iron and Wine.

Recessional: Fly me to the Moon – Frank Sinatra

Reception Entry:  Forever – Chris Brown

Champagne Tower: Cheek to Cheek – Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong

Cake Cutting: Magic – Coldplay

First Dance: Little Wonders – Rob Thomas

Funny stories/near disasters.

All our wedding guests started chanting for Lachlan to sing after his thank you speech at the reception. He ended up singing an excellent version of Fly Me to the Moon by Frank Sinatra, which blew the entire audience away. They had no idea he could sing so well; of course, I (Harmony) knew he could, but everyone thought it would be terrible. 

Planning surprises. 

I think I was mostly surprised by the absolute sense of calm I felt about the whole thing. We were determined to have fun no matter what, and we absolutely achieved that.

Words of wisdom. 

Never let anyone – whether that is family or a close friend – change your minds about something you and your partner love. The day is about the two of you, and you do not need to compromise to make anyone else happy. Even though it is hard try not to let the small mishaps on the day upset you. There will always be something that goes wrong or is not perfect – try to laugh about it and have fun no matter what because the day passes you by far too quickly.

For more NSW real wedding inspiration, read about Slavisa & Mary’s day here. 

HARMONY & LACHIE’S SUPPLIERS:

Ceremony & reception venue: Seahorse Inn – This luxury boutique hotel is located right on the sandy shores of Twofold Bay. It has a charming vintage vibe perfect for our style of wedding, beautiful large trees on the grounds for an excellent photo and ceremony backdrop.

Celebrant: Susan Flannery – She is a friend of ours who we met on a few occasions through other services on the south coast. She personalized every meeting and made us feel supported and listened to, she had excellent and creative suggestions and she gifted us a hard copy of our vows after the ceremony which was very kind.

Photography: Anna Dewar .We first met in person when Anna shot our engagement photos on the most beautiful ridge in Canberra. Anna made our wedding day so special. She went out of her way to get the best shots and always made us feel so comfortable we really enjoyed spending time with her, and we were ecstatic when we received our photos back we could not be happier with the results.

Florist: Farmers Daughter Floral Arrangements  –  I was easily the most nervous about the floral arrangements and I asked her a ton of questions about all different kinds of flowers, she was so accommodating she even let me make changes last minute and add things. The day itself was so windy Izzie had to drill our flowers to the plinths. She captured perfectly the whimsical, soft and elegant style I was aiming for.

Hair/makeup: Lisa Jane Skin and Beauty – Lisa is someone I had the pleasure of becoming friends with over the period of time, my parents lived on the South Coast and her family and our family bonded and often spent a bit of time together. Lisa is incredible, she did my tan, my hair and my makeup with no trial. We had fun on the day and it was so comfortable and relaxed.

The dress: Emerald Bridal  –  Emerald Bridal was incredibly helpful and I would recommend them in a heartbeat.

Rings: My wedding band is an antique, it was my grandmothers passed down and my engagement ring was from Michael Hill. Lachlan’s wedding band he bought online through Elk + Club they send you a sizing band and you can measure yourself and sed that back before purchasing.

Bridesmaid’s dresses: Billy J

Suits/bowties:  Rodger Bartholomew – They were so hand on and so helpful it made everything stress free and the tailoring was amazing, Lachlan really enjoyed the process and his groomsman did as well.

Cake: We had a family member make and decorate our cake.

Signage: All signage was ordered through Etsy and customized by us.

Entertainment: We had a family friend DJ and the hotel provided us with lawn games during cocktail hour.

Transport: We had a dark green MG that my father Ben bought just shortly before our wedding this was used in most of our photos.

Honeymoon: Bali