Real Wedding – Bea & Marte, Dunkeld VIC
A movie-like meet-cute and a Christmas Eve engagement preceded the magical moments that officially made Marte and Bea husband and wife.
Having only recently moved to Australia, the couple relied heavily on real wedding inspiration and vendor recommendations during the six-month planning process.
With Mother Nature as the no-frills-required backdrop, love was the celebration’s undisputed centrepiece.
The incomparable Precious Celebrant recounted the couple’s journey to the aisle and wishes for the future with her signature warmth and charisma.
Every feeling and formality was punctuated perfectly by the musical stylings of the Paper Hearts crew and captured with artful storytelling in both stills and motion by Shannan Griffiths and She Takes Pictures He Makes Films, respectively.
Dive in and delight in every detail below.
The meeting.
We met at a bouldering gym in Manila, Philippines. I was with my sister and during the session I took a water break and chatted with a friend when a random guy approached us and joined the conversation. When my friend continued climbing, it was just me and this stranger who introduced himself as Marte. We talked for a few more minutes until he finally asked for my Instagram. While all of this was happening, I could see my sister in the background, frantically calling for my help because she couldn’t come down from a wall she had climbed. I completely ignored her since I was intently talking with this intriguing stranger I had just met.
The ‘one’.
I knew Marte was the one because he consistently showed me his love throughout the relationship, even during times when I felt unlovable.
The proposal.
We spent Christmas Eve 2023 at a small Airbnb in New Hampshire, USA (our favourite state in the US). As we exchanged Christmas gifts, he handed me his—a beautiful carry-on bag I could use for travelling. He asked me to open each of its zippers and each one contained a separate gift inside. When I opened the last zipper I found a small box. Inside was a beautiful ring with a sunflower gemstone. I looked at him and that’s when he popped the question. We sat there hugging each other while I bawled my eyes out for what felt like forever. Of course, I said yes. It was the easiest yes of my life.
Planning process.
Before getting married, we went through significant changes in our lives and only began planning around six months out. It was quite overwhelming as I was the only one organising it and we had just recently moved to Australia. Being a newcomer to our new home country, planning our wedding was challenging since I was still adjusting to our recent move and new life. What helped me was scrolling through posts of couples who had recently tied the knot in Victoria. From there, I discovered my amazing vendors. I faced a lot of pressure since we were on a tight timeline. I thought I was too late in the process, but I just trusted the timeline and ended up having the best wedding day (and vendors – shout out to all my lovely and amazing vendors!) I could ever ask for.
Style inspiration.
We’ve always wanted our wedding to be outdoors, in nature. As rock climbers and lovers of the outdoors, getting married beside a mountain and having a simple wedding with everyone close to us was just perfect. Basically, nature and simplicity were two of our top wedding must-haves.
The ceremony.
My absolute favourite part of our wedding was the ceremony. Walking down the aisle towards my future husband with the mountain in the background felt so surreal. I honestly felt like I was in a movie. I still recall that image in my mind to this day, and I will continue to do so until the day I die.
The outfits.
Our outfits are both traditional Filipino wedding attire; however, mine has a modern twist as it’s a short dress with a personalised floral pattern. When searching for outfits, we knew right away that we wanted to incorporate our Filipino heritage into the wedding. I simply searched for traditional Filipino attire on Google and immediately found our designer. We loved her and her designs since then.
Favourite moment.
My favourite part of the day was our ceremony – every aspect of it. From walking down the aisle to kissing the love of my life and signing our marriage certificate, it was simply the most beautiful occasion. The sun shone down on us, nature surrounding us, and I felt so connected to the man I love, with all our loved ones by our side. I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day.
Meaning of marriage.
Marriage is about teamwork, support and commitment. As I mentioned in my vows, marriage isn’t about choosing someone for life; it’s about choosing to keep choosing.
Wedding soundtrack.
Aisle: Tenerife Sea (instrumental) by Ed Sheeran
Reception entry: Happiness by The 1975
First dance: Best Part of Me by Ed Sheeran
Near disasters.
Our wedding venue is located in the southern part of the Grampians National Park. Four weeks leading up to the wedding, there was a huge forest fire that led to bans and closures of some sections of the park and its surrounding areas. It was nerve-wracking not only for Marte and me but for our vendors and guests as well. We were so worried that our venue would be affected. Thankfully, it rained a week before our wedding date, and the fires eventually subsided.
Planning surprises.
Choosing our venue was definitely a surprise. When we first did a tour, I didn’t expect how beautiful it would be. I was in complete awe when we first saw it and knew right away it was the one for us.
Words of wisdom.
Enjoy and trust the process. Enjoy every part of it, both the highs and the lows. It’ll all be over before you realise it. Remember that the most important part of it is marrying your partner; everything else is just a bonus. Oh and don’t forget to include yourselves in the guest count!
BEA & MARTE’S SUPPLIERS:
Ceremony & reception venue: Royal Mail Hotel – Shoutout to Karley and her team for being the best wedding coordinators we could ever ask for!
Celebrant: Precious – What else can we say, Precious? You are just absolutely amazing and the cherry on top of our wedding.
Photography: Shannan Griffiths and Zander
Videography: She Takes Pictures He Makes Films
Florist: Gray St Flowers
Hair: Erika Murphy
Make-up: Abbey Edwards
Outfits: Filipiniana Avenue
Veil / headwear: EleanorFleurBridal on Etsy
Shoes: LOVEwashedLINEN on Etsy
Rings: From my father. They were handcrafted in the Philippines.
Stationery / Signage: C&A Printers
Entertainment: Paper Hearts (Josh for ceremony and canapes and DJ Burgs for reception).
Wooden signage: StoneandCoDesigns on Etsy
Wedding favour (glass names pin): YellowFlamingoAU on Etsy
Children’s busy box (for reception): Prettypicklesshop on Etsy
