Real Wedding – Emma & Matthew, Warranwood VIC
Emma & Matt’s wedding perfectly encapsulates the ups and downs of 2020. These two gorgeous souls shifted their wedding plans seemingly endlessly around changing COVID restrictions; downsizing their original guest list to an intimate celebration with twenty guests. Two days out from their celebrations, regulations changed again, and weddings were capped at a maximum of five people.
Like true stars, Emma and Matt stayed true to what was important to them – their love and commitment to each other. They quickly pivoted their plans to elope three days later in the forest close to Emma’s family home, with Emma’s sister and their dog by their sides.
The result was a day that is unquestionably romantic, natural and oh-so-full of love. Tribe favourite Kyra Boyer Photography captured every beautiful moment, and the resulting images are the positivity bomb we all need mid pandemic!
The meeting.
We had both volunteered as English teachers overseas. In 2013 we met on an interview panel, speaking to future volunteers, and spent the day together chatting all things travel. This led to coffee and then dinner and then lots of wonderful dates and even our very own overseas adventures!
The ‘one’.
It was a gradual thing over time. We built a wonderful friendship that turned into love! No one moment but a series of moments over time.
The proposal.
We were staying on an olive tree farm in Croatia on our way home after spending two years travelling the globe together. We were watching the sunset after a yummy dinner, drinking some local red wine when Matt popped the question!
It was wonderful to celebrate with friends and family on our return to Australia.
Planning process.
COVID oriented! We originally planned a simple ceremony at The Registry Office and a dinner to follow with our immediate family. Some adjustments were made as we came closer to the date to accommodate the changing restrictions after the first wave.
Then lockdown 2.0 hit three days out of our wedding day, and everything was cancelled. When we heard the news, we went for a long walk through bushland near Emma’s parent’s house. It was so beautiful we thought – let’s elope here!
We planned our elopement in three days but thanks to an incredibly supportive family and the BEST wedding dream team EVER we pulled it off relatively stress-free. We never imagined how our wedding would look, but it was perfect, magical and very romantic.
Style inspiration.
Us. We’re pretty relaxed. We wanted no fuss. We just went online and if we liked it, we booked it! We found photographs of other people’s weddings and recommendations so helpful it finding what was best for us.
The outfit.
Emma: As it was a winter wedding, I wanted something long-sleeved. I love lace. I felt so lucky when I found the dress through some serious Instagram use! I took a leap of faith and ordered it online without trying it on, but when it arrived it was perfect and fit me perfectly.
Matt: I had a navy suit I liked. Emma found me a tie. Easy!
Favourite moments.
The whole thing! The tranquillity of the forest. The time to stop, relax and enjoy each other’s company while the super-talented Kyra snapped at us (with a camera!). The intimacy of the ceremony with just Emma’s sister and our dog Abbey. The laughter and love of the words spoken by the incredible Wendy.
It rained, we loved it. Abbey, our dog, jumped on Matt with muddy paws, we loved it. Matt’s wedding band was a pain to put on; we loved it (and laughed!). Emma’s sister accidentally threw a bag of dog treats at Matt’s face; we loved it (and laughed oh so much!).
It was just focused on us, how we felt and the fact we wanted to promise to love each other forever.
Meaning of marriage.
A simple promise to love and care for one another.
Wedding soundtrack.
Birds of the bush. No music for us but it was quite beautiful having silence, laughter and the Australian bush as our soundtrack.
Funny stories or near disasters.
Does a Global Pandemic count as a disaster…?
Planning surprises.
Despite the fact that we planned our elopement in three days it wasn’t particularly stressful. We had a dream team surrounding us who gave us so much of their time and energy. Their experience and professionalism made the process easy. We were particularly fortunate that both our celebrant (Wendy from ‘Wendy Does Weddings’) and our photographer (Kyra from ‘Kyra Boyer Photography’) have worked together before and have a wonderful working partnership and friendship. We had an atmosphere of love and joy! How lucky are we?
Words of wisdom.
Surround yourself with people and businesses that you believe in. We always knew we’d love our wedding day (because it was our day!) but what made it so easy and enjoyable was having professional, friendly people to make it the best day possible.
Our wedding vendors gave us so much time, energy and creativity. We felt so lucky! Look for recommendations, ask your friends, read online blogs and you’ll find your very own dream team!
Last words.
Always keep in sight what really is important about a wedding. Things will go wrong. If you focus on what getting married is all about these things will always seem trivial.
We are yet to celebrate with our friends and family (we haven’t seen anyone since before our wedding day due to lockdown) but we know we’ll be able to have the most incredible get together when it’s safe to do so!
Love Emma and Matt’s approach to their dream day? Katya and Sam also had to renegotiate their wedding plans due to COVID, and the result was another incredible celebration. Check it out on our blog.
EMMA & MATT’S VENDORS
Ceremony location: Warranwood Reserve, Warranwood.
Celebrant: Wendy Does Weddings
Wendy was the relaxed, joyous and delightful celebrant we needed. She has a way with people and words that make you fall in love with her and each other all over again. We couldn’t have found someone better to tell our story.
Photography: Kyra from ‘Kyra Boyer Photography’
Kyra captures how you feel. Her images are so romantic, natural and bloody fun! We were quite nervous to have our photos taken but we needn’t have worried. Kyra makes you feel instantly relaxed and captures moments, nothing staged or artificial. She’s a pro and gem!
Florist: ‘Road Stall’
Claire and Belinda created some stunning native floral arrangements for us. Matt’s buttonhole is a work of art. Unfortunately, we couldn’t use our floral centrepieces due to our last-minute cancellation but Belinda and Claire created some beautiful arrangements that we were able to send to our family so they could be part of our celebration (even if they couldn’t be there).
Hair: Jess Bourke Hair Artistry
Jess is so experienced and professional. She listened to exactly what Emma wanted and was able to take what was in her head and make it work with Emma’s hair type. It is a joy to be in Jess’ studio. You feel relaxed, calm and so special.
Make-up: ‘Kelly Rose Makeup Artist’
Kelly is delightful and some sort of makeup wizard. Emma doesn’t wear much makeup so Kelly made her feel like my makeup was light and natural. We so appreciate her listening to Emma’s wants and creating the perfect look for her.
The dress: ‘Wear Your Love XO’
Ordering online felt like a big risk but the HUNDREDS of reviews Emma read (not an exaggeration) everyone said that they’d had a great experience and that their dress had fitted perfectly. Emma couldn’t find the style elsewhere and decided that she’d bite the bullet and give it a whirl. She hired a local dressmaker to take her measurements and sent them off. A few months later she received the perfect dress. The style, price and fit were all spot on!
Shoes: Given the wet conditions Emma wore her Merry People Gumboots – they were perfect! Cute, fun and very practical in the puddles!
Rings:
Emma’s Wedding Band – Cushla Whiting
A delightful process to be part of, so helpful in designing and creating the perfect wedding band.
Matthew’s Wedding Band- Larsen Jewellery
Superteam of jewellers who were managed to create a wedding band that could go over Matt’s giant knuckles but still fit comfortably.
Groom’s suit: Bell & Barnett
They helped Matt select and alter the perfect suit!
Tie: Peggy and Finn
Perfect selection of native floral designs.
Honeymoon: Yet to Honeymoon. Maybe we’ll be lucky enough to head away for a weekend soon!
