Real Wedding - Tom & Talia, Geelong VIC

September 30, 2024 In Beach, Black and White, Latest Posts, Real Weddings, Victoria By Ivory Tribe

Real Wedding – Tom & Talia, Geelong VIC

Tom and Talia pulled off a relaxed, fresh, and elegant surprise wedding at their seaside soiree. Under the guise of holding a stunning engagement party, they exchanged I Do’s against an ocean backdrop, surrounded by their favourite people.

Avoiding many of the significant stressors involved in planning a big wedding paid off, with Tom and Talia looking glowing, relaxed and effervescent on their dream day. They chose to avoid the traditions that didn’t resonate, spending the night before and the morning of together and arriving together at the venue. We love a couple who choose to do their wedding their way, and Tom and Talia did absolutely that whilst still giving their guests an epic experience and gorgeously memorable moments.

An elegant black-and-white style palette accents the ocean vista, and Joanne Keirghey is there to capture each emotion-filled moment with photographic finesse.

The meeting.

We met on Tinder in 2020, at the height of COVID lockdowns! We were forced to wait to meet in person for a while before being limited to outdoor exercise. We did LOTS of exploring on our first date and over 20,000 steps, just not wanting our day to end.

The one.

Our connection was super instant. We found a lot in common with each other and a significant common appreciation for the simple things in life. We were very quickly laughing, patting dogs on the street together, and enjoying each other’s company. It seemed too good to be true!

The proposal.

Tom surprised me on a Thursday night when I got home from work – candles, roses, beautiful music, steak and champagne, the works! A beautiful, intimate night at home (our favourite place).

Style inspiration.

Clean, classic, and relaxed. I really wanted the black-and-white contrast to be super crisp.

Magazines, Pinterest and other social media like Tik Tok really helped us find inspiration for the style we really wanted.

The ceremony.

Our wedding was disguised as an engagement party, so our ceremony was so special as no one knew they were on their way to it! I was hiding out the back in my dress ready to walk down the aisle while Tom greeted all of our guests.

The outfits.

I had a really simple wedding dress in mind – I wanted something that wasn’t really fitted but also not a princess-style dress. I pictured almost like a plain slip dress. So when I ended up falling in love with my dress, I was completely shocked. It was nothing like what I had pictured – and it was perfect!

Tom tried on heaps of different colour suits and didn’t really plan on going with a grey jacket – but when he tried it was just the one!

Favourite moments.

Our first kiss was amazing – our guests cheered and clapped so loud it felt like we had won a prize. It really solidified how happy those people were for us and that they really wanted to be there to witness us get married. We also loved having our photos done – particularly in the botanical gardens. We were having photos done before anyone knew we were even going to be getting married – it felt like we had a chance to soak up the day, just the two of us, the calm before the storm.

Meaning of marriage.

It means being a part of the greatest team you’ll ever be a part of. Knowing that no matter what, you will have someone in your corner.

Wedding soundtrack.

I walked down the aisle to an acoustic cover of Still Into You by Paramore – the artist was Isabelle Kensington.

We had our first kiss to It’s Nice to Be Alive by Ball Park Music, we walked back up the aisle to Dance Wiv Me by Dizzee Rascal and entered our reception to Fire Ball by Pitbull. Our first dance was Toothpaste Kisses by the Maccabees. It is an awesome soundtrack and one of my favourite components to our wedding day.

Funny stories (or near disasters).

By no means was this a disaster, but after purchasing my dress in September, we found out we were pregnant in October! We were so thrilled to be pregnant, but I was TERRIFIED that my dress wouldn’t fit by the time we got married. I was 19 weeks pregnant at our wedding, and luckily, my dress fit like a dream. It’s a good thing it was a size too big when I purchased it off the rack!

Planning surprises.

We planned our wedding super quick – we got engaged at the end of July and by September I had booked almost everything. If anything, I was shocked at how quickly we pulled it all together.

Words of wisdom.

Don’t feel pressured to follow suit – we steered from so many traditions because they didn’t align with our values. We spent the night before the wedding together, got ready together, and arrived at the venue together. We took the aspects from a traditional wedding that felt right for us and completely customised our day to make it perfect for us and we have absolutely no regrets!

Considering a surprise wedding? Perhaps consider a same day video edit as a gorgeously impactful way to break the news (aka Ella May Ding of MAFS fame). Here’s our feature on what to consider when planning a same day edit reveal.