Beth and Nikki had to postpone their wedding twice due to covid travel restrictions. After realising that things weren’t changing anytime soon, they planned an intimate and personal elopement and rewrote their own adventure.
How did this love story begin?
Beth and I have been together for nearly five and a half years and have been married for one month. We met on Tinder two weeks after I moved over to England from Australia and we are both pretty down-to-earth people!
We enjoy lazy days. Most rainy days are spent watching RuPaul’s Drag Race and the entire contents of Netflix, building lego masterpieces, doing painting by numbers and listening to music. If the weather’s good, we’re always trying to enjoy everything the Gold Coast offers, which means we’re either up in the hinterland on bush walks or enjoying all of the beaches.
Aside from your wedding, what is your favorite memory together?
We couldn’t decide on one, so here are a couple of fun snapshots of our life together.
The time we went on a date in London around three months into dating. We spent the day being tourists, including a ghost bus tour! Beth even tolerated taking photos with me in a red telephone booth. We ended the night on the Jubilee bridge, and both realised we loved each other then. However, we didn’t say I love you until a few weeks after, when we travelled to Rome. We tell everyone we first said I love you in front of the Trevi fountain in Rome!
Some of Nikki’s favourite memories are when she first took me to Australia to meet her family and friends and experience sandy beaches finally.
Tell us about the proposal.
Me and Nikki had planned to go to Australia, but we could only afford for Nikki to go due to financial limitations.
While Nikki was on the plane, I called her parents and asked permission to marry her. I had already met up with her twin a week before to get the OK. Her parents said yes, with her mum pulling over to cry (with happiness, I hope)!
While Nikki was enjoying time in Australia, I spent two weeks making banners and organising our UK friends and my family to meet her when she landed back in Gatwick Airport. So, when the time finally came, we made sure to have Nikki’s friends and family included by streaming her arrival.
I had planned a huge speech and to play some music, but I was too excited and nervous. As soon as Nikki got to me, I dropped to the ground and mumbled, “will you marry me?!”. Hundreds gathered to watch the moment, which led to an enormous round of applause and cheering when Nikki said, “Of course!” We then headed to my parent’s house for brunch and some champagne to celebrate.
Any stories from the lead-up to the wedding, stressful or funny?
Have you ever tried planning a wedding with international guests during a pandemic?
We originally planned to wed in Currumbin in August 2020. However, due to travel restrictions (and local restrictions), we made the difficult decision to postpone until August 2021. So, we replanned the wedding! As 2020 carried on, however, it became apparent we could never have the wedding we originally planned with all of our friends and family.
After a lot of talking, we agreed that our marriage was a priority and decided to cancel the wedding entirely and elope at an earlier date (April 2021).
Once we decided to elope, re-planning the day seemed pretty easy! There was little to no stress during the build-up until we arrived. Instead, our focus was our love for each other and wanting to begin our next adventure as a married couple. We were also super excited about spending a few days in a romantic retreat, just us two.
Talk us through your wedding day.
We had spent the last couple of nights at Pethers, so we woke up already at the venue. Nothing had changed since the day before, except for a nervous tummy.
We made a playlist of our favourite music, and Beth made the cocktails. It was an exciting, nervous, fun time getting made up while listening to a mix of Lizzo and System of a Down.
As it got closer to the ceremony time, we were both very nervous. Then, it was go time, and we walked from our lodge to the ceremony location that Pethers, which was beautifully arranged. The Livestream was all set up and live, Beth looked a bit wobbly, and I cried some more. We walked hand in hand down the aisle to a La Vie En Rose cover. It was the oddest, emotional and wonderful feeling and experience ever.
I cried some more when reading our own vows and Beth did get a bit misty, but mostly remained strong. Beth’s vows were funnier than mine, but that was expected.
The I Do’s happened, then we were married! It was definitely odd having no one there, but it was comforting knowing all of our loved ones could watch our intimate moment via Livestream. Our ceremony would have happened at 6 am in the UK, so it’s heartwarming to know how much love there is from everyone for both of us.
We stayed up in Tamborine for a few days to really extend our “minimoon” and enjoy some well-deserved alone time as newlyweds.
Although at first, it seemed nothing was going right, we wouldn’t change anything. It’s our story, and we’ve made it our own epic adventure!
Advice for other couples planning a smaller wedding?
Do it, honestly. It was romantic, fun and kept it all about us the way a wedding should be. Also, give yourselves a bit of time to process what happened and be together before you see everyone. I think that’s what made the day truly special, just being with the one you love in its entirety.
What does the future hold for you both?
Our future holds a lot more adventures when the world starts to heal. In the meantime, we are saving to buy our first home and our future furbaby (dog), Winston. Eventually, we would love to open up a dog foster and adoption center in the mountains, with lots of land and happy wagging tails.
Photography by Daphne Sky Studios
Cake Two Little Bakers
Catering Belvedere Restaurant
Celebrant Bek Tymms Celebrant
Dress Boutique Asos Bridal
Florist Invoke Flora
Hair Boho Brides
Live Streaming Turbo360
Makeup Liz Maree Beauty
Shoes Doc Martins
Venue Pethers Rainforest Retreat
