The Love Tale
We have been together for seven incredible years, and in that time, we have traveled to some incredible places. Adopted our two fur babies Astro and Hope and formed the best friendships we could ever have asked for over many bottles of wine. Most importantly, we’ve built a life together we could never have imagined.
We met through mutual friends and felt an undeniable connection from the start. From the moment we saw each other, there was just something so magnetizing that neither of us had ever felt before. And that feeling has only grown stronger over the past seven years.
The Engagement
Kate proposed to me unexpectedly when we were walking to our car to head out to meet some friends for lunch. As we got in the car, Kate was in the driver’s seat and was just staring at me, smiling without driving anywhere. I asked her what she was smiling at, and she simply nodded her head in the direction of the dashboard where a ring box was sitting. As I opened the box, she asked me to marry her. I said Yes, straight away. Five minutes into our drive to lunch, I burst into tears of happiness once the shock had subsided!
However, it wasn’t over yet as I wanted to make sure Kate had the same experience, so I proposed back to her. We were at my parents’ farm, in the middle of nowhere in a renovated shed, sitting by the fireplace. We had set up pillows and blankets to sit in front of the fire with wine and cheese, play music, and enjoy each other’s company. I had written Kate a poem, and after the confidence of a couple of glasses (regardless of already knowing what her answer would be), I read Kate my poem and completely laid all my feelings on the line. When I finished, she was crying and gave me a huge hug. When she pulled away, I held the ring box up between us and asked her to marry me back. She, of course, said yes.
We had a relatively long engagement (just over eighteen months) mostly because we had big plans for our wedding day and wanted to make sure we did it right. And, yes, and being perfectionists, that meant taking the whole eighteen months to make our dream day come to life.
Finding The Outfits
Our wedding dress process was one of the most amazing and memorable experiences of our wedding planning. It was important to Kate and I that we both had a dress from the same designer so that we could be sure they would work well together without us actually seeing what each other was wearing until we would walk down the aisle!
Georgia Young’s style of dresses are modern and unique, and that is what initially attracted us to her. Once we met her in person, she was one of the loveliest and most genuine people we had ever met. We walked out of her studio on that first day absolutely buzzing because we knew she was the right person for the job. Having that ‘click’ with our designer was so important to us as they played such a crucial role in our day.
We traveled from Sydney to Melbourne, and as soon as we met Georgia and tried on her beautiful dresses – we both happened to find one we fell in love with. It was so tough not being able to tell each other ANYTHING about the dress we were each in love with.
We flew back and forth from Sydney to Melbourne four more times for custom fittings and never stopped laughing along the way. Making the most of our trips, and although we struggled to sleep from the excitement of the process, we wish we could have kept on going back and forth for longer!
On our last fitting, our Mum’s came down with us to celebrate. We popped some French champagne with Georgia Young, and it was the perfect end to one of the best experiences of our wedding planning!
The Wedding Venue
Kate had been to one of her good friend Nikki’s wedding at Terrara House before and had told Nikki many years earlier that she would have no choice but to get married there as well!
Terrara House Estate was the first and only place we looked at. Having heard Kate speak so highly of Terrara, I knew that it was for us – even before I’d seen it for myself. We went to see Terrara with my parents, and there was never any doubt from that point on. Rosi and Sue were the most amazing hosts, and every detail of our wedding was taken care of – nothing was too big or small. They made the whole planning process so easy and exciting with all the stress taken out of it.
The Inspiration
Our friends and family have played such a pivotal role in our relationship, and we wanted the day to be as much about them as it was us. With that in mind, our main goal was to make sure we threw an unforgettable party. Where every detail was thought of and, most importantly, reflective of who we are. It was important to us that there was maximum dance floor time to enjoy our incredible band, who happened to be close friends of ours which added to the personal feel to the day.
The atmosphere on the day was just pure love – there is just no other way to describe it. Everyone there with us was on the same page. We had multiple comments from the venue staff at Terrara that they had never felt so much love in one room in ten years of weddings at the venue.
Our wedding’s vibe was pastel colors in the flowers and beautiful wooden decorations. Such as signs, seating plan, and even our guest book, a massive slab of wood we asked all of our guest’s sign with a silver sharpie and had engraved with our wedding date.
The Biggest Surprise of the Day
Unbeknownst to me, Kate got a tattoo of our wedding date on her ribs a couple of days before the big day. My brother went with her and was in on the secret. Taking a couple of Polaroid snaps for Kate during the process. On the morning of the wedding, a card was delivered to me with the photos inside. Needless to say, I was so shocked! It was the best surprise (and I couldn’t believe she had been able to hide it from me!).
However, I got my own back on her during the wedding. To her (and all our guest’s surprise), our friend Matt played the guitar while I sang Adele’s “Only You” in the middle of the reception. The whole dance floor stopped, and Kate bawled her eyes out. It was a pretty special moment!
The Wedding Day
Our favorite moment was hands down our’ big reveal’.
We had a beautiful whitewashed timber privacy screen decorated with flowers at the top of the aisle, and once our bridesmaids walked down one by one. Kate stood with her Dad on one side, waiting for me. I walked down with my Dad to stand on the other side. Both of us separated by this screen so that all our guests could see our reaction stepping forward and seeing each other for the first time. Let’s just say there were tears.
The other top moment was our wedding party entrance. Our bridal party all walked into Swedish House Mafia’s “Don’t you Worry Child.” A favorite festival song of ours and really ‘fit’ with the vibe of the day.
When it was our turn, Pnau’s ‘Chameleon’ blasted from the speakers, and everyone was up on their feet. Cheering and dancing with us as we made our way into the reception. It was one of our favorite moments of the day!
Everything went according to plan!
The Meaning of Marriage
For us, marriage means the start of our life together and, of course, being able to let yourself go (just joking). It is safety, comfortability, and a newfound love for the person that you have committed the rest of your life to. Who has also committed the rest of their life to you.
Wedding Advice
One piece of advice that I was told repeatedly (at least five times) in the lead up to our wedding day, and now I understand why! The advice was; during the day, as often as possible, stop, just look around you, take a mental snapshot, and take everything in. It’s those moments that will stay in your memory. The day goes so quickly that you’ll blink, and it will be over. But you will forever be grateful for taking the time to stop and just ‘be’ for a second.
We also took five minutes for ourselves, just the two of us during dinner. To escape from the craziness and have a moment just for us, and we couldn’t recommend it more. You feel like a celebrity on your wedding day with every single person wanting to congratulate you and hug you (pack extra concealer girls for those cheek kisses). It’s so easy to forget that this is about you and your new partner. So make sure you get a chance to enjoy it together.
Photography by Kelly Tunney
Best Men’s Suits Woolcott St
Bridespeople Gifts Thomas Sabo, Piyama
Catering Terrara House Estate
Celebrant Laura Craddock
Ceremony Venue & Planner Terrara House Estate
Cinematographer Ryan Chatfield Images
Gown Designer Georgia Young Couture
H&MU Gemma Nichols
Robes Piyama
Rings Alex Pepin Jewellery
Shoes Django and Juliette, Tony Bianco
Signage Ashdown & Bee
Stationery Ooh Aah Invitations
Welcome Signs & Table Place Names Willow and Ink
