Admitting about three out of their 100 guests were surprised at their ‘surprise’ wedding, Gemma and Rob confirm it was the “worst kept secret in town. We lost track of our elaborate lies to throw people off the scent – clearly, we are terrible liars!” With a “large focus on wine,” a borrowed dress (yes, you read that right), and “pups of honour,” we liked this fun-loving couple from the get-go and we are pretty sure you will, too! Partografia took the pics and we chatted with the happy couple below, so scroll down for all you need to know…
THE VENUE “Perth City Farm was always where we wanted to get married. We knew we wanted a relaxed venue that we could make our own for our special day. The rustic vibes and stylised graffiti teamed with the luscious farm gardens created the most beautiful backdrop for our day. Rob collects wine, so it was important for us to be able to bring/choose our own wine list so this BYO venue was perfect.”
THE INSPO “We wanted a very relaxed, surprise wedding, with rustic decor with native florals. A large focus on wine (we popped a six-litre wine bottle as soon as we entered the reception and used it for a toast with all of our guests). We did not do a lot of the normal formalities such as a formal first dance or bouquet toss.”
FAVE DEETS “We had 18 guests at our ceremony, the best idea ever for an anxious bride, I felt so comfortable and relaxed. The two metre hanging floral instalment looked incredible with hanging lights over our dance floor. We did a funny choreographed first dance to a song from the movie A Night at the Roxbury, a serious dance just was not us. Our family surprised us with a flash mob dance which was also amazing, how they pulled that off with guests from all over Australia I will never know. We included our dogs in the ceremony, they entered straight after me to their own song, they were gorgeous pups of honour.”
THE DRESS “I knew my Maggie Sottero Selena gown was the one for me the first time I saw a photo of it and then tried it on in the bridal shop. My photographer Dylan of Partografia had shot a wedding of a couple with my dream dress earlier in the year. I asked Dylan if he could put me in touch with the bride to see if she was willing to sell her dress second-hand to me. She was not willing to sell it, however, offered it to me to borrow if it fit me (what an angel of a human). I must be the luckiest girl in the world because the dress fit light a glove and needed almost no alterations.”
WE’RE GLAD WE… “Did an intimate secret ceremony, that we included our dogs, that we had a videographer (the video is amazing), that we got a wedding coordinator and that we stayed true to ourselves and had the relaxed wedding we wanted. We don’t regret anything about our day.”
CONTRIBUTING VENDORS Photographer Partografia