Real Weddings

Article by

Brielle Sykes-Couling

Posted on

09/02/2023

Posted in

Real Weddings

Eloping with their gorgeous little girl as their only guest, James and Hannah’s wedding was pretty special, guys. While these cuties have known each other since they were in pre-school, they’d been official for four years before tying the knot. After getting engaged on a trip to Sydney’s South Coast eight months prior to their big day, the pair locked in a New Zealand elopement before COVID threw a rather large spanner in the works and they pivoted to Tasmania – one of their favourite locations. Tassie fave Jon Gazzignato captured the entire day which was styled like a dream by Dear Leone, so strap in and get ready to swoon…

THE INSPO “Some keywords I used when planning our day were ‘unconventional, romantic, wild and intimate’. As an incredibly visual person myself I am an avid fan of art installations particularly in floral form and I just love to explore landscapes – the view from Thalia Haven was the hero for us and I just knew that it would suit everything we wanted for our day.”

MEMORABLE MOMENT “Prior to the day our celebrant Merren (of Cinta Celebrate Love) had reached out to our Mother’s and requested a letter from them to be read to us [during the ceremony]. That was special to us – it connected us to our families for that moment.”

WE’RE GLAD WE… “We are absolutely over the moon with the decision we took to elope on the beautiful East Coast of Tasmania. Although we can’t compare our elopement to a ‘normal’ wedding it is safe to say that we would do it all again if we had our time over. If you are in two minds about eloping, you will be surprised with just how special, intimate, and precious the ceremony is.”

A WORD OF ADVICE “If you are feeling overwhelmed by the whole wedding process then we think it is important not to fall into the social norms and pressure of [having] an extravagant wedding. If you and your partner feel like you would like a ceremony that is more low-key and intimate with immediate family and just a few friends then we would recommend heading down that path. After all, the day is about the couple getting married and celebrating their love with each other. Friends and family will understand and respect the decision you make in the end.”

STANDOUT VENDORS “We are still particularly impressed by Gelisa [of Dear Leone] who without much guidance pulled together an outstanding experience and hit the mark on our brief. Her creativity and eye for detail has provided us with the most beautiful memories. We also could not forget our photographer, Jon. He was warm, easy-going and the whole experience was so comfortable and casual for us – our gallery was everything we had wished for. Our images were moody, fun and not your typical ‘bride and groom poses’ and we loved that.”

Hannah and James’ epic elopement was originally featured in Issue 35. While it is now sold out, we’ve done you a solid by giving you a free copy of Issue 36 when you purchase Issue 37 or Issue 38 over at our online store, using the code THANKSABUNCH. How good! While you wait for them to arrive in your letterbox, you can check out more weddings shot by Jon Gazzignato and get in touch with him here, and Dear Leone here. But, before you do…