Real Weddings

Article by

Athina Greenhalgh

Posted on

27/05/2024

Posted in

Real Weddings

*Clap clap* Class is in session, today we have for you both a bride and a groom from the wedding biz, so you just know every detail of their Northern Rivers nups will be worth studying! Exhibit A, the alpacas (we repeat, ALPACAS), which btw were a total surprise from Ben to his bride, “We both joke that I cried more seeing the alpacas than I did seeing Ben.”

With their nearest and dearest, these party animals celebrated with a festival-inspired bash, brought to life by a stellar cast of vendors, including our friends at The Wedding Shed, who were on styling duties. And you know we love a sneaky dress switch-up! Julz stunned in an Alena Leena gown from The Veil Collective before donning a fab mini frock. Beck Rocchi got all the happy snaps, and we got some pretty sage knowledge nuggets from the newlyweds. What are you waiting for? It’s all below!

THE PROPOSAL “Ben planned a ‘spontaneous’ trip down to South Australia, and we went to Down the Rabbit Hole Winery, which I had been hoping to visit for a long time. The owner, who helped Ben plan the whole thing, was pouring us the largest glasses of wine I had ever seen in a wine tasting. He later told us it was because Ben looked like he was about to explode with nerves! We sat out by the garden with alpacas nearby for lunch (I am obsessed with alpacas), and Ben walked me into the beautiful flower field with his hand scrunched up so tight his knuckles were white (I was so distracted by the alpacas that I assumed he was holding alpaca feed). He got down on one knee, pulled the most beautiful ring out of his sweaty hand, and that was that! It was perfect!”

LITTLE LOL “I joked in the entire lead-up to our wedding day that Ben would surprise me with alpacas on the day. He said no every time and was so convincing that I absolutely did not expect alpacas to actually be there!”

THE VENUE “I saw Forget Me Not on Instagram years and years ago, and I always dreamed of having my wedding there. Ben and I went to look at four beautiful venues around Byron Bay, which were all incredible, but we both knew that Forget Me Not was the one for us. Jo, the owner, was so incredibly kind and helpful from the first moment we met her, and the venue itself is absolutely stunning. We were looking for a ‘blank canvas’ venue so we could style and create the wedding of our dreams.”

THE DRESS “I ended up finding my wedding dress at The Veil Collective. The girls at the boutique were so incredibly helpful and made me feel so comfortable, and I had such an amazing experience there. I knew that the dress was THE dress as soon as I put in on, because the texture of the bodice was so unique and beautiful, and the fit of the dress was exactly what I was looking for.”

FAVE DETAILS “The flowers (Tiffany’s Maleny & Wilderness Flowers) absolutely blew our minds and far exceeded our expectations. They were bright, beautiful, and perfectly matched all of the other elements of our day. We adored our shaggy, love heart-covered pink and red wedding cake which was equal parts beautiful and delicious! A highlight of our day was watching our guests drink cocktails out of their funky straws and seeing a dance floor full of loved ones in the bucket hats that our beautiful friends Ange and Dave (Wren Souvenirs and Promotional) made for us!”

MEMORABLE MOMENTS “My dad (Euan) and my stepdad (Mario) passed away a few years ago, but I knew I wanted to incorporate them into my wedding day. My stepdad was known for his amazing tiramisu, so we decided to add a roaming tiramisu dessert to our menu. Mario was a jeweller, and my cousin, Julian, was his apprentice. Growing up, Mario and I always spoke about him making my ring when I got engaged, so it was really special that Julian was able to make my engagement ring for me on his behalf.”

A WORD OF ADVICE “Don’t forget to take some time on your wedding day for just the two of you! The day goes so quickly. Try to remember that it is totally okay if not everything goes to plan. No-one else will even know and you might have a hilarious story to look back on. We received our dress and suit about two weeks before our wedding day, so if you are hoping to have a particular style of dress or suit that will be tailor-made for you, we suggest starting the process a little earlier than we did to avoid the last-minute stress of having to walk down the aisle naked haha!”

You heard the happy couple! If you’re still looking for *the one* (dress, that is), The Veil Collective is a must-visit, or if suit-and-tie is more your style we’ve got more goodness from Theodore here. If hire items are next on your to-do list you’ll want to say ‘hey’ to The Wedding Shed on the Hello May Directory here.