How did you & Chad meet and how did he propose?
Chad and I actually met via instagram. A mutual friend of ours had posted a video of him and I immediately thought he was very cute (and it didn’t take me long to slide into his DM’s!) We met a few weeks later and it all just fell into place perfectly. He proposed after 18 months, up on Tamborine mountain when I was 20 weeks pregnant with our daughter, Pia. We went there for a picnic with a few friends and family and he did it as the sun was setting. I had absolutely no idea. Chad is terrible at keeping secrets from me so he did an amazing job at pulling it all off. It was perfect.
Can you share more about your dress, what did you love most about it and why did you decide to get a second dress?
My dress was the Teddi dress by Chosen By Kyha. I absolutely loved it. It was actually the first dress I tried on and knew it was the one even though the sample size didn’t even fit me properly. I loved the cut of it and the one shoulder feature. It was simple yet classic, and something I knew I wouldn’t change my mind on in the long lead up to the wedding. I had the dress tailored to enhance the slit feature just to make it a little more me. I was really in two minds about getting a second dress. I thought if I happened to stumble across one that I loved equally as much to my ceremony dress then I would consider the change. And that’s exactly what happened. I found the Rachel Gillbert dress about a month out and I knew it would be really fun and perfect to change into. I also loved that it had the one shoulder detail as well and paid a little homage to my ceremony dress. I changed into it after our first dance and it was so much easier to move around in. I wasn’t in a huge rush to put it on but as the dance floor filled up, the train of my dress quickly became roadkill so I was happy to make the change.
What drew you to The Valley Estate?
The venue was just so beyond beautiful. We saw it 18 months out from our wedding date and The Manor actually wasn’t even built yet. We had looked at a few other venues and they just didn’t have the same feeling or impact that The Valley Estate did. We just knew it was perfect for us and it felt right. Theres so much to love about the venue but we really loved the gentleman’s retreat. I think the men can be a little left out of the getting ready process so it was so nice that they had a place to be together and celebrate in the hours leading up to the ceremony. I also have to say the service was impeccable and they really went above and beyond to make our day so memorable.
Tell us about your styling details. How did you pick your colour palette and overall aesthetic? What did you love most about the styling details?
I had followed Emma for a while before reaching out to her to plan our special day. I felt like everything she touched turned to magic so I knew our day would be amazing if she had anything to do with it. After looking at her previous work and spending a lot of time on Pinterest, Instagram and pulling inspo from The Lane, Vogue and other brides, we decided on a soft colour palette filled with nudes, light pinks and creams. I really loved the flowers we chose, I think they worked perfectly and embodied that soft, romantic vibe.
What was the highlight of your day and memorable moment?
There were so many beautiful little moments throughout the day that were really memorable, but my favourite one was when Chad pulled me aside towards the end of our reception. We stood a few steps away and watched everyone we love dance together and celebrate. It was really nice to take a few seconds just to take it all in and also have that little moment together too.
How would you describe your day in a few words?
Sounds so cliche - but the best day ever.
What advice would you give to future couples planning their day? Any tips you can pass onto them?
I'm sure you will hear it from everyone, but the day really goes by in a blink of an eye. It can have moments that feel overwhelming but try to be present and take it all in. Steal a quiet and special moment between the two of you that you can look back on. And remember the day is about you and your partner – there are no rules, so just do what feels right for you.
How do you plan to celebrate your wedding anniversaries in the future?
For our first wedding anniversary, we will actually be in Bali for one of our best friend’s weddings. I think we will take a few days at the end of the trip to celebrate one whole year of marriage, and hopefully will do so with some friends and many margaritas. I wouldn’t complain if the following years followed suit but knowing us, I am sure we will celebrate with a nice dinner and a glass of wine, and probably talk about our favourite moments from the day.
Tell us about your dream list of suppliers you worked with. How did you choose your team of experts?
We had such a dream team of suppliers and were so lucky that everyone we wanted for the day was available (perks of starting the planning process 18 months out). As I said before, I did a lot of research into the vibe we wanted for the day, so it was easy to narrow down our options for suppliers who had done something similar and that we knew would nail it. Emma was also instrumental in this process as she could recommend suppliers we could work with that she trusted to deliver what we were looking for.
We worked with Riley from Posy Lane, and she did an incredible job with the flower arrangements; I was overwhelmed with how it turned out on the day. She even included a single white rose with a ribbon for our daughter. We also worked with Laura from Laura Elizabeth Design, who did an amazing job at creating our invitations and on-the-day stationery. I followed her for a while and knew she was wildly creative and capable of designing something beautiful for us. Our photographer was my beautiful friend Laura Goodall. She was one of the first vendors I booked for the wedding. I have always loved her work; she just takes the most beautiful photos. We have been taking photos together for so many years, so I knew I would feel comfortable having her capture our day. We also got Bryce from Common Studios as our videographer. He was so easy to work with and literally just blended into the background of our day and captured the candid moments so well. I think we have watched our wedding video at least 200 times; it really is so special to have and reminds us of all the little moments you may have forgotten about on the day.
Creative team -
