Real Wedding; Finn and Elliott @ Worrowing

About You Two;

Now, How did you two meet?

We met when we were teenagers in 2012. We had the same friendship circle and officially met one night at a mutual friends birthday party. It was generally a fleeting meet – we had a chat and parted ways. Our fate was sealed on an obligatory night out in Kings Cross!

Who popped the question and how did it happen?

Every Boxing Day we head down to Berry with family. We ended up heading down in the rain – with one sunny day predicted for the following day. We planned to go to our favourite secret beach that day together. Elliott threw out the obligatory invite to his family (who he expected to turn down the offer, given it is a 30 min bushwalk), but they accepted. It was a convoy. After a 30 min walk through the bush we arrived to find it was picture perfect – not a gust of wind or cloud in sight. We went for a swim and sat down when Ellliott asked if I wanted to go for a walk – I thought this was just so we could have some time alone. We had just about made it to the end of the beach when I noticed he was lagging behind. I turned around and he was down on one knee. I had no idea what was happening. So much so that I kept asking what he was doing. He asked me to marry him – I’m not actually sure I ever said yes! We turned back and our whole family was there to congratulate us, it was one of the happiest days. It then rained for the two weeks following. Elliott is adamant that if it was raining that day he wouldn’t have done it. It had to be done at our favourite spot.

Why did you choose your venue and how was the venue choosing process?

We were initially planning to Elope until Elliott had a change of heart and wanted to share our day (weekend) with those closest to us. We were especially drawn to Jervis Bay as it holds a special place in our hearts, with many family memories made there over the years. We found Worrowing after trawling almost every Wedding Venue website in Australia. The major drawcard for us was its ability for friends and family to stay on site with you over the weekend, which was super special. We also made sure the Wet Weather Ceremony Option was a good one (little did we know, right). It was the first week of the 2021 Lockdowns so we never actually got to see the venue in person before booking it, but after a Facetime tour with Brodie from Worrowing, we put a deposit down straight away.

Quick Fire Questions;

How many wedding guests did you have?

We had 80 guests

Sit down of Cocktail Style?

Sit Down

What month?

September

Planning The Wedding;

Was planning the wedding stressful or did you enjoy the journey? Planning your own day is always going to be stressful, mostly due to factors out of your control – but I actually really enjoyed the planning process. It allowed me to use the skills I use in my career as a Project Manager and harness my creative side as well. Post wedding I was actually thinking about a change in career paths!

How involved were you both in the wedding planning, did one of you take more of the lead on certain aspects than others or were you both equally involved?

As with most couples I can say I definitely took the lead. I did seek some input initially on the bigger aspects of the day which I knew would be important to him. The intricacies of the day were definitely a surprise to Elliott, which was actually quite special and meant I got feedback first hand!

What was the top couple of non-negotiables or important must-have’s at the wedding for you both?

Location/Venue, Food and Drink, and for me, I really wanted the Ceremony to be really special – so finding someone to officiate our wedding who reflected us as a couple was important. The right photographer was also a big one for us – we wanted to ensure they captured our day, our way, with realistic colour grading – photos that would age timelessly, that we could look back on forever.

Tell us about your dress and that dress-finding process?

I made appointments at a few Bridal stores and just didn’t have my heart set on anything. Given the order timeframes due to Covid, I didn’t want to order something and regret my choice in a few months time. I had an image of what I wanted in my mind when I came across a photo of another beautiful bride in the exact dress! I contacted Helen English and made the decision then and there. It was timeless and classic, and made-to-measure – something you generally don’t get at the larger Bridal stores.

What sort of theme, vibe or style did you go for?

Given we were planning so far in advance (I think we had 14 months after locking in our date), we definitely went through ump-teen iterations of how we wanted our day to look. Initially, we were going for a super relaxed vibe, but as time went on we appreciated the value of timelessness. We wanted to make sure we could look back in 20, 30, 40 years time and not cringe at our decisions. So Elliott wore a Black Tux, we kept our florals quite neutral and had a few pops of pastels here and there in the candles. We asked our guests to lean into the Spring vibe – which meant that they would essentially stand out against the neutrality of the setting.

On the Day;

How did you both feel wedding morning?

Exhausted! Our almost 2-year old daughter Sunny kept us up all night. I think we had 3 hours of sleep! Other than that, I think we were pretty relaxed, especially with the blue skies in the morning, and having our friends and family around us at the venue as well – we felt like we were on a weekend away.

What was the best part or moment of your day?

I always said I was most looking forward to the Ceremony – and it was definitely my favourite part. When we made our family official in front of our closest friends and family. Our beautiful Celebrant, Aniella,  wrote the most beautiful ceremony. There were definitely a few tears shed  by our guests (with photo evidence!).

Anything you would change about your wedding or anything that didn’t go to plan?

The only thing that didn’t go to plan on the day was the weather. Unfortunately, after blue skies in the morning it rained, and rained, and rained for the rest of the day and night. Our Garden ceremony and champagne hour in the Worrowing Gardens wasn’t able to come to fruition, but honestly, in the moment, I didn’t even care. You just have to lean into whatever happens. Given the weather, I probably would have had my amazing hair stylist Tory stick around for a second look. I got absolutely soaked taking portraits, and my hair didn’t love me for it – Elliott and I had to run back to our room and try and dry my hair off pre-reception entrance.

The rain also meant I had to change into my second dress sooner the planned, as my wedding dress was sopping wet – I’m so happy I bit the bullet and purchased the second dress.

Are there any rituals, sentiments or traditions you incorporated into the day?

I think the only Traditions we incorporated was ‘Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue’. We’re not overly traditional people – we always say we will create our own traditions!

We didn’t have a Bridal Party – just our daughter, Sunny, walking down the aisle with her own beautiful Mini-Bouquet by Muscari. My mum walked me down the aisle. And we stayed together the night before the wedding.

After the Wedding;

Describe newlywed life in a couple of words?

No different! Haha. Other than correcting ourselves to call each other Husband and Wife, after ten years together and a baby, not much changes other than a new found appreciation and love for each other.

Best investment or money well spent on the wedding that you made?

We made the decision a few months prior to our day that we would get a DJ after initially planning just a Spotify playlist – Remy from Forever Grooves was definitely money well spent and I’m so glad we changed our minds.

Two days prior to the wedding we also decided to include Margi’s for cocktail hour and Espresso Martini’s for the Dancefloor from Henry Clive –  we wanted to distract from the ominous weather forecast and I’m so happy we did.

Budget-over, under or what you estimated?

Definitely over, but we knew we would so we made sure we put extra funds in to account for this – I think by the end we stopped tracking what we were spending.

Credits:

Coordination/Set Up; The Wedding and Event Creators
Celebrant; Aniella Batten
Venue; Worrowing Estate
Florist; Muscari
Photographer; Sebastian Paynter
Videographer; Joyride Weddings
Catering; Rabbit and Co
Bar Staff; Henry Clive Caravan Bar
Cake; Cakes by Gigi
Entertainment; Giles Robinson
DJ; Forever Grooves
Hair; Pelo by Lago
Makeup; Nourish Me Beautiful