Real Wedding; Rebecca and Max @ The Cove

About You Two;

Now, How did you two meet?

We met at our friends joint 18th birthday party. Exactly 11 years and 23 days to the day we got married. I knew one birthday girl and he knew the other. It was a themed party S and V, after the girls names Suz and Vanessa, so the idea was to dress up as something starting with those letters. I (Bek) dressed up as a Smurf with one of my friends, we painted our entire bodies blue!! Max, went as a Viking although wasn’t as elaborate with his costume, only wearing a plastic Viking hat with a normal tshirt and chinos.

Max approached Bek to chat and we talked for a few hours before the party ended and the next day we added each other on Facebook.

Who popped the Question and how did it happen?

Max popped the question the day after our 9 year anniversary. We were down in Narooma for a long weekend away as we always like to go away for anniversary.

We woke up really early on 21 February 2021 and drove to Mystery Bay for sunrise. Unfortunately we didn’t see the sunrise due to massive morning fog, but the morning didn’t disappoint as Max got down on one knee and said “on the dawn of the start of our 10th year together, will you marry me”. The answer obviously was yes!

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

South Coast was always on my mind for our wedding. We’ve spent so many wonderful weekends down the South Coast that it holds a special place for us. The Cove was in my sights since before we got engaged, seeing it in social media, as well as a few other venues. I did not realise how perfect The Cove really was until we got down there, our last venue viewing of the day and it felt right. Surrounded by beautiful national park and the water right there was perfect. We also knew we wanted a weekend wedding and a place where everyone could stay and relax and not worry about getting home the night of the wedding.

Quick Fire Questions;

How many wedding guests did you have?

80

Sit down or Cocktail Style?

Sit down

What month?

February – Saturday 18 February, two days before our 11 year anniversary.

Planning The Wedding;

Was planning the wedding stressful or did you enjoy the journey?

It was quite enjoyable. After we booked the venue everything else seemed to work. Our amazing photographer Mitch, it was his last day for early 2023, then booking in the super talented Tim for videographer. After doing that process solo I knew I would want more help and expertise especially as we live in Sydney and were wanting local suppliers so we got Vanessa and the team at Wedding and Event Creators to help plan and do on the day coordination. It was so helpful to then know when to book vendors and suppliers and not have the stress of reaching out to multiple businesses. The team had their recommendations after listening to what we wanted and it made everything so easy!

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?

I (Bek) was definitely the lead in planning, but I love doing it! I am an organiser at heart so whilst I would look at the vendors sent through by Wedding and Event Creators and narrow down the choices, we both made the end decision on most things. Max actually had final say on a few vendors, plus his suit and groomsmen attire was totally up to his choice and decision, which also influences the direction of bridesmaid dresses too!!

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

First was a great photographer and videographer to capture the day that would make us feel comfortable, Mitch and Tim were so relaxed and made us feel at ease from pre-wedding shoots and calls and all through the wedding day, even when it started raining!

Second was we wanted all our vendors to be local in the area to support small businesses in the area. Especially after the last few years of bush fires, floods and COVID we knew how important it was, plus you are getting people who know the area, rather than getting people from Sydney.

Finally, for everyone to have fun and not one guest to lift a finger, only champagne glasses on the day. We were so happy with the on the day coordinator that made sure everything was set up and ran smoothly!!

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

My wedding dress was from Allure Bridals from Brides of Sydney. I had been to a few stores, the first try on with my mum and sister, whilst she was back from London. She made me try on different styles and both mum and sister picked dresses at the stores, some completely different from what I had envisioned. I did think I had found the dress so booked in to go a second time to “say yes”. I did go to one more Bridal Store after my friend (Suz who hosted the 18th that we met) suggested Brides of Sydney so I went there with my mum, mother in law, and sister in law the day before our engagement party to try on a few dresses. I was convinced I wouldn’t find anything as much as I like the dress at the other store, but then I tried on MY dress and I did not want to take it off. I was so in love with it, it ticked every box and I was so happy. I still had the appointment at the other store and when I tried on the dress everyone knew that the Allure Bridals gown at Brides of Sydney was the one. I went back with my mum a few weeks later to officially say yes to the dress and I was so lucky that the only alterations needed so a slight hem, it was the perfect fit for the order size!

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

Our theme was native and warm colours. We wanted to compliment the beautiful location we were going to be in at The Cove so native flowers were a must. My favourite colour is orange so with bridesmaids being in orange we opted for warm tones, oranges, reds, yellows and pinks for flowers and orange and white for decor.

Clare at Gypsy Carmen was incredible in taking my ideas and bringing it to life so beautifully. The colours compliment the natural beauty of The Cove and Booderee National Park.

On the Day;

How did you both feel wedding morning?

Bek – I felt great. I woke up in the big King Bed as we decided to sleep separately the night before. I went for a swim, much to the panic of my sister who found the Ocean Cabin empty at 6.00am, but she found me at the inlet taking an early morning swim.

There was a moment of stress when I found out a tree had fallen down and was blocking the road in and out of The Cove a few frantic calls (with bad reception) and reassurance from others the tree was dealt with, although Megan and Holly did have a long walk with all their equipment to get to us because the tree was there when they arrived.

After that, it was so much fun getting ready with my sister’s, closest friends and mum.

Max – The wedding morning was filled with a lot of nerves. I wasn’t nervous about marring the love of my life, but about things going well. One of the first things I found out was that a tree had blocked the road and things were not going well. We did all we could for that and tried to enjoy the morning with my best friends and family. Enjoying the beautiful weather and location.

What was the best part or moment of your day?

Bek – gosh! Tough question. The first thing that came to mind is walking down the aisle and seeing Max at the end waiting there, even though I was a blubbering mess. I also loved our alone time before walking into the ceremony practicing our first dance and having that time by ourselves to enjoy the moment was great!

Max – There are a few that stand out. The best moment for me was waiting at the end of the aisle watching Bek come down and trying (and failing) not to cry myself. Other key moments include speeches, our first dance and the photographs in between everything. The little moments I got to be with my wife during the mayhem

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

Not that we can think of! Well, it might have been good if the tree wasn’t blocking the road! Everything else was great and if anything went wrong it was so small it didn’t matter! Even the change of weather from sweltering hot to a quick rain shower didn’t mess up the day. It was all great.

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

I did the something old, borrowed, new and blue. Old was my wedding band which was my great great aunts engagement ring, which was given to me by my grandmother. We slightly redesigned it by lowering the diamonds and changing the colour from yellow gold to rose gold.

Borrowed was the hankerchief my sister had at her wedding, that I think was also my grandmother’s who had passed away a few years prior.

New was the wedding dress and shoes, plus gorgeous tiffany pearl earrings as my wedding gift from Max.

For Blue, my mum and Max’s mum and two sisters wore blue! Plus Max’s eldest sister gave me a gorgeous rose gold bangle with a blue Swarovski crystal and evil eye to keep away any bad vibes on the day.

We also kept sleeping separately and not seeing each other until the wedding ceremony. For us, we know we are going to be sleeping together for the rest of our lies, so it was nice and built up the anticipation and made the aisle moment more special.

Prior to the wedding day we also had the only surviving grandparents (Max’s paternal grandmother and maternal grandfather) bless our rings as they could not travel for the wedding.

After the Wedding;

Describe newlywed life in a couple of words?

A whirlwind! Two months after we got married we moved to London! It was a huge change but was exciting to have a new adventure as newly weds. We e had such an amazing year and can’t believe it’s almost been a year since our wedding.

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

We feel like a broken record, but the best was photographer, videographer and wedding planner/coordinator, but it’s honestly the most important thing! The photos and videos last for the rest of your life so having Mitch and Tim was so vital for our day plus having Vanessa and the team guiding as through the planning process and on the day was so helpful!!

Oh and the arancini balls from Jo! Max’s favourite!

Budget-over, under or what you estimated?

Pretty much what we had estimated. It was a lot but we’ll only do it once, so we did everything we wanted!!

Credits:

Coordination/Set Up; The Wedding and Event Creators
Celebrant; Cath from Coastal Ceremonies
Venue; The Cove
Florist; Gypsy Carmen
Photographer; Mitch Pohl Photography
Videographer; Above Below Visuals
Catering; Garnish Creative Catering
Bar Staff; Henry Clive
Cake; Wedding Cake Art
Entertainment; Kahuna Duo
DJ; XYDJ
Makeup; Makeup by Megan
Hair; Hair by Holly Gould