Both Kirsty + Matt have a profound love of the Australian bush – they actually met taking part in the 100km Oxfam Trailwalk. They wanted their wedding to reflect this unifying passion whilst being vibrant, colorful + having a distinctly festive, garden party vibe. Matt proposed on his first visit to the far south east coast of Australia at a small place called Tathra, and it was here that they held the wedding. Kirsty’s family has a beach house there nestled in the bush. It was perfect.
Although it should be noted that their wedding took place amidst the worst rain event the region had experienced in decades. There were floods, landslides, road closures and only one access road left. Their ceremony had to be moved from the original Spotted Gum forest just the night before. And when the rain hit again later on the day, they had to move the locations of the speeches and the dance floor at a moment’s notice. I love that rather than letting this ruin their day, they saw it as giving the day an edge of drama, spontaneity and intimacy where everyone felt a part of the adventure. Great advice from Kirsty, Whatever you do, don’t sweat it if the day isn’t going to plan…if you both roll with it and make sure you are having as much fun as possible, everyone else will too. Thanks so much to Christine Pobke for the lovely photos!
From Kirsty, Being a landscape architect, I wanted the flowers to be a distinctive feature of the day. A selection of my favourite natives (including Flannel Flowers, Billy Buttons and Flowering Gum) ordered through the Sydney Flower Markets formed the basis of the palette with additional flowers picked from the garden and the surrounding bush. With the guidance of a very talented mother of a bridesmaid, we all [bride + bridesmaids] assembled the bouquets + groomsmen corsages the night before the wedding.
Most memorable moment of your wedding day?
The ceremony! Matt was blown away when he saw me emerge from the car in my orange dress… and when I saw him standing there at our bush verandah altar I was so happy I could explode. That set the tone for the rest of the day. Our celebrant (Jo Terlich) then retold our story as relayed to her by us before we made our vows. This made the most formal part of the day incredibly personal for us as well as enjoyable and more entertaining for our guests.
Our Music Choices:
Processional: Kids will be skeletons by Mogwai (weird name, but stunning instrumental track from their Happy Songs For Happy People album)
Recessional: You’re all I need to get by -by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
First Dance: Sleepwalk by Santo and Johnny
LOVE a bride that isn’t afraid to rock a bold orange dress!!
Any advice for those planning now?
Take on as much of the design, styling and planning as you can yourself as ultimately it results in a far more personal day. Do not underestimate how much family and friends want to be involved and help, but learning to delegate and share the work load is difficult. Don’t follow protocol and make it the kind of day that you could imagine as being as fun and meaningful for YOU as possible.
Your guests are there to celebrate your love story and they really do want to hear it! Make sure the day allows this story to be told whether it is though the ceremony, the speeches or the day itself.
photography: Christine Pobke // venue name: 'Wonga' at the bride's parents beach house // wedding dress: Aurelio Costarella // paper goods: Invitation Hilbert Ho with Bride's illustration // catering: Valley Edge Cafe // cake: Persian Love Cake by Valley Edge Cafe, // Bridesmaid dresses: The hot pink silk skirts were lovingly designed and sewn by my cousin and Bridesmaid Millie Stephen. We teamed them with silk Therese Rawsthorne tops and chunky yellow wooden beads by Elk, Australia // groom suit & leather braces: Skin Deep, Sydney, Australia, teamed with Trickers boots // invitations: Invitation Hilbert Ho with Bride's illustration
oh my goodness what a beautiful and attractive couple! the pics of them by the water are absolutely amazing! i love how fun their wedding party looked too! everything about this is wonderful and amazing!
Such whimsical colors! Absolutely love the bridesmaids’ attire. Any idea where the grooms’ suspenders are from? I didnt see them on either of the websites listed. Love those ‘spenders.
Stunning. I love her dress, the location, the vibrancy of the colors against the grey skies.
Wow. This is perfect. The bride and groom, the wedding party, the guests. Amazing photos. I am in love!
I really adore when a bride goes after her own thought and style! That orange dress and the bridesmaids dresses altogether really are the most gorgeous and colorful! I adore the photos of all of them together! Brides be YOU! So inspiring and lovely.
Incredible – just jaw dropping, can’t stop drooling, amazing burst of colour and love!
Love the wedding dress. I love the red color. And the place is so perfect. Everything works out according to how the couple wanted it! Great work!
What a colorfull wedding!…I love the orange dress!
WOW!!! That dress is just stunning. Absolutely beautiful. Gorgeous wedding, gorgeous couple!
Unbelievable. This wedding makes me question the white dress tradition. How boring in comparison to this gem!
holy cow the colors are gorgeous. that bride is stunning, especially in the photos where the dress is blowing around. seriously.
Wow! LOVE the colours!
The contrast in the first photo is amazing the that orange dress!
Oh WOW!!!! I love love love this wedding. the most gorgeous palette i have ever seen. Everything is just magnificant.
omg! beautiful wedding & equally stunning photos!!
Amazing pictures. The one with the dress floating is gorgeous !
wow. everything about this wedding is beautiful. i love how much the pictures show how in love the couple is. love love love this post.
LOVE this orange dress! Beautiful colors!
OMG, the first photo! It is soooooo beautiful, bet thanks to ogange wedding dress! Simply stunning. I love the simplicity of the wedding, the almost casual style and the photos! Thanks for sharing!
gorgeous!!
This is stunning!
love that orange color! All the pictures look amazing!
I am in LOVE!
The yellow necklaces took me back to kindergarten….love them..I might have to borrow this idea and make me one or two of them!
Wow! the bride looks stunning in orange. Love all the fun details.
Stunning color palette!
oh my, such an attractive couple!
This looks REALLY like the happiest day in life. I’m completely in love with all these colours and the wonderful orange dress. So beautiful and special!
My goodness I love this dress. Bravo to Kristy for letting her personal taste and beauty shine through. Loving this!
Absolutely stunning! A great way to stand out and show personality!
She’s so gorgeous! That dress looks straight out of the painting, “Flaming June.” Lovely.
I love the shot of the bride amongst her beaming bridesmaids. Those colours are so beautiful and everyone seems so very happy. Such an inspiration to me!
WOW! That dress is stunning. (And it doesn’t hurt that the bride is stunning as well.) LOVE the bridesmaid dresses, the look of the groom & the groomsmen and the photography is just breathtaking. I’ll say it again – WOW!
Gorgeous! I went to view the Elk necklaces and couldn’t take my eyes off the beautiful orange dress! stunning photos! thanks for sharing.
cheers, Canada
This is stunning!!!!! My venue will be very grey and I LOVE that the bride IS the pop of color! Where can I get that dress in the U.S. does anyone know!!!!!?????????
Her orange dress is a stunner! I also love her bridesmaids’ dresses.
Her orange dress is a stunner! I also love her bridesmaids’ dresses.
the yellow necklaces are wonderful. where are they from?
Wish we had some “Brighter ” Brides – its all cream/ white and purple here!
Hello! I love love love the colour-blocking theme of this wedding. It’s so bright and happy.
I’m particularly writing to ask of you know where the Bridesmaid’s necklaces are from…I *need* them or something similar for my own Bridesmaids.
Thank you for being so inspirational!
x
What a gorgeous wedding! My friend Jenna just got married and those were her exact colors. Her dress was white though : ) Very beautiful.
Marvelous!
wow! what a beautiful couple! thank you for sharing and thank you for being different! that color looks amazing on you! Breath-taking!
Oh wow! This is just amazing! Yes please, where can a gal in canada find this jaw-dropping orange dress?!?! It’s FAB!!!
Beautiful dress!! What kind of fabric is it?
such a pretty wedding! congratulations to the couple and the vendors!
gorgeous and bold dress!
love the couple’s attitude – truly inspiring!
Love the bridesmaids dresses! Can we buy them from the designer???? Does she have an etsy?
I absolutely love your wedding dress and the entire wedding party attire! I was searching for an orange wedding dress and you site came up. Amazing! My favorite dress so far
I LOVE the color orange! I’m engaged and would LOVE to wear this same dress as my wedding gown. Does anyone know where I can order it? HELP!
Thanks!
Beautiful photos, beautiful couple. Congratulation!
That dress is very unusual, but very romantic. Congratulation to the couple.
I would love to know where the suspenders are from :-)
Where can I buy the leather straps
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