If you are a bride who thinks out of the box, or looking to go against the grain (just a little) this dreamy Australian wedding and the beautiful couple will capture your heart! They said I do in a rustic woodsy venue in Jervis Bay with the perfect palette of beach wedding colors like pale blush and dusty beige. The bride’s incredible style manifested itself on her big day in a glittering, sheer, cap-sleeve gown that rivals that of Julianne Hough’s (if you know, you know). And the only way to complement a gown like that? A crown, of course! Plus, the most radiant smile. This bride and groom couldn’t be more smitten with each other – and in case you had any doubts as to the power of social media, they did indeed meet first via Instagram. Now, that’s a love story you’ve got to read to believe…
The bride shares…
Chris and I were actually matched together by a mutual friend playing cupid. I had finished working on a site in WA and had moved to Sydney. Two months after I had moved, a work colleague contacted me to let me know he had just met the male version of me! He sent me his Instagram details and told me to contact him, which I refused to do. This friend was also insisting Chris get in contact with me. Eventually we became social media friends, silently following each other on Instagram, with an occasional heart here or there for each other’s photographs.
One day, I shared quite a personal post about my past struggles, and things I have overcome in life to be where I am today. Chris read it and his heart said “I need to meet this girl!” He sent me such a lovely message the day he read the post. It melted my heart and we began to message daily. Over the course of a month we began to talk on the phone and eventually it became daily Facetime calls. My Dad worked on the same site as Chris and met him before I did; I still remember the day he phoned to give me his stamp of approval. We have been inseparable since the day we finally met in person.
The proposal was at sunrise at Sealy Lookout in Coffs Harbour on Good Friday. It was followed by a weekend of romantic activities which included staying at the gorgeous Establishment Hotel in Sydney and watching Tash Sultana live. We had three whole days to ourselves in our little bubble of love before we announced the proposal to anyone.
For our wedding, Coachella was our initial inspiration. We wanted the two days to feel like festival, a celebration. To be honest, we didn’t want anything to feel like a Wedding, initially we both weren’t even interested in having a cake. It had to be outdoors and natural. We even had a lovely antique dressing table setup with jars of glitter and face paint for guests to decorate themselves with during the reception.
My favorite moment from the day, though, was actually later in the evening. I stepped back and I saw all the glittery faces around me; every single one of our guests was smothered in glitter and I just smiled. It warmed my heart to see everyone had embraced our vision, however different and weird it was, everyone joined in and for two days they were free spirits with us.
Finding my Anna Campbell dress is actually a story of fate! I had created a ‘Wedding Dress Inspo’ album on Pinterest and I had pinned a photograph of the Anna Campbell dress design ‘Sydney Dress’ but at that time I didn’t know who the designer was and hadn’t looked into it further. A few months later, my Aunty and I decided to meet in Melbourne for my birthday, I thought it would be the perfect time to look at wedding dresses.
So, I went straight to Google and typed in ‘Melbourne Wedding Dress’ as I scrolled through, judging bridal boutiques by their names, there was a link for Anna Campbell, the tagline read ‘bohemian bridal’, just what I was looking for to suit our Wedstival-themed day. Scrolling through the design gallery, I found the dress from my Pinterest album! The ‘Sydney Dress’. I booked my appointment right then and there for the Armadale boutique.