Skye & Brad

The sweet and gorgeous vintage vibe of this handmade Gum Gully farm wedding is enough to make you want to step back in time. Every element, captured beautifully by Bonavita Photography was carefully considered by Skye and Brad to create a day that represented their own story – right down to the bride wearing her mother’s wedding gown, that was handmade for her own wedding day in 1979 with stunning 100 year old lace.

With every wonderful love story there is a beginning. Skye shares theirs today. “I grew up with a ski club with a lady named Erin, who married Adam. Adam I have known for years through the ski club. Adam worked with Brad as an outdoor Ed guide. He tried to set us up for about 2 years. However, both of us weren’t interested. Brad moved to Canada to snowboard and I travelled Australia in my little van. For a long time, Adam hassled me at the lake to meet Brad. Adam told me to come up to my caravan at the lake while he was there for his bucks as Brad was going to be there. I, of course, did not go. That night I received a message from Brad asking me if I wanted to catch up for coffee. I accepted and we had our first date at our favourite veggie restaurant and from that moment knew we were going to marry each other. We honestly knew straight away. And of course, we are married. The timing was just perfect.”

The wedding was full of pieces the couple already loved – the groom even wore his great grandfather’s suit. Skye explaining “The suit was vintage Roger David from the mid-1970’s and worn by his grandfather when he gave away Brad’s mother and aunt at their weddings. The family is so important to us both, and we wanted to incorporate this into our wedding as much as possible. Brad’s favourite detail of the day was the wooden bow-ties he handcrafted himself. He made these from old skateboard decks he had lying around. Shaping them by hand and polishing them just enough to make them feel right. He used my nanny and poppy’s leather tools they passed onto us, to wrap leather around the centre and stamp a beautiful pattern into each of the bow-ties, to personalise each one.

Skye wore her mother’s wedding gown, remarking “My dress was very special. It was the dress my mother married my father in. It was designed and handmade for her back in 1979. The dress is an ecru crepe de chine, finely pin-tucked, featuring a fitted waist with a full flowing skirt trimmed with 100 year old handmade lace, made by a relative. The top is a hand crochet yoke with a pattern of roses and finished with 22 tiny buttons and loops at the back.

I knew straight away I wanted to wear my mother’s dress. I wanted to marry my soul mate in the same dress she wore to marry hers. After asking her if it was OK to wear her dress, I tried it on. We couldn’t believe it, it fitted me like it was made for me. Considering my mum was married 10 years earlier in age then I was, it was pretty amazing. I’m not a person who likes a lot of fuss or any big ordeals, so being able to experience my dress the way I have is perfect for me. It made everything feel so magical.”

Skye made her hairpiece herself, explaining “My favourite detail of the day was the headpiece I made myself, to wear with my mother’s wedding dress. I created it from all the things that I had found over the years that were the most connected to my spirit. Being so driven by the ocean, the sea star was the main centrepiece of my crown and I built my journey around that. I included small dried roses and crystals which Brad had given me during special moments we had shared. I wanted both of our spirits and souls to be with me for the entire journey of our marriage.”

Skye and Brad chose their favourite people for their respective bridal parties. “I had my brother and sister stand with me on the day without feeling like I had to have all bridesmaids. It was important me to have my siblings there for me and with me.

Brad had his two brothers and best friend Belle stand with him, again not worrying about fitting the grain about how it should look, it was more important about how it felt. There is nothing we would change about our special day!”

Skye and Brad chose beautiful Gum Gully Farm  for their wedding, noting “We are both very relaxed people. We love to be immersed in the environment and we have a lot of respect for the environment and people who have created things from their talents. We are both artists ourselves, so we always want to create an experience for people in everything we do.

The people who are closest to us know this very well. Brad’s mum, Liz, had found our venue, Gum Gully Farm and sent us the link. I saw on their page how beautiful their barn was and the property the venue was on was very similar to my childhood. I also saw their deer paddock, which my late grandfather had a very deep connection with deer. We both contacted the venue and organised a time to visit. We walked up the driveway with our families and looked at each other and booked our date before we left. We are very connected to one another on many different levels and when we know something is right, we never hesitate. Sue and Simon (who built everything themselves) and their family of Gum Gully Farm, are beautiful souls. It really made a difference, their passion radiated in every way.”

Ricki Wood Music played the bride down the aisle, Skye remembering “We didn’t choose a particular song to walk down the aisle too. We asked if Ricki would play some of his own acoustic melodies. Giving him creative freedom to play what he thought was perfect at the time.”

Mimi Crockford officiated the ceremony, the bride remembering “We wanted our ceremony to be very intimate. We had no phones during it and the only photos taken were from our photographer. We had a very special celebrant who we were very connected to, and her presence made it all very intimate and beautiful.

We shared the story of our beginning and our journey and we had readings from Doctor Seuss. Our ceremony was very raw, spiritual and emotional. Everyone explained it to us as very connected and a true love story they all felt emotionally a part of.”

Of their photographer, Skye and Brad remark “We saw our photographer’s work when we visited the venue. Brad and I are both photographers and myself having been a wedding photographer previously in my early days, we knew what we were looking for. Her work is completely based on natural lighting and her compositions and creative flair were amazing. We organised to meet with her and honestly made an instant connection. We knew straight away she was the one, and have now made a beautiful friend out of it all.”

“One of our favourite photos is the one Brad and I holding hands carrying the feed bucket and the deer following us walking through our linked arms. Deer are very special and sentimental to both Brad and me.”

Everything, right down to the flowers reflected Skye and Brad’s ethos on life. Skye telling “I choose flowers from our local organic florist (The Organic Fanatic). I asked them to put their own creative flair into them and to make the bouquets with all the wildflowers that were in season. They were so incredible. Our ceremony flowers were from my mum’s garden and the table flowers Brad and I made from bunches of flowers also from our local florist.”

Skye notes “We wanted everything we created to be from our families or of some significance to them. It made everything familiar. So when our guests sat down they felt like they were sitting with us on every journey. Our most special detail was having our siblings stand with us. To have them be apart of our commitment. We both wore things that were passed down or given to us for the day. Nothing was left out. So when we were separated the morning of the wedding, we were all still connected. I carried my favourite photo of my late grandfather with me so he could be there for our special day.”

“We experienced very beautiful speeches from our families. In particular Brad’s best man Andrew, his brother, said some very real, heartfelt words. But also thanking “all the beautiful bridesmaids, especially the one with the beard (who was my brother, who also shares the same disability as Brad’s brother)!”

Of their first dance, Skye remembers “Our first dance was taught to us by Brad’s mum Liz, who is a ballroom dancer, and we danced to the song Brad proposed to me with, “Mystery Angel” by Xavier Rudd.”

Congratulations on your marriage Skye and Brad! Thank you for taking the time to share your beautiful day with our readers! Thank you also to Bonavita Photography  for sharing today’s celebration!