Amy & Michael

The stunning backdrop of Amy & Michael’s Tasmanian forest wedding is nothing short of breathtaking and just a little bit magical – I can almost imagine the chorus of mystical animals singing their joy as these two said their vows. Beautifully captured by Rosie Hastie, the newlyweds taking a risk for their outdoor Autumn wedding – but one that paid off beautifully.

“We met while working in a small town on the West Coast of Tasmania, in Queenstown” remembers Amy of how they met. “He was just starting out as a teacher and I was like a mini boss to him. He chased me for over a year, until I finally gave in.”

“I searched all across Launceston and the North West. The experience wasn’t great, I had mixed reactions in most shops. Being a bigger person I found it hard, some shops made me hold the dress in front of me, some I wasn’t even allowed to see because there would be no point.”

The bride ended up choosing a Watters from Studio White, remarking “I came to a small bridal shop in Ulverstone. They were lovely, I tried on whatever I wanted and then I left. I kept thinking I wouldn’t find a dress at all, I was over the whole thing. I had kept thinking about one dress in this shop though. So we went back, only to be told they had just stopped working with that supplier. However, they worked to find a similar dress which we could alter. They did everything they could, they were wonderful and their seamstress worked hard to get it just as I wanted. The final product was so different to the one that had come for, into the shop but I loved it. Studio White Bridal Boutique nailed it.”

Found in Earth – Deloraine Floristry designed a stunning bouquet of greenery, which set the scene for the day. Amy noting “I am not a huge colour person and we wanted to keep things natural and neutral. So I met with a florist in Deloraine, Found in Earth Floristry and showed her some pictures and she did the rest.”

Amy and Michael chose the beautiful Hollybank Forest State Reserve for their celebrations, Amy telling “We wanted to get married sooner rather than later, as we both had grandparents that we wanted to be there. So with less than a year, no time at all in wedding terms. I had always thought I would have an autumn wedding. So we started looking around, we wanted something a bit different and in the end, it was through the work of a photographer that we came across Hollybank as a venue. Michael had never been so we drove out and as we were driving through the trees, Michael was like, YES! I like it, me too. We explored, picked some spots at the reserve and that was it.”

The bride’s father walked her down the aisle to the instrumental version of Christina Perri’s “A Thousand Years”. The couple’s two fur animals April and Luna, joined in. The bride explaining “April I have had for eight years and she has been through many things with me and then, in the month leading up to the wedding we got a puppy. Crazy, what were we thinking but we couldn’t help ourselves, so Luna also joined us.”

“We wanted (the ceremony) to be relaxed and not too short or too long. We didn’t have any readings” says the bride of the ceremony, which was performed by Karen Allen Civil Celebrant.  “We had a fabulous celebrant,  and between the three of us we had it covered. We wrote our own vows, which in the end ended up being really similar, which turned out to be a laugh and caused Michael some stress as I began mine.”

There were a couple of special heirloom details added to the day, says Amy “I wore my Nan’s handkerchief in my dress. Michael had a wooden box that he had been given by some close friends when he had left Queenstown, this held our signing pen.”

Of their photographer, the bride tells “Rosie, she was here, there and everywhere. She was great, laid back and just did it, running here, dashing there. She didn’t need direction, she just took photos, saw shots, played with the natural light and captured it all. Just perfect!”

Ash and Brad Bespoke pulled together the couple’s forest inspired look, Amy noting “We had a combined effort on styling. We wanted to use  Brad and Ash Bespoke. They had the exact look we were going for. So we hired the tables, chairs, bar, cutlery, napkins, lights and all sorts from them. We still wanted to do a bit and save some dollars. So we asked them to do the flowers at the ceremony and a hanging ladder above the bridal table, but my sister and I made all the centrepieces. We foraged greenery and all sorts from the road side and turned our garage into a hot mess of plants for the week leading up to the wedding. I made the name cards and menus and little signs around the place.”

Special candles paid homage to a friend, Amy explaining “We have a dear friend who lost her brother recently and in his memory, she makes candles and donates all the profits to Vanuatu, where her brother had volunteered. She made us all the candles on the tables, in my favourite scent of Lemongrass and ginger. Hope Candles, filled our tent with light and the hint of lemongrass. We had a little table in the breakout area that had Carly’s favourite scent burning for her brother.”

“We had great vendors. Awesome people, from Brad and Ash who knew what we wanted with styling, Marlo and the crew at Matson Catering had the best food, great service and from the beginning were approachable and just got it.” says Amy of their vendors, continuing “We had our photographer Rosie who, without her we wouldn’t have the memories we do. The crew at Weeding Hire who gave us the marquee, more than just a tent in the forest. Our DJ, DJ Dan, easy, had the tunes and no stress.”

Of their first dance, Amy remembers “We both can’t dance, so we wanted it to be short and over quickly. We had Ed Sheeran, Thinking Out Loud. I chose this song because when we were in Queenstown we had been out for a walk in the forest and had April with us. I had made a slow motion video of Michael and April to take the mickey out of him, the look on Michael’s face was so, “I’m in love” so we used that as our song.”

Congratulations on your marriage Amy and Michael! Thank you for taking the time to share your beautiful day with us! Thank you also to Rosie Hastie for sharing today’s celebration in all of its glory!