Doug and I met in 2008 on a sticky dance floor in Adelaide whilst on a university pub crawl. After sparks flew we met up the next day and the rest is history! Since finishing study we’ve moved and lived all over Australia and even overseas. Our lives have had a running theme of travel and adventure but our love for each other has always continued to grow despite our sometimes crazy lives!

Doug proposed close to our 8 year anniversary whilst on a camping trip through central Australia. He popped the question as the sun rose over Uluru and I was so shocked that I asked him if he was serious! I had wondered why he’d been wearing a dorky jacket with zip-up pockets that morning… But I knew the answer was yes and that we were destined to a life of more fun and adventure together.

We chose McLaren Vale in Adelaide to have our wedding because it was somewhere close to our hearts. The moment we stepped foot onto White Hill Estate and met Sue, our celebrant, we knew it was right. With Doug’s farm background and my love for all things vintage, it was the perfect rustic farm setting.

I accidentally stumbled across my wedding dress during my first day of trying on dresses! I’d been trying on dresses all morning without much luck – I had a very specific idea of what I wanted and nothing was quite right. By chance, we walked past Red Pearl Couture whilst walking to another store and decided to pop in and I found the dream dress! It was the perfect shape with the most beautiful champagne French lace and tulle and I felt amazing the moment I tried it on. I locked in the fabric almost two years out from the wedding, but when it came to having the dress made closer to the date it was still perfect.

We decided on a ‘first look’ before the ceremony in the beautiful Kuipto Forest. This was because we wanted to have the moment where we first saw each other to be between the two of us so we could be ourselves. It also meant there was less pressure on the ceremony itself, which was fun and relaxed with lots of jokes and not too many tears!

Our photographer, Dan Evans was amazing and made the day so relaxed and easy. He employed some funny techniques to get the best photos which made everyone have a laugh and enjoy the photos. It was his suggestion to duck away after dinner for some sunset photos to take a moment to stop and take it all in. It was a lovely moment for Doug and I to have on our wedding night and we also got some amazing photos!

The wedding planning was very easy as we used family and friends to help DIY a lot of the details and decided on a simple, fuss-free wedding day. The venue (White Hill Estate) was a rustic skeleton so we could personalise it as much as we liked. We used vintage crockery, vases and props I had been collecting to decorate the venue as well as simple fairy lights and handmade lace table runners. My mum made the bridesmaid’s dresses herself which meant we could have the bold, red colour we’d always envisioned. A friend did the flowers and even included proteas, my grandmothers favourite flower, which added a personal touch and went beautifully with the colour scheme.

We settled on wood fire oven pizza served by Two Fat Blokes Pizza for a simple but delicious dinner. The food was fantastic and when the pizza ran low they were more than happy to whip up some more, which meant no stress during dinner. We put together a help-yourself sweets table for dessert (also made by my mum!) that went down a treat. We even made little handmade vintage boxes for people to take sweets home.

The whole day was easy, relaxed and exactly what we had wanted. My piece of advice for all brides would be to spend the time and energy on the things that you care most about. Small details are lovely but at the end of the day, you hardly notice these things and they are not worth stressing about! Also, give yourself plenty of time in your schedule so if something runs overtime you don’t need to stress about it and it won’t ruin your day. Enjoy your day, relax and have fun!