Emma & Mike
There are some weddings that are what a weekend is made for. Seaside views, cloudy, moody skies and a vibe that makes you want to pick up a cocktail, or a glass of bubbles and settle in. Emma and Mike’s day, captured by the talented Georgia Verrells is one such celebration. The details are minimal, but the beauty is there in every moment, in the heartfelt moments, the caught on camera smiles and the stunning setting.
It was at the ripe age of 19 that these two met, through a mutual friend, catching up for a drink at age 21, where the conversation never stopped. But it wasn’t until they went to Iceland for Christmas that Mike popped the question.
Enma reminisces to fill us in. “Our proposal story is pretty funny. We were in Iceland, Reykjavik, for Christmas back in 2015. I had absolutely no clue that Mike was going to propose. We had been living in London for more than a year, which is pretty expensive, and had assumed that saving for a ring was just not on the cards at this stage.
We got to our hotel and Mike was pretty keen to put our Christmas presents in the safe straight away. I didn’t think much of it and thought that I must have scored a really nice wallet, which was what I had asked for at the time.
Christmas Day came around and we were up early to exchange presents. Mike casually asked if I wanted to put pants on (I was wearing a t-shirt and undies), but I dismissed the idea – “Who needs pants when opening Christmas presents, right?” I got my wallet (yay) and some new skins. I decided I wanted to try the skins on but, before I did, Mike said he had one more present. It wasn’t wrapped and I would need to close my eyes. Doing as I was told, I opened my eyes to my best friend down on one knee. I think I said something extremely graceful like “holy shit” before crying and saying yes. There was a lot of ugly Kim Kardashian crying as we called our close friends and families to tell them the good news.”
Emma chose a wedding gown designed by Made With Love and she knew it was love at first sight. “In all honesty, I had no idea what style of dress I wanted. I just knew it had to be something that was easy to walk around in, as I am clumsy at the best of times. I found my beautiful Made With Love gown with two of my besties and my Mum. As soon as I tried it on I knew it was the one; the lace bodice with the chiffon skirt was just beautiful and I truly did feel like a bride. It was a unanimous yes from my bridal gang, and we went out for lunch afterwards to celebrate finding ‘the one’.”
Emma tells “I really enjoyed the styling aspect of planning a wedding, and spending way too much time on Pinterest. Two of my best gal pals were also getting married around the same time as me, so it was great fun bouncing off ideas and supporting each other in what is quite a huge undertaking in hindsight.”
Local Love Co created the bright and beautiful floral arrangements. Emma sharing “I absolutely loved our flowers. We used different coloured roses (and a few other blooms, their names escape me) with natural gum and native greenery. The bridesmaids’ flowers and colour scheme of reds, pinks and orange were used throughout most of the styling, while my white flowers were just used for my boutique, Mike’s boutonnière as well as flower pins and corsages for the parents.”
It was by the sea that Emma and Mike tied the knot, choosing Blairgowrie Yacht Squadron for both their ceremony and reception, Emma tells “Everything took place at Blairgowrie Yacht Squadron. We got married by the water and had a cocktail style reception up in the main room.”
Emma walked down the aisle with her father to “Feels Like Home” by Chantal Kreviazuk.
Emma and Mike chose Ken Hatherley to officiate proceedings, telling “The ceremony was a lot of fun. Our celebrant, Ken, was just the most wonderful, energetic person and really made everyone feel super relaxed. There was a lot of laughter, a ridiculous amount of tears and a great deal of love down in Blairgowrie.”
Tells Emma “We were pretty worried about the weather on the day. It had been an incredibly dry month and it just so happened that we were expecting thunderstorms around the time I walked down the aisle – trust us! All morning it had been raining and I was preparing for the call that we would have to move our ceremony indoors. But, to our delight, an hour or so before the wedding the sun came out (thank god) and it didn’t rain for the rest of the day.”
Of their photographer, the bride says “I could not speak more highly of Georgia Verrells! One of the nicest people you will come across and such a talented photographer. She has the gift of capturing those truly special moments and made Mike and I feel comfortable in front of the camera. Georgia and her partner Tom even took us to a back beach in Blairgowrie – we didn’t have hire cars, so they drove us in their own car so we could get some amazing photos as the sun started to set. The photos we received were AMAZING and really show the love from the day.”
Celebrations continued with a cocktail reception inside, Emma noting “With 130 people in attendance, BYS was perfect to cater for such a big number and there were lots of different places for people to sit back and chat, or get up on the dance floor and cut some shapes, as the young people say. The food was amazing, the drinks package was great and from all reports, everyone had a ripping time.”
The bride had one very special surprise in store, she says ” I sang a song for Mike (it was pretty bloody awful) but so happy I did it.”
For their first dance, the newlyweds winged it! “We danced to the Elton John classic, ‘Your Song.’ We didn’t learn a dance, so just did a bit of swaying from side to side with a twirl thrown in every now and then” tells Emma.
Emma and Mike rated all of their vendors highly, but Cedar Music tops the list for saving the day, Emma tells “It’s really hard to pick a vendor as all were outstanding. That being said, our wedding band Cedar Music must receive a mention, as they really helped me out when I dealt with a horrible agent who took a deposit for a duo act that pretty much didn’t exist. I discovered only a couple of months before our wedding that I had been scammed and was seriously stressing. There’s no point going into all the details but Tony from Cedar Music was available and was a life-saver. The band was absolutely awesome and the positive feedback I have received is endless.”
A big congratulations to the newlyweds! Thank you for sharing your beautiful day with us! Thank you also to Georgia Verrells for sharing today’s images!
Join the conversation