Kate & Caleb

For Kate and Caleb, it was important that their wedding reflect their own relaxed sense of self. They chose a picturesque farm by the sea, they hired food trucks to dish up an informal feast and they danced for six-hours straight! With Jason Corroto behind the camera, this was the most joyous next step for the pair who met on Tinder.

Caleb popped the question just before a holiday to Bali and we’re going to start off today’s tale with the story of how he swept Kate off her feet. “The night before we flew to Bali, Caleb suggested we get a hotel room in the city to avoid the early morning drive from the Northern Beaches to the airport. I came straight from work and met Caleb in the city. He said he needed to use the bathroom and remembered that he had the key for an old skyscraper he used to do electrical work on.

Once inside the building, Caleb asked if I wanted to go up to the roof, like old times. Caleb took me up to the rooftop on one of our first dates and had said that this is where he was ‘going to propose one day’ and I was thinking he would say anything to woo me.

So up to the rooftop we went (which is not meant for public access). As Caleb opened the door, it started raining. We had to climb up ladders and duck under poles. Once we had done all of the climbing, we stood overlooking an uninterrupted view of Darling Harbour and Caleb dropped to one knee. In the pouring rain, I said ‘yes’, without a doubt in my mind!
We celebrated that night by staying at the Shangri La and dinner at Bentley. Before flying to Bali the next morning!”

Caleb and his groomsmen dressed in suits from Zara although they were a little waylaid. Kate shares, “Little did everyone know at the wedding, there had been a drama with the groomsmen’s jackets the morning of. When they were all getting ready and pulling their jackets out of the garment bags. It was only then that they found that one was actually navy and the three others grey! There must have been a mistake when transferring the stock between stores.
Caleb and I had a little giggle under the arbour when I noticed all of the groomsmen in just their shirts. Caleb was like, “there was a little bit of trouble with the jackets” and I replied, “yeah, I can see that.”
It actually worked out for the best! I think it looked great having the groomsmen go without.

Kate wanted a comfortable gown with a current style, so she settled on a two-piece ensemble by Match Made Bridal at The Babushka Ballerina. The bride notes, “I knew I wanted something relaxed that I could dance in, while still having modern look. I went to quite a few bridal boutiques and tried on a lot of dresses – but knew straight away when I tried on this dress! I opted for a coordinate set by Match Made from Babushka Ballerina in Woolhara: a beaded cropped cami with a fit and flare skirt. I loved that you could see a little bit of skin on the back, so that everyone knew it was a set.
The experience was incredible – I cannot thank Sierra and her team enough. They made everything so special and worked with me from start to finish to ensure everything was perfect.” 

Kate did add something extra special to her look: “I wore my mum’s sapphire vintage ring – something borrowed, blue and old. Boom.”

Kate and Caleb wanted to bring the magic of the country and the ocean together, so they chose Seacliff House for their wedding. Kate raves, “What a dream. I knew from the second I found it online, that it was the place. There was no changing my mind or looking around.
Seacliff House is a beautiful property on green rolling hills, with views of the ocean. It was important to me that the wedding didn’t feel rustic; so having the ocean incorporated was incredible, as the beach is such an important part of our lives.”

The bride walked down the aisle to a song written and performed live by Ellis Hall. Kate explains, “Ellis played acoustic sets from the ceremony until we moved into the barn. His voice is so special and really set the mood!
Caleb and I saw him play at Newport Market Day when Caleb turned around and said, ‘We should get him for the wedding.’ I then whipped his business card out of my wallet, from seeing him play in Manly the weekend before!”

 

Caleb and Kate chose Cath Allan to officiate their ceremony, seeking an effervescent vibe for their day. “We wanted the ceremony to be light-hearted, full of smiles and giggles. We had our amazing celebrant talk about Caleb’s love of shooting me with Nerf guns, our meeting on Tinder, our little fur baby Harley and love for life.

I chose two readings by Atticus. I find that his readings are so beautiful and relevant for today.”

Kate’s brother Sam read, “But I am a poor boy, I said, I can offer you nothing: my heart, a mat where you can sleep, watered wine, music, a roof overhead and tea when it is cold, but that is all.
I am, I’m afraid a king with no castle and a court of only me.
Promise me this, she smiled, and nothing more. Promise me we will sit always atop our broken thrones, promise me we will drink our watered wine and laugh beside our small fire, promise me we will patch our broken castle when it leaks and that we laugh and dance and drink our tea, promise me that we will live forever as jesters of our own silly court.
Promise me this, and I will forever be your Queen and we will be as rich as any King.”

Caleb’s grandad Ron also read Atticus, “When I look at you I find it hard to believe that the whole universe had not conspired to bring you to life. I cannot think of a more beautiful reason for it all to exist than for you in this day.”

Kate and Caleb are completely enamored with their wedding photos thanks to Jason Corroto. Says Kate of their photographer, “I cannot speak highly enough. He was the very first vendor I locked in for the wedding aside from the venue. Jason is a friend of Caleb’s and mine; I almost changed the date of the wedding when he was unsure if he was available.
He is so amazing at capturing those small, special moments while being so discreet. I felt so comfortable and the photos look so incredibly stunning!”

Flowers On The Mill styled the modern floral details for the day, Kate sharing, “my go-to girl here! I left so much up to her; she is the professional at the end of the day.
All I requested was green and white, unsymmetrical and tropical. Boy, was I thrilled by the variety of flowers. She nailed it.”

Guests enjoyed a stand-up cocktail reception full of Japanese food and flowing wine thanks to Shiso Fine and Rambling Rose Bar. “I definitely wanted a food truck to keep the relaxed party mode,” says Kate. “We decided to go with Shiso Fine, a Japanese food truck. We had so many compliments on the food…so, so many dumplings.”

Remarks the bride, “My favourite photo is of Caleb laughing during the speeches. It really captures the mood of the day.”

As the sun set, the newlyweds took to the dance floor to Leon Bridges’ ‘River’ tells Kate. “Caleb and I have seen him live twice and this has always been a favourite of ours. We have a vinyl player at home and ‘River’ is always on high rotation, so it seemed to be an easy choice for us.”

One thing Kate and Caleb don’t regret? Choosing Ripple Weddings to capture their wedding on film! Kate gushes, “I was on the fence about getting a videographer. However, as we both had family members who were unable to make it, we decided it was a good idea.
I was blown away by the end result. I cannot stop watching and cannot stop smiling! Eddie did such an amazing job. He was like a fly on the wall; I didn’t realise he was shooting half of the time.”

A big congratulations to you both Kate and Caleb. Thank you for sharing your day with us. Thank you also to Jason Corroto for sharing today’s celebration.