Country Boho Murwillumbah Wedding

Kirra & Je

It was torrential rain on Kirra & Je’s wedding day, much different to the outdoor celebration they had planned in beautiful Murwillumbah. And yet, the rain, pouring down as these two said their vows, remains one of their very favourite memories.

And luckily for them, Stone & Wool Photography was also invited along for the day – and today we’re thrilled to share all the wonderful images he captured! This is a tale that is so very much about the story, of how the best moments happen when everything is a little unexpected.

It seems the friends of Kirra and Je knew they’d be a great match before they did! Kirra remembering the story of how they met. “We met at a friend’s house party. He was a friend of my friend’s boyfriend. All my friends were trying to set me up with Je, but I didn’t want anything to do with him initially. Later that night we began talking as Je was friends with my cousin down south as they went to school together before he moved to the Gold Coast.”

It was the night of celebration for Je’s 21st birthday that set the scene for him to pop the question. “My family and family friends had booked a cruise for Je’s 21st birthday. The first night I was having a bath to relax and Je informed me that my parents wanted to meet to get photos. I asked Je to find me something to wear, he picks me jeans. I happily decided to wear my Camilla dress, to be a bit more dressed up. My sister in law & I were running late for our 6 o’clock meeting time. We have taken our shoes off to run down the corridor. We get there, my dad is waiting to get a picture with me, we face out to the ocean. Picture is taken, I turn around and sit down on the chair to put my shoes on and look up to see Je on one knee. I am stunned and don’t hear or answer anything. He repeated multiple times. All I say is “I LOVE YOU”, I later realised I never said yes that night.”

Kirra found her dream dress second hand, sharing “Initially I wanted something tight and Lacy, I planned a day with the most important people to go to a beautiful dress shop. I go and try on my dream dress to realise that is not the ideal dress that I would feel beautiful and comfortable on the day. In the end, I decided to search Gumtree and found my dream dress second-hand, from a beautiful previous bride. It had a lace top, with a lower back and then the puffy bottom. Absolutely flattering and elegant.”

Kirra enlisted the help of her mum to create the floral details for the day. “For our wedding, my mum offered to create the flower bouquets. I was hesitant to begin, she ordered the flowers and the day before the wedding we went and picked them up. They were stunning, native flowers from our area. Later that night we went through and picked which flowers we wanted in our bouquet, starting with the bride with the centre of my bouquet being lettuce (favourite feature along with the colours)”

For the processional, the bride chose Ed Sheeran’s “Tenerife Sea” just hours before she walked down the aisle with her father.

The best-laid plans, went slightly awry thanks to Mother Nature tells the bride. “When we planned the wedding I had picked a beautiful spot outside looking at the amazing mountains. The wedding day was beautifully warm and sunny for a winter day. As we are getting in the car to go to the ceremony my dad informs me that the ceremony has been moved inside due to a small amount of rain.

On the seven-minute drive to the ceremony for our house, the small rain turns into torrential rain. My dad parks the car and opens the door straight into a massive puddle. The walk to the altar was a whole five steps. I was feeling so anxious about talking and standing in front of so many people. But seeing my partner standing there settled my nerves. He stated that he was extremely emotional when we first drove up but by the time I got out of the car he was back to normal and not so emotional. We had no readings as I wanted a very quick ceremony.”

Kirra shares, honestly “To be honest I didn’t enjoy planning the wedding, I am very indecisive and attempted to change the wedding plans every week. My mom had to keep me on track with the style and type of wedding we were having. I way more enjoyed the day than planning the wedding.”

Kirra and Je were lucky enough to have friends offer up their private Murwillumbah property for the couple’s nuptials. Kirra says “I, Kirra, am very indecisive and couldn’t find the perfect venue for our wedding. Our family friends, Robert and Wendy who were there when I was proposed to, offered their unfinished shed at the back of their private property that sat at the bottom of the mountains. To get ready for the wedding, our family, Robert and Wendy had to create and finalise the deck and partially finish their shed.”

Kirra and Je loved their photographer. “Our photographer was truly amazing. I was stressing when he rocked up but he immediately put me at ease and just started snapping photos, he made such an effort to just get photos of us naturally, either playing with our puppies or my niece or nephew together. Then as the day progressed he just so gracefully slid into spots to ensure that he captured every single moment that was had at the party. Due to the rain, we were very limited in areas that we could shoot, but he made the experience fun and enjoyable for all guests and bridal party members. I did not hear the end from guests at how friendly and professional he was.”

“I, Kirra seriously find it had to pick a favourite part. From holding hands at the altar as the rain poured down and not being able to hear the celebrant. To walking and spinning (on the) the rain drenched fields, watching the party-goers enjoy themselves. To the speech that my bridesmaid did, hands down the best speech. To marrying the man of my dreams and spending the day falling more in love with him as he holds my heavy damp dress off the ground as we walk through mud, grass and other not so nice things.”

After dark, the reception was lit with candles, in keeping with the minimal, simple styling of the day. “I believe that our wedding was very simple and nothing too special happened, we just wanted to make sure that the friends and family that attended our day had the best time ever. We ensured that this was a standing and roaming function, due to our engagement party being a formal sit down event with no one sitting down but instead huddling together around bars etc.”

The first dance? A sentimental choice for Kirra, who shares “Our first dance song was “Can’t Help Falling In Love” by Elvis Presley, this was a nod to my Nana who had passed away. He was her favourite and we used to watch his films together when I was younger. Je and I danced solo for about a minute before we each went and got our parent to dance with and so on until everyone at the party was dancing with us.”

To make sure guests stayed warm on a chilly night, a bonfire was a must! Kirra explaining “We made sure that everyone would be warm enough through having a massive bonfire and double fire on the deck.”