Kahlia & Luke’ Elegant and Relaxed Wedding In Ewingsdale, Byron Bay

Today’s gorgeous wedding is so beautiful in its simplicity and sentimentality. Kahlia and Luke, who met at high school when they were 16, had a relaxed ceremony at Kahlia’s family’s fig tree farm, then celebrated with their loved ones at a reception at Ewingsdale Hall where Kahlia’s grandparents had married over five decades earlier. Kahlia and Luke’s dream day came to life thanks to talents of Byron’s best and brightest vendors, and was captured by Quince and Mulberry. Below, Kahlia shares how the day unfolded and what her favourite details were.

We we married on February 29 at Ewingsdale, Byron Bay. For our wedding, Luke and I wanted something relaxed and fun, which represented exactly who we are as a couple. Our dream wedding was to have a beautiful relaxed ceremony followed by a big party with all our family and friends with plenty of food and beers.

I fell in love with my dress at Brides Desire in Brisbane. The dress was made by Wendy Sullivan Designs and it could not have been more perfect for me from the second I put it on. I had always thought I would wear a fitted long-sleeved lace gown, but when I put on my gown with the full skirt and tight corset detail I was in love and nothing could compare.

From the minute Luke spoke about his wedding suit, he expressed his desire to wear a white jacket, and after numerous very painful shopping trips we finally came across Luke’s Jack London suit and he knew it was perfect.

The ceremony was held under a large figtree on my family farm in Ewingsdale where I grew up and where my parents and grandparents still reside today. We pretty much gave the fig tree under which the ceremony was held a head to toe makeover with Luke, my dad and grandfather. We removed all the roots, flattened the area and woodchipped the whole thing and it ended up stunning!

I chose to walk down the aisle to ‘Stand by Me’ by Ben E. King played by the incredibly talented Jamie Sullivan as it’s catchy and fun, which went perfectly with the relaxed vibe of our wedding. Plus, it just makes you smile every time.

My bridal party consisted of my sister Hannah as my maid of honour, my two sister-in-laws Hayley and Courtney, and my best friend Joanna. Luke had his cousin and best friend Logan as his best man, and his two cousins Jared and Brody (brothers) and high school best friend Zac as his groomsmen.

The main request for our ceremony was for it to be filled with love and fun and that’s exactly what we got. Our ceremony was incredibly relaxed with myself, Luke and our bridal party laughing and joking throughout. The whole wedding we were in stitches. However, Luke and I decided to write our own vows, which was incredibly special and beautiful to the point we both caught ourselves crying whilst trying to get through them.

My favourite photograph of the day has to be one of the ones of Luke and I walking back down the aisle as we were announced as husband and wife for the first time, covered in dried flower confetti. I also love this photo as you can see both my grandparents smiling and throwing flowers in the bottom corner

Our bouquets were made by the AMAZING Caroline from Pikt. I went to Caroline with a few rough photos of what I wanted with no real idea of what my bouquet was going to look like on the day, but it was better then I could have dreamed of! Caroline also created the girls’ beautiful bouquets of white roses and the boys’ button holes.

The reception was held in the grounds of the Ewingsdale Hall where my grandparents were married exactly 53 years and five days earlier.

Our table decorations were created by myself, my mother, my mother-in-law and my grandmother, the day before the wedding. We used flowers we collected from local farmers markets and everyone’s gardens.

My favourite detail from the day had to be my grandfather’s speech in which he announced the cutting of the cake. During the speech he told the story of his and my grandmother’s wedding at the exact same spot nearly 53 years to the day prior. He also presented us with a knife to cut our wedding cake, which was the same knife they used on their wedding day. It still makes me tear up to think of it now.

The main thing for me was getting married at the place I grew up and which holds hundreds of years of history within my family. Also to be surrounded by every single person we love and all drink, dance and celebrate was more then we could have ever asked for.

I cannot even express how amazing Kate from Quince and Mulberry is! Every photo is stunning and captures us, our bridal party, family and friends perfectly. Kate was patient, knowledgeable, relaxed and kind, and the photos are more then I could ever ask for.

My advice for future newlyweds would be to enjoy yourself! We heard this time and time again that the day goes so fast but it really does, and all the little things you worry about the whole way up to the big day seem so insignificant when you are standing there with the love of your life and celebrating with everyone you love.

Kahlia & Luke’s wedding video by Nathan Prostamo

Our videographer Nathan Prostamo created us the most absolutely incredible wedding video I could ever have asked for. Nathan is my best friend and my bridesmaid Joanna’s partner. He offered to film our wedding for us and we will be forever grateful as its one of the best videos I’ve ever seen and the fact its made by him is even more special.