I really have no idea where to start with Felicity and Matt’s wedding day. Is it Felicity’s drop-dead gorgeous black ballgown? Is it her bouquet that is incredible both in size, hue and design? Is it the fact that these two had their wedding plans squashed and decided to get hitched anyway?

No matter what it is, I know you’re going to agree with me, that these two, captured by Cassandra Faye Photography, are an utter joy and such a celebration that makes the hell of 2020, well – almost worth it.

“We had a long engagement of two years and thought that may have needed to be extended with Covid postponements” explains Felicity. “At this stage, we were discussing the idea of do we wait or jump in and elope. We wanted something unique, personal, fun and achievable within the covid lockdown restrictions. Our original wedding plan of 120 guests went out the door when our original venue could not provide a space big enough for social distancing. We would not change our elopement at all! Everything felt authentic to us, right down to Matt’s Zombie socks!

We decided to get married on our original date 20.11.20 (we also had our wedding rings engraved with the original date) so we could keep our fabulous team of suppliers. As Victoria had travel restrictions of 5kms in place for a long time, we decided to marry in a beautiful park a short stroll from home, with our parents as witnesses.”

It has been many years in the making for the pair, who met as teenagers. “We have been long-time friends since we were 15, meeting at a mutual friend’s birthday party.”

And the bride wore black! “I knew I wanted something not traditional” she explains. “Most people would have expected me to be in a white dress or perhaps a pink one. I am such a colourful, happy girl and the choice of black was so striking!! Lyn from Leah S Designs in Hallam made me feel so comfortable. With restrictions in place, not being able to take a bride tribe for support or advice made it such an intimate experience. I was thankful Mum was able to come along and see the dress when it arrived for fittings.”

You might think by wearing black, Felicity was opposed to tradition – not at all! “I followed something old, new and borrowed. I wore my nan’s engagement ring. My bouquet was also adorned with photo charms of my grandparents and brother Troy who passed.”

Matt chose pieces from Joe Black for the day. The groom noting “We tried numerous online attempts of buying suit jackets as all stores were closed. One that arrived happened to fit Felicity’s dad perfectly. I was always looking for something with texture but struggled to find something with limited shopping. Thankfully Joe Black came through with the perfect look. Matched with some black jeans and a green shirt, the whole outfit came together. A close friend made a tie for me and matching facemasks.”

Felicity walked down the aisle, arm in arm with her father to “Can’t take my eyes off you” by Joseph Vincent.

No bridesmaids, no groomsmen, just these two. “We both had a wedding party that was unfortunately unable to attend the day. Together we were each other’s biggest support on the day.”

“We have so many favourite special moments of the day” notes Felicity. “Having our parents there to witness our celebration. Being able to call each other husband and wife. Our dog Luna being there for photos and looking super cute in her floral collar. Having our photos taken and feeling like silly, loved up teenagers. All the special text messages, phone calls and thoughtful gifts that arrived on our wedding day. The support we received was amazing.”

One of Felicity and Matt’s favourite part of the ceremony? Matt remembers “The main special detail was Felicity secretly organising messages from our siblings for our celebrant Trish to read out. Family is such an important part of our daily life and with siblings in QLD and WA unfortunately, with travel restrictions, this was the next best thing we could do.”

The flowers were an incredibly important part of the day and were mostly styled by the bride through her work at Desflora. She shares  “The flowers!! I am so lucky to work at Desflora, a florist specializing in artificial flowers. I made my hair clip, the buttonholes, corsages and aisle decorations but left the creation of my gigantic bouquet to my boss. I had a special box out the back where every delivery we received I’d go “Oooh I love that.” I wanted a modern version of a cascade that was bigger than anything we have ever created. The flowers really popped against my black wedding dress. We now call it, The Felicity. The flowers on our wedding cake (made by Cake for Days) also matched into my bouquet.”

Felicity and Matt were really thrilled with their choice of a photographer. “Cassie photographed one of our close friends’ wedding about four years ago” explains Felicity. “As a bridesmaid, I knew how she worked, loved her images and as soon as we were engaged we booked with her! So thankful for all her communication and how comfortable she made us feel in front of the camera.”

“We didn’t have an opportunity to have a traditional first dance – but did a twirl in my dress when we were getting our photos taken.”

The newlyweds chose to celebrate their marriage with a private dinner. “We had our first dinner as a married couple at one of our favourite Italian restaurant, Ercolano in Patterson Lakes.”

Can’t get enough of these two? Wait until you see their wedding film captured by All My Wednesdays. Felicity shares “We loved watching Mardy from Allmywednesdays and Cassie, our photographer work together! They were fab. Honestly, all vendors we used on the day went above and beyond; especially being so flexible and supportive during covid.”

A big congratulations to the newlyweds! Thank you so much for sharing your day with us. Thank you also goes to Cassandra Faye Photography for sharing this beauty with us!