It was natural Shae and Khyl chose the seaside for their wedding, the pair, who have spent much of their time down by the sea (including living in Kiama when Khyl popped the question), hold the region close to their heart.

Their wedding embraced everything old and new. A church ceremony, a seaside photos session, and a candlelight wedding reception that included a very packed dance floor (and aren’t WWE all thankful COVID restrictions saw the dancefloor limit lift to 50 guests right before their wedding!) This is a story captured beautifully by KLD Photography, so sit back, relax and settle in for their story.

Shae starts it all off “We met on Tinder! He asked me out on a date (dinner/movies) the deal was he would pick the restaurant and movie and pay if I drove out to his area!”

Many moons later, Khyl decided to pop the question at a favourite local spot “We had just moved down to Kiama and he took me on a walk up to Saddleback Mountain. He took me to the lookout and asked me what the best part of 2018 was. I said buying a house and moving in with him. I then asked him what his best part of 2018 was and he said it’s about to happen… and then got down on one knee! He organized my best friend to be hiding in the bushes to capture the moment and take photos for us as well.”

Kyhl chose a suit from MJ Bale “He tried three different suits on and thought he looked smoking in the navy blue suit!” laughs Shae.

 

Shae prepared for the day in the same robe her grandmother also got ready on her wedding day. She also pinned her great great great grandmother’s jade brooch from 1887 to her gown, following family tradition.

Jade wore a Rachel Rose gown from Storybook Bridal. She paired it with an overskirt and veil from Karen Willis Holmes and shoes from Christian Louboutin. “I wore a Rachel Rose gown with a Kwh skirt and veil for the ceremony and took the veil and skirt off for the reception! I bought these at Storybook Bridal in Gerringong.
It was perfect! It wasn’t a dress I ever thought I would wear but I tried it on and fell in love with it! It was an amazing experience with champagne and all, felt like a fairytale.  I had always wanted a pair of Christian Louboutin’s and thought my wedding day was the perfect time to spoil myself!”

The stunning floral arrangement by Emily Nicole Florals, tied together with the cream, blush and rust tones of the day “I knew her from where I grew up and she created amazing arrangements! I told her the rust theme for colours and let her choose whatever flowers she felt fit the theme!

Shae was accompanied down the aisle by her stepfather. She tells “My younger sister sang while I walked down the aisle with my step-dad who has been in my life since I was two. I chose to walk down the aisle to ‘One of a kind’ by Rohan Keating. I heard this song one morning when hanging out laundry and got goosebumps and instantly thought of my late grandfather who is Irish!”

The couple wanted a traditional church ceremony “we are both Catholic and wanted to get married in a traditional Catholic Church and this church was stunning and close to our reception.” says Shae of the decision to use St. Joseph’s Catholic Church Bulli.

“The ceremony went great! We chose just the standard readings the priest recommended and asked my brother and Khyl’s two sisters to do the readings for us to ensure all of our siblings were included in the wedding.
I wanted it to have a traditional feeling to it which is why I had a cathedral veil and the big puffy skirt! We did opt for the shorter sacrament however due to Covid and not wanting everyone in the church together for longer than necessary.”

Of their chosen photographer, Shae raves “KLD photography was Amazing, she made us all feel very at ease with the photos and nothing was too difficult for her.”

Love Shae’s gorgeous updo? It was the work of  Beautique Beauty, a standout vendor for the bride.  “My hair stylist is someone I know personally and we had been discussing my wedding hair since before I even got engaged! I let her have full control over my wedding hair and she killed it!! It was amazing and looked great well into the night.

“On the day just breathe!” advises Shae ” Whatever’s going to happen will happen and the day will be magical regardless as it’s the day you get to marry the love of your life!”

Shae and Khyl held their reception at Headlands Hotel.  “We loved how you can see the ocean one way and the mountain range the other! ” raves Shae “We loved that the venue was recently remodelled and had a hotel on-site for our guests who were coming from Brisbane, Melbourne, Port Macquarie, Richmond and Camden.”

The reception was filled with candlelight, and handmade favours, Shae and herself  “Khyl is obsessed with mints so I bought test tubes, tic tacs and made tags saying ‘Mint to be’ Shae and Khyl 27.03.21. I also made Thank you stickers for the cake boxes for our guests to take home.” And they even paid homage to lost loved ones “We made a memorial table for my Pop, Khyls Uncle, his Cousin and His Aunty who had passed away 4 weeks before our wedding. We had a special sign created and printed photos of them to ensure they were included in our wedding.”

Shae’s favourite moment of the day? “Dancing into the reception to “It was all a dream” by Biggie Smalls which is our favourite song we like to rap to together! It was such a party and everyone was dancing and happy”. The entrance was also Khyl’s most memorable moment “The time we were standing on the stairs waiting to be introduced into the reception and we just got to take it in and get excited for the formalities to be over!

The newlywed’s first dace? The choice of Khyl, explains Shae “I let Khyl choose the first dance song! He chose ‘The book of love’ by Peter Gabriel. He heard it on a season finale of Scrubs and just loved the sound of it!”

Shae and Khyl hired Hidden Leaf Productions to capture a beautiful film of their day.

A big beautiful congratulations to the nelwwyeds1 Thank you for sharing your beautiful story with us. Thank you to KLD Photography for sharing today’s beautiful celebration.