Brooke and Tyler’s wedding was centred around warmth, through details like their autumnal flowers and cosy Persian rugs at their ceremony. But also through the people that were there for them on the day – and beforehand. The couple’s friends provided incredible support leading up to their wedding day, even finding them a new venue, as COVID-19 restrictions had affected their original plans. The romance, the friendship and all the love on Brooke and Tyler’s wedding day was expertly captured by photographers Coast & Pines.

But first, let’s rewind and go back to where it all began. The couple first met at the wedding of mutual friends. Tyler came up to Brooke and just chatted like they had been friends forever. “We talked all night and boogied down,” says Brooke. “The next day, Tyler texted me to hang out again and that was the start of our life together.”

And the proposal? Tyler and Brooke were on a road trip with friends up in Sydney’s Northern Beaches. “I kind of thought he might propose somewhere along the way, but it was about day four of staying with friends in Manly and that morning I decided it wasn’t happening,” says Brooke. “Little did I know all our beautiful mates were helping set up Tyler’s proposal while we were out the whole rest of the day.”

After a day of successful distractions, the couple headed to Palm Beach where they were meeting  friends for dinner – at least that’s what Brooke thought! “As we drove down, Tyler wanted to show me a place he’d been told about – standard road trip cover,” says Brooke. “We walked down to the lookout that overlooked all of the Northern Beaches. Our friends, Malekey, Bronte and Jimmy, had set up candles as we walked down, as well as blankets and pillows, and a few nibbles and a celebratory bottle of scotch. I was so surprised and very overwhelmed by it all. Ty asked, we cried and then our friends came out of the bushes to come hug us and have a couple drinks while the sun disappeared.”

Their wedding was held on April 17, 2021, with the ceremony at Shoreham Reserve and the reception at an Airbnb in St. Andrew’s Beach.

Flowers were such an important element on Brooke and Tyler’s day and determined the wedding’s colour palette and styling. Holly Ginnane was their florist and the couple say she nailed everything.

“We had a lot of back and forth emails about what she was creating for us and she knew exactly what we wanted and exactly how to get there,” explains Brooke. “The colours were important. We wanted warmth, and as it was autumn, the flowers that were available definitely did the job. Holly worked with a lot of reds, pinks and oranges with hints of blue (to match my nails – which was a lovely little detail) and we adored it. She made an installation for our ceremony that we got to take to our reception that was gorgeous! It matched our Persian rugs perfectly and really complemented our outside space. Just a dream of a florist, we were so lucky.”

Walking down the aisle was something Brooke went back and forth about doing. The couple eventually decided she would, but with a twist! “We saw it less as a ‘giving away’ but more of a first-look, as well as a way of including more of our closest chosen family,” says Brooke. “Our really close friends have been by our side for such a long time, and for myself some very important times. I had Jesse walk me down the aisle to Ty, as he has always been someone I, we, can rely on – much like a kind big brother.” Brooke walked down to a Kingdom melody instrumental – ‘Our Strength, Our Hope, Our Confidence’ covered by Leonardo Hespanha.

The ceremony was beautiful, light and warm, and Brooke and Tyler were surrounded by “the biggest smiles from the sweetest faces.”

“We had our talk spoken by a family friend and a Brother in our congregation, all words from the Bible,” says Brooke. “We wanted to honour our union with as much respect to the Holy marital arrangement as we could.”

The couple say the moments after they said “I do” were extremely special as they were so excited, relieved and just happy to be married to one another!

Vanessa and Linden of Coast & Pines were behind the camera on the day. “Right from our first Zoom call we could tell that what they would produce exactly what we wanted,” says Brooke. “Our wedding was captured exactly as it was and the images reflected everything our day was. I’m not very confident at all in front of the camera, but having our engagement session with Vanessa and Linden really made me more comfortable, Tyler too. It made such a difference to the experience. Art aside, they are so lovely and I can completely recommend them for your intimate wedding or elopement day! They are beautiful and they’re ability to master their craft is incredible.”

Planning a wedding in a pandemic meant that bridal fittings and dress shopping were difficult. Brooke turned to online shopping and after many purchases and returns, she found her dream dress by Bec + Bridge.

Tyler wore a black and white and grey jacket with a white linen shirt, woven straight black tie and black trousers, all from Connor. “He really looked amazing. It felt classic. And with my sleek almost silk-looking dress and veil, we paired really well,” says Brooke.

Tyler also included a small tie pin detail: a delicate silver bee. “On his wedding ring is also a matching bee – both representing when he calls me ‘B’. This detail was so gentle and subtle but so many people, and myself included, adored it.”

Before their reception, Brooke and Tyler arranged to read handwritten notes to each other about their love and promises for their future together. “That was by far my favourite moment of the day,” says Brooke. “Just us with each other. We got pretty emotional and held each other. It was beautiful having those alone moments together to make the day fully feel like our own.”

During their portrait session, Brooke popped on a green velvet jacket… Tyler’s green jacket he wore on their first date! Brooke says having the jacket in their wedding photos really was a full circle moment.

The reception was the hardest part of the couple’s wedding planning due to the constant changing of COVID-19 restrictions. “We had a venue booked a few months before our date and due to factors out of our control they canceled well within two weeks of our date,” explains Brooke. “This wasn’t the easiest news to hear but we went out for dinner and figured it out.”

With mountains and mountains of help and calls around to buckets of people, Brooke and Tyler’s friends and family friends found and helped them secure an Airbnb that would allow them to get married and have a small party.

“We made the best out of the situation,” says Brooke. “Without the hours and days of hard, heartfelt work our friends did, we don’t know what would have hooked but it definitely would not have nearly been the day it was. We are eternally grateful.”

Their ceremony was completely DIY, with Brooke and Tyler’s amazing friends putting many hours into the food, the flowers, the cleaning and the decorations.

The morning before the wedding day, Brooke and her two closest friends went to South Melbourne Market to get buckets of flowers to fill the reception. “We set a lot of those up the day before as well as setting up the rest of the venue,” says Brooke. While the flowers were being set up, a few more friends cut up and prepared the food and drinks. Tyler and Brooke made and painted signs, banners and old mid-century mirrors.

The couple’s friends Jordy and Jesse wrote a joint speech for their wedding. “It was beautiful and funny and exactly everything we could have wanted,” says Brooke. “However, right in the middle of the speech, one of the candles on the centre platter table fell and set some napkins on fire. Jordy screamed ‘FIRE!’ and it took a few seconds for us all to register but we safely put it out!”

For their first dance, the couple chose ‘Heartbeats’ by José González. “We chose this song for its memory. A few years ago I was leaving for Japan and South Korea, the night before I left (merely hours before I had my flight booked), Tyler and I, along with our friends, were together. The night was getting to be the morning and I was about to leave to go home without Ty. The lights were off and we were listening to music and this song came on. We just grabbed each other a started to slow dance – in the same way of our first dance.”

Their advice for those planning a wedding? Just milk the timeline! Make the whole day, even the whole weekend be full of love for each other as your married life begins. “Add extra special things to your day or even the day before! All those little extra things stand out more than anything.”

Congratulations on your beautiful wedding and your marriage, Brooke and Tyler! Thank you so much for sharing your story and the details of your incredible day with us. We also think you have the best friends in the whole world! Also, a huge thank you to Coast & Pines for sharing these stunning images.