Who wouldn’t be swept away by the magic that is Broome? Chloe and Lachlan certainly were, even relocating to the stunning location prior to their wedding, which was planned to be held there with their nearest and dearest. And of course, as is customary of the last few years, COVID swooped in and uprooted many of the couple’s wedding plans. However, the duo did not let the virus or the disruption of their original plans dictate what their dream day would eventually look like! Chloe tells their wedding planning story and shares their stunning day in Chloe & Lachlan’s Intimate & Fairy Light-Filled Broome Wedding, captured by Julia Rau Photography… 

Lachlan and I got engaged on our 10 year anniversary in 2019. We had planned our second holiday to Broome to be just an enjoyable break from Melbourne winter. Little did I know that our trip was going to have a little bit more excitement.Lachlan had planned for us to arrive at the races via helicopter, which when he told me about I thought was a massive waste of time and money. What I didn’t know is that he had planned a scenic flight that included him asking me to marry him. As we flew back down over cable beach and I was happily looking for whales and turtles, Lachlan asked me where I wanted to get married, I turned around to explain to Locky that it’s hard to plan a wedding when your not engaged, and Locky was sitting behind me holding a ring. The biggest surprise of my life!

By the time we got back to Melbourne, the wedding was pretty much planned, everything was booked for 14 September 2020 in Broome. Sure enough, the new year rolls around and COVID lands on our shores. We held out hope that the borders in WA would open up in time but it was not meant to be. So when we postponed our wedding we decided that nothing was going to stop us from getting married and we were going to keep our anniversary date of 17 August. So we wait. In the meantime, we decide that the allure of Broome is too strong and when Locky is offered a position at Broome Airport we jump at it, pack up and sell our Melbourne house and move across the country. Wedding dress and suit packed safely in our shipping container along with the rest of our lives.

So it’s now April 2021, we are living in Broome, the plans for the wedding are still the same and it’s all looking good. The borders were opening and things were going back to normal. It was looking like all of our friends and family were going to be able to come over to WA. Then there is an outbreak in Melbourne in June and everything is thrown into the air.It came down to the wire, we were so close to having the border open and all of our guests being able to come over to WA. 9 days before the wedding and Victoria had another case. That was it, we were down to our 6 local guests and my mum and dad who had packed up in July and drove across the country to be there (absolute legends, were not missing the wedding for anything!).

So 9 days out we rearranged our entire reception to downsize it to the 10 of us. Lucky we didn’t have to change much else except for the number of chairs at the ceremony and arrange for it to be live-streamed (and got it recorded, so we have that forever). It’s the day before, finally, we have moved into our suite at Cable Beach Club, the dress and suits have been picked up from the dry cleaners and we can finally relax. The videographer has confirmed that he will be able to live stream the ceremony and had sent through the link to share. We know that our guests will be there no matter what.

I started getting ready around 9 am, Locky and my dad did some last-minute running around and hair cuts. Then all of a sudden the photographer was on her way, the flowers had been delivered and it was go time!

I had booked two weekends’ worth of appointments at numerous bridal shops to try on dresses around Melbourne. I tried to keep an open mind and not have too much of an idea in my head before I started. I tried on a lot of dresses of all varying shapes, sizes, styles, some with tulle some without. At the end of the first day, I kept going to back to one particular style. Every time I put a dress on that was that style it just felt right. When I tried on the dress that I would end up buying, I just felt right, and I could see myself spending my wedding day in it. It sounds silly, but I kept trying these lacey, tulle gowns and I just felt stupid and out of place, uncomfortable in them. That’s how I just knew that the dress, from Luv Bridal, was THE dress.

I had about 1000 inspiration pictures of exactly what I wanted for the flowers so it was easy. The dark greens and light grey foliage and then white flowers and all sizes. So fresh, beautiful, and clean, and The Broome Florist created them beautifully.

We organised to do about 45 minutes of photos before the ceremony around the grounds of Cable Beach Club, which included our first look photos. We are so glad we did this. It was so nice to capture the moments and then getting in some photos before the ceremony meant we could relax into the day as a couple. We separated briefly so I could make the walk down the shortened aisle and then had the most magical ceremony.

Lachlan was not planning on wearing a suit at all. Being in Broome his idea was nice slacks and a white shirt. I was fine with this. Then one day we walked into the suit shop to try on a tux Lachlan needed to hire for a black-tie dinner. The suit was on a mannequin front and centre. As soon as Lachlan saw it, he just pointed and said, “I’ll wear that to the wedding”, and it was done, that was what he was wearing, exactly as they had dressed the mannequin, down to the shoes, socks, and bow tie. So that was a very easy experience. And in hindsight thank god we went for the suit option – it looked amazing and I know Lachlan loved the look.

 

We each wrote our own vows and listening to us both saying the same things back to each confirmed we were soul mates, best friends, and partners for life. Having a small number of guests means that we had plenty of time to enjoy time with them after the ceremony.

We had stayed at Cable Beach Club a few times so we knew that getting married there would be so special and easy. They took care of almost everything and worked with us to make the day exactly what we wanted. We had our own menu created for the night, including antipasto, mains, and mini magnums for dessert, no cake or fancy dessert, just ice-creams that everyone enjoys! They also facilitated all the arrangements for our reception to be down on the Cable Beach Amphitheater.

We headed out to Gantheaume Point to capture those beautiful golden hour photos. So glad we did this, the photos turned out amazing. Well worth losing some time to travel.

Our photographer, Julia Rau, is hands down the best. She had us organised and on a schedule and pretty much set out our day. We had no idea about times and what would work until we spoke to Julia. Obviously, she was all over the sunset photos and working back from there. And as you can see it totally paid off because the photos are spectacular.

After our sunset photoshoot, we returned to the Cable Beach Amphitheater where our modified reception awaited. It was everything I actually ever wanted. Fairy lights, flowing drinks, palms, and dancing until we got shut down. The benefit of having only a few guests means we didn’t waste any time trying to get around and say hello to 60 guests. We all sat at the same table for dinner and then danced the night away. Desert was our Oreo wedding “cake” and magnum ice creams.

One of our favourite details from the day was definitely our reception and those fairy lights. It wasn’t what we had originally planned so I cannot thank Ash from A Plus Events enough for coming up with the backup plan that was my dream reception.

The day is such a blur just like they say – it all goes too fast and you have to try to find time to soak it all in. What was looking like a wedding that could have been a flop without guests actually turned into the greatest night of our lives, filled with love and joy, and our intimate dinner party was actually the perfect way to top off an amazing day!

Of course, none of that is possible with the help of the best suppliers in the business. We are so lucky that we chose the best vendors in town to take care of everything.

Thank you Chloe & Lachlan for sharing such an incredibly romantic and lovely wedding with us! And to Julia Rau for allowing us to share their stunning photos.