From seeing each other on the morning of their wedding “Seeing Ash, just to tell one another how much we love each other and to calm each other’s nerves. was such a highlight” to the Metallica first dance and the women-centric vendor team Bec and Ash made sure that not only was their day reflective of their own personal style but that it was reflective of their own personal values.

And they carried that through, right down to the scent, tells Bec, “Our day was “Beautiful middle of nowhere rock romance that just oozes love and luxe vibes”.  Every element was chosen thoughtfully from the colour palette to the lighting, the textiles and even down to the music for each playlist (alternative/rock if you’re wondering); I was very particular with my vision. I worked with a local Rockhampton chandler, Flamin’ Mood Candles (thanks for being so patient with me Jo), to choose a scent for the wedding, going with tobacco, patchouli and leather hand-poured candles in vintage glass wear so that the guests could connect a scent with what they were seeing.”

From scented candles to stunning bouquets, from deep black, velvet cardstock, to the candlelit reception, every detail echoed the moody, romantic theme Bec and Ash dreamt of. And today, we get to share it all, in beautiful detail thanks to the photographs by Dani Drury.

It was while working together on a mine site that Bec and Ash met, shares Bec “We met at a mine site where we both worked in Maintenance, me as a Maintenance Planner and Ash as a Digger Fitter. I had bronchitis and decided to work throughout the night while my team was away so there was no chance of making anyone sick and we ran into each other in the lunchroom.

I had seen previously seen this blonde surfy looking guy around the building but I had made a presumption that he was just a pretty boy from the Gold Coast, probably not much to him (eek! I still feel so bad about that) but after taking the time to actually meet properly and talk to him we discovered that we both had so much in common: a love of travel, heavy metal and food and from that point on we were inseparable!”

Ash honoured Bec’s love of all things green when he decided to pop the question. “Ash, knowing that I love gardening and being amongst nature, took me on a trip into Brisbane for the day from the Gold Coast; he wanted to show me the Roma Street Parklands. We wandered by the lake, took in all the beautifully designed gardens and the towering trees and made our way to this incredible arrangement of flowers, the ground covered in purple, white and green. We stopped because he said that he wanted to talk to me about something and I took my attention away from the flowers to look at him and something wasn’t right, he was breathing really heavy and becoming choked up. I asked him if everything thing was ok, I thought he was having some sort of heart failure and when he got down on one knee I actually thought he was collapsing. He told me that I was the love of his life and that couldn’t and didn’t ever want to imagine his life without me and asked me to marry him and of course, I said yes!”

Ash wore black, from Brisbane tailor  Wil Valor. “Ash had a simple, traditional yet tailored 5 piece black suit made at Wil Valor, Brisbane” says Bec. “He wore black formal dress shoes (with Mario Bros dress socks of course) and I gifted him his cufflinks on our wedding day.”

Getting ready, surrounded by her favourite people, is something Bec will never forget. “I loved getting ready for the big day with some of the most important women in my life, my mum Joan, my two best friends Courtney and Hannah and my mother-in-law Sue. I loved having my bridesmaids Courtney and Hannah by my side helping me make decisions when I was feeling overwhelmed brought us even closer together. Planning the entire thing long-distance and having those two for support was my favourite part of planning the wedding.”

Bec found her dream gown at Wendy Makin. She tells “I wanted something sleek and simple for my wedding dress, nothing with lace or any adornments that would take away from the overall silhouette of the gown.

I was originally going to go wedding dress shopping in Brisbane but with the constant looming threat of lockdowns due to Covid, I decided to try somewhere a bit more local. After hearing so many good things about Gladstone Bridal Boutique I rang them to make an appointment. On the phone I explained to them what exactly I was looking for and when I arrived they had dresses waiting for me and it was the first one I tried on, a classic white, one-shouldered Wendy Makin gown and I was in love straight away!

I wanted the feature to be my red lips and Christie Nicolaides earrings and the dress complimented it perfectly. I wore simple clear shoes and a ‘borrowed’ family heirloom ring from my mum.”

The Church Events in Rockhampton had just the atmosphere Bec and Ash wanted for their wedding, Bec explained “Ash and I had looked at potentially having our wedding in Brisbane as it would have been fairly easy for everyone to get to but I just didn’t get that warm, inviting feeling at any of the venues I looked at. I had remembered a friend of mine had, a couple of years before, been married at The Church in my hometown of Rockhampton and just the ambience from the photos alone was incredible so I reached out to Georgina (the owner) and luckily she had a couple of dates left that year available (mind you this was a year out, that place books out fast).

We were always looking for somewhere to host not only the ceremony but also the reception as I didn’t want the guests (who were mostly from out of town) to have to go look for something to do while the wedding party was off getting photos. In the gorgeous courtyard outside we had nibbles and drinks with live music for our guests to relax and get to know one another before we arrived back.”

The scene was set with moody floral details by Lilly & Lotus. Says Bec “I had organised a meeting with Danielle Hempseed who I was interested in hiring as our Celebrant and we had the meeting at her store, Lilly & Lotus, which turned out to be a florist as well! Talk about luck! After all of the celebrant talk was out of the way we started talking flowers and I pulled out my trusty wedding planner diary where I had meticulously cut and pasted wedding flowers that I felt fit with the theme of the wedding and Danielle could see my vision exactly. I completely entrusted her with the flowers, only guiding on colours and shape and the result was breathtaking. Each bouquet was a mix of burgundy, gold and black with deep green foliage, my bouquet long-stemmed and the bridesmaids short.”

“I walked down the aisle to the acoustic guitar riff from the song “3 Libras” from A Perfect Circle (if you’re a fan you’ll know which one I mean),” remembers Bec. “Kyle from Kyle & Celeste Acoustic Duo (who we hired to play the entire day) did an amazing job.”

Says Ash ” My favourite part of the day was how beautiful Bec looked walking down the aisle, I looked up and saw her and she took my breath away. From the moment I arrived at the Church to the end of the night, I could see right in front of me every little thing Bec had planned and seeing it all fall into place made me so proud of everything she had done for us.

It’s so true what everyone says, the day goes so so quick and it was over in an instant; I wish I could relive it again. I just remember that feeling of having everyone I loved in one room, the pure happiness and joy in the air, it was one of the best days of my life.”

Like everything else about this day, the ceremony, officiated by Danielle Hempseed, was carefully planned.  “Danielle our Celebrant created something truly special for our day, encouraging guests to laugh, love and take part in the ceremony. She included our love story so far, from our meeting in the Maintenance building at work to the things we do to show we care and even the little games we play to purposefully tick each other off. We included vows we had written ourselves and there was a few tears shed!”

“Having everyone you care about in one place is so special,” shares Bec. “There aren’t many moments in your life when you can experience that sort of love and it is beautiful. Know that at the end of the day your wedding is about the love that you two share and that’s the most important thing, don’t let that get lost leading up to the big day.”

“We love having Ash’s son Jaden as our ring bearer and seeing the pride on Ash’s face as he stood beside us while we exchanged wedding vows.”

“There’s a photo of Ash and I walking hand in hand down the aisle at the end of the ceremony that I think captures perfectly how we were both feeling, so utterly happy and in love.”

The moody vibe the couple dreamt of was embraced by their photographer Dani Dury. “I was a bit out of touch with quality vendors in Rockhampton as I no longer live there and was recommended Dani from one of my bridesmaids Hannah. I looked up her work on Instagram and knew right away that she was going to be a perfect fit.

We kept in contact through email, Facebook messages and facetime and she was a dream to work with, always promptly replying with every niggling little question I had. We decided on the locations for the photos together and were willing to try different things and I can honestly say the day would not have been the same without her.”

While the newlyweds had photos taken, the guest enjoyed drinks and canapés – created by Bec herself! “About six months into planning I discovered that there were restrictions around serving finger food and platters, that we were required to have each serving individually boxed for the guests so I decided to create the boxes myself, both for budget and limiting wastage of food (we all know how much can go to waste on a big open platter). Each box contained a mix of dips, cheese, crackers and other little treats that I thought the guests would enjoy. As we got a lot closer to the date we found out that the restrictions had eased but I really liked the idea of each guest having their box of food and they were also a huge hit!”

Talk about a dream team of vendors! Bec tells  “Not one vendor stood out more than another, each one was outstanding in their field. I predominately chose all women vendors (the exception being our entertainment, the amazing Kyle & Celeste and the Church Events Venue, Georgina and Karl husband and wife duo extraordinaire): the cake, the catering, the celebrant, the makeup artist, the hairdressers, the flowers, and the photographer and the professionalism, communication and quality of service were second to none.”

The couple chose a dear friend to act as MC. “Our good friend Tron took on the role of MC like a champ and wanted to know something about each and every guest before the big day. During the reception she made special mention of our friend Luke, naming him the best Plumber in town (much to his embarrassment) and by the end of the night he had jobs booked in! That was one heartwarming thing for Ash and me, seeing how all of our friends who had never met each other come together and became friends themselves.”

“We invited our close friends and family to our special day, we could have filled the entire church with people but decided that we wanted an intimate ceremony and reception and chose people who were special to us to help celebrate.

Because of the theme and overall vibe of the wedding we asked our guests to attend in cocktail attire and boy did they all scrub up alright! I think the highlight was seeing my mum in a gorgeous navy sequinned cocktail dress, something a bit out of her comfort zone but she looked incredible.”

The first dance choice? Metallica. Bec remembers  “We originally hadn’t wanted to do the first dance, we really weren’t too concerned with tradition on the day but we were told by so many that we would regret not doing it so last minute we chose to include it and I can say that I’m glad we did, even though it was a bit awkward to start with (both of us with left feet and mostly used to being in a mosh pit). We danced to Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters”, a song that meant something special to both of us.”

Congratulations Bec and Ash! How fun it was to dive right into your wedding story! Thank you for sharing the details with us. Thank you also to Dani Drury for sharing each and every beautiful image with us.