It’s a tale of five times lucky for Rachel and Alex because it took them five tries to get down the aisle! And for us, when we talk often of putting your values in the core of your day, of making it true to you. This is what we mean – because every single decision Rachel and Alex made, was centred around their values of respect and kindness. There was a picnic in the sunshine, two unforgettable dances, a wedding gown made from an old lace curtain and that, along with a rainbow of colour, along with the photography by Hey Babe! Photography. makes this wedding a must-read.

After meeting in 2015 on Tinder, “Really nothing crazy romantic just texted back and forth a bit before meeting up and spending our time more and more together until we decided to be an ‘official’ couple” remarking Rachel. It was Rachel who decided to ask Alex to marry her. “After a few years of dating I (Rachel) wanted a bigger commitment so decided to propose.

Alex plays and coaches ultimate frisbee and so I thought I could involve the club he was playing with. I got together a group chat with a few of his frisbee mates and co-coach to organise when and how we could do it. For some unforeseen reasons it got rescheduled 4-5 times over a month(as I type this now maybe that was a sign from the universe that the wedding would be rescheduled too) so a month after originally planning it and on a pretty crazy windy/rainy day in Melbourne we went to the park for a training/open frisbee session and they pulled together a ‘spirit circle’ where Alex was asked into the middle and to close his eyes.

I and a friend laid out frisbee’s which I had painted with ‘Marry me ?’ written on them and then Alex opened his eyes and after some shock said Yes. I followed up by him saying many times over the training session ‘you know forever is a really long time, yeah?’ to me.”

Rachel and Alex were married at Hannah Watts Park, not their first choice mind you, but a perfect one, says Rachel.  “Originally in 2020 our venue was to be Sunny Stones camp but with covid rules, it wasn’t available on our eventual date, so then it was going to be at my favourite park in my home town ‘Mackenzies Flat’ in Bacchus Marsh, but two weeks before the wedding we found out we couldn’t host it there either and our permit was cancelled.
Alex and I had a look and found out our local council allows events in local parks without a permit, as long as you aren’t excluding anyone from using the park/space also. So with that in mind, we went and had a look at the park around the corner. I knew I wanted somewhere outside, with some grass, some trees and at least one toilet.”
We found a really lovely corner in Hannah Watts Park where we could use the space and it wouldn’t be in any thoroughfare and it felt private enough that we wouldn’t have a whole lot of people staring at us.”

The rainbow arch, made by Rachel was such a focal point of the day. Rachael tells “The arbour was my favourite DIY and was one of the first things I had decided I wanted. The Arbour base was from Good Day Club and we purchased the paper decorations the week before and my bridesmaid Mercy and I put it together on the day with assistance from a few other friends.”

Alex kept his look simple, shares Rachel, “Alex is a very simple man who likes blue so a month before the wedding he went shopping with his brother and my father to pick up suits and he picked a darker blue suit with a white shirt and a tie that has a similar pink to my dress.

My grandparents have all passed and I wanted to ensure I felt like my Grandmother Ruby was there with me. She collected elephants during her time on earth so Alex wore elephant cufflinks with his suit. Also in that same vein, my Uncle Ian passed away when Alex and I were just early into our relationship and to honour him my father Bruce also wore a pair of Ian’s shoes so that he could be there with us.”

Rachel walked down the aisle, arm in arm with her dad to “Old Pine” by Ben Howard.

In keeping with the vibe of the day, the couple opted for a short, casual ceremony. “We wanted our friends and family to be a part of it to hold us up and say they’ll be for us through hard times and good, but mostly we had our vows speak on kindness and the things we have learnt together and bring to our relationship daily to always respect and show up for each other.”

Colour, joy and love, are part of what Rachel and Alex are all about, and the beauty of that, is what Rachel holds true and as a core part of her memories of the day. “It was so special we got married with respect and kindness as our two top values. I got to plan a party that was big and loud and, Alex is the practical one and I am creative so it was fun to just have fun and only pick things that I/we liked and not take on board any ideas from other people/friends/family that I didn’t want or like.”

Rachel worked with her friend to make her gown, a vision she had in mind from the get-go and a vision made with, can you believe, it, old lace curtains! She tells the story “I knew I wanted a traditional-ish dress. nothing stark white, but nothing too bold or colourful. I was a size 18 when planning my dress and a size 24 at the wedding so, in planning, I knew plus size wedding attire in my style would likely be few and far between. I asked a friend of mine Emma who is a seamstress and fashion designer if she would mind sewing the dress. Coming out of fashion school and having to mostly sew ‘straight size’ fashion she was thankfully very interested to look more into the ‘curve’ area.
I saw someone post about old lace curtains in their new house that they were getting rid of and if anyone would have a use for them. Straight away I messaged in asking if I could have them with my dress in mind. A week in the post and a good wash later I had curtains that looked almost brand new and in a beautiful design. So Emma took that and bought some lovely linen in a taupe-y pink colour to be the base and pulled together the dress for me. It is a corset top fitted to my body(so no bra needed!!) and then a separate skirt piece that comes together with buttons at the back (the mushroom button is my favourite) and I can’t forget, the skirt had big roomy pockets which were amazing. I wore a pink petticoat underneath for extra fluff too.”

The florals were kept to beautiful Australian natives. “I like Australian natives and sunflowers so that’s just what I had the most colourful natives available at the time and a lil’ sunny sunflower,” explains Rachel.

Rachel and Alex were over the moon with their choice of photographer. “Mercy found her just five weeks before the wedding when we put it all together (for the 5th time) she’s a local and all-around lovely and queer-friendly we sent out for some info, booked her in straight away and off we went. She made the whole process amazing and got photos far better than I could have hoped for. She was down for everything and anything and I can honestly call her a friend now.”

“One that I think I will always hold dear is Alex and I just after taking portraits returned to the group and my twin nieces ran up to us. Alysha got a photo where Alex has my bouquet and I have one twin on each hip Caitlyn is fully distracted by my rainbow earrings and Quinn is looking at Lucy standing behind Alysha.
The second one would be the photo Alysha got as Alex’s grandmother Evelyn came up to me after the speeches and dances. It was an incredible moment at the wedding and I’m glad I get to hold onto that for the rest of my life.”

Being surrounded by their favourite people was such a golden part of the day for Rachel and Alex. “We just got so unbelievably loved on and after the wedding going home and reading all the cards people left in our wishing well was just beautiful and emotional and validating.”

Rachel and Alex are aware of how much their vendor dream team did to make their dream day happen, stylists and rental crew Good Day Club rating a particularly glowing recommendation from Rachel.  “One vendor I had booked from the start was Good Day Club. Kate, there is just a creative genius and her and her sister Mel run it beautifully. They are a small business that managed to it hold down through all sorts of ups and downs in covid lockdowns and reschedules and I couldn’t have asked for any better service. All the furniture at our wedding was hired through them and styled beautifully. All of our guests were thoroughly impressed and comfy and happy (and got some great pics).”

  

Dancing was such a big part of this day, the newlyweds making their dance floor debut on the grass to “Emmylou” by First Aid Kit with a dance choreographed by Rachel’s friend, Maria of 8 Count Dance. “It was really fun to learn with Alex in the lead-up month to the wedding. It was difficult but helpful for me to have to put that time aside to learn it together and have those moments together.”

Rachel has one last piece of golden advice if you’re in the midst of wedding plans. “Do your wedding your way, set boundaries with your family that it is a party/celebration for you, the couple and that any contribution of funds does not mean that they choose the food/music/colour/flowers – oh and if you can get pockets in your dress to fit a tissue pack.”

The biggest congratulations to you both Rachel and Alex! Thank you for sharing your beautiful wedding with us. Thank you also to Hey Babe! Photography for sharing this celebration with us.