There were multiple postponements, and even a vendor pulling out on the morning of the day that almost, but never would get in the way of Teegan and Lauren’s wedding. And as is the way with these things, the result, (which for these two included a venue change to a barbershop turned warehouse event space, neon signs, pizza, video games, customised leather jackets, and handmade bouquets), was utter perfection, as caught with every detail by Chasing Moments Photography.

The Melbourne warehouse vibes, are beautifully apt for these two, who first met in the southern city. Tells Lauren “We met in Melbourne after being introduced by a mutual friend who I worked with and Teegan had previously worked with. The first time we saw each other was out the front of my work at the time, Teegan was meeting up with our friend for a drink and she introduced us; awkwardly I was taking out the garbage bins, so we have always laughed about it saying it was love at first sight from behind a wheelie bin.

The next week Teegan invited me and our friend to her house to watch the State of Origin, we just ended up drinking a lot of wine and having a laugh. Our friend’s phone died so I took the sneaky opportunity to get Teegan’s number, just to make sure she knew that we both got home safely 😉 After a few weeks of hanging out almost every day we were inseparable, so I nervously asked Teegan to be my girlfriend… She said yes !”

Lauren was also the one who made the move when it came to proposing, choosing a six month trip through Canada, Central and South America to ask the question. “I had originally planned to propose to Teegan within the first two weeks of our trip to Canada at Lake Louise but unfortunately this didn’t work out as Teegan and I both got the flu and the day we got to Lake Louise I was too sick to complete the mission.

So I then proceeded to carry the ring around Central and most of South America waiting for the perfect moment to arise. When we arrived at Cusco in Peru and organised to head up to Machu Picchu, I had a feeling that this might be the place, so I prepared myself that morning, hid the ring in my top jacket pocket and had what I was going to say saved and in my phone.

It wasn’t looking hopeful as it was a rainy afternoon and there were clouds everywhere, you could hardly see the ruins!! After the tour of the ruins was over, everyone went their separate ways and we arrived at the viewing platform where there was hardly anyone around, the clouds parted and we could see all the ruins perfectly and I thought…this is it!!! Teegan was taking a photo of a llama (classic) so when she turned around I had the box there ready to give to her! None of the words I wanted to say came out and it wasn’t as romantic as most but it was us to a T and she said YES! We were over the moon.”

Teegan found her lace gown at The GC Bridal Lounge. She tells  “I wore a dress, something that was super daunting for me to pick! I am not usually a ‘dress’ person but I am also not inclined to wear a suit. Some people dream of this day for so long that when the time comes they know EXACTLY what they want; I, on the other hand had absolutely no idea! I loved my dress but the style of it suited our first venue more (Covid has us changing dates and venues!) if I knew we were getting married at a Barber Shop I would have picked this dress I adored that was black and sparkly.”

Lauren had her dream come suit and donned a beautifully cut suit by Effie Kats. “I always wanted to wear a suit by Effie Kats” she explains. “I ended up flying to Melbourne to pick up my suit. I had some help from Teegan with picking colours, I loved it!”

Teegan and Lauren had a mix of blooms, the boutonnieres made by Little Pampas House, and the bouquet by family. They explain “We went with dried flowers so that they would last and could be a little token to keep. The bouquet was made by Teegan’s mum and her brother’s fiancé. Teegan and her mum went to the local markets the day before.”

The couple opted to get ready together, and have photos taken before their ceremony together, their photographer Terra making them feel completely at ease. “We were recommended Terra by a friend, she was so lovely and had our best interests at heart. She’s such a warm soul and a pleasure to work with.”

Believe it or not, Lauren and Teegan’s amazing venue The Mobile Barber Depot was not the first one they booked! They share “We initially booked another venue but due to a few reschedules thanks to covid we changed to the Mobile Barber Depot. So glad we did though! It was such an awesome space. It had all the cool factors about it and gave us that Melbourne warehouse vibe that we love.”

Both Teegan and Lauren opted to walk down the aisle, both choosing “Kiss Me” sung by Kina Grannis to play as they did so. They share  “We both walked down the aisle, it was something we knew was important to our dads. It wasn’t a giving away as such as we had seen each other before the ceremony had started.” Both were able to walk down the aisle with special people, part of what made the day so utterly magic.  “We were so thrilled that Lauren’s Granny (who is 95) was able to attend the day and that Teegan’s dad was able to walk her down the aisle; he has Parkinson’s and was determined to make sure he could do it.”

The Wild Hitcher officiated the ceremony. “We wanted our ceremony to be funny and heartfelt. Our celebrant did an awesome job at telling little stories in between it all.”

It was important to Teegan and Lauren that their ceremony not just be about them. “We wanted to acknowledge the struggles those before us had with inequality of gay marriage, we wanted to also acknowledge the first nations people. Our celebrant also made a beautiful rope made from a pride flag to symbolise our love entwined. It was used throughout our ceremony and we absolutely loved it!”

If you haven’t already been inspired by these two doing their day their way, let this advice take hold. “We decided not to have a wedding party. We wanted everyone to enjoy their time without the pressures and expectations that weddings have been known to bring. We gave our siblings little roles that wedding party members normally would do like holding the rings etc.

Don’t stick to the “traditional” ways if it doesn’t suit you. Enjoy every minute because it takes months/years to plan and it flies by in seconds!”

We’ve gotta join Lauren and Teegan in giving all the vendor love and praise to their musician Josh Lovegrove who stepped in last minute for this wedding. “Josh wasn’t meant to be our musician but ours cancelled on us the morning of our wedding! He was so lovely and came as soon as he could from another gig. We didn’t get to have him for our ceremony but he showed up in time for the after-party and we couldn’t have been more thankful!”

Lauren and Teegan, how beyond thrilled we are that you finally got to celebrate your wedding day! Thank you both for sharing your stories and thank you to Chasing Moments Photography for sharing the imagery with us today!