After months of lockdowns, when it came time for Claudia and Darryn to finally tie the knot, they wanted a day filled with family, friends and celebration after many months apart. “We had a relaxed atmosphere for people to let loose and celebrate together after all the lockdown hardship. Our friends have described it as wholesome and authentically us, with lots of good food, warm autumny colours and a fun band.” Their day completely filled with personal details (like Darryn’s love of cycling and Lego, reflected in his bicycle cufflinks, and the Lego wedding cake!) and plenty of handmade touches, all of which as beautifully captured by The Berhardts.

Their story begins on that age-old dating app, “We met on Tinder in 2016. Our first date was eating fish and chips at the beach. We connected straight away. Darryn was already planning to move to the NT at the time but we decided to keep it long distance, and spent 7 months of our first year together apart. After surviving that we knew it was going to last!” The couple’s proposal a ray of sunshine, in an otherwise miserable time. They explain “Darryn was waiting for the ring to be finished but a snap seven-day lockdown was called that turned out to be a lot longer. He decided that it was time on a sunny Saturday morning to get down on one knee, without the ring, but plenty of pancakes (Claudia’s favourite).
The good news lifted everyone’s spirits and was something different to talk about.”

Of Darryn’s attire, the couple share “Darryn wore a grey sports coat and black trousers with a burgundy bow tie to match the colour theme. This was from Men’s Suit Warehouse and was slightly boho inspired and relaxed to match the dress.” Darryn’s day began with his mother Cheai making a Sri-Lankan kiribath for breakfast, a celebratory meal.

Claudia opted for a Spell wedding gown. She tells “I loved the relaxed 70’s vibe of the dress as I had never been a fan of traditional wedding dresses. Wearing it made me feel like a free-spirited woodland princess!”

Jewels are a special part of the day, even for Claudia who received a very special gift, “As a gift to Claudia, Cheai got some peridot earrings made for her in Sri Lanka to match her engagement ring. This involved Darryn’s Aunty in Sri Lanka going at lengths to find peridot, and a jeweller amid an economic crisis, and due to electricity shortages the gold had to be melted over the fire!”

Claudia and Darryn chose an urban brewery (and winery!)  Craft and Co as their venue. “Craft & Co catered for everything!” tell Claudia and Darryn, “A sunny window to have the ceremony, delicious food and excellent beer, a huge dance floor and a beautiful space to enjoy it all. We loved the timber floors. high ceilings and exposed beams giving an industrial but also warm feeling perfect for the chillier weather.”

Claudia was escorted down the aisle by her father. Her bridesmaids and flower children preceded her as her sister Nina and brother-in-law Andy performed “The first time I saw your face” by Bic Runga on vocals/guitar.

The couple was married by Melebrate Good Times. “We wanted it short, sweet and fun. Mel (the celebrant) did just that, in less than half an hour, with many laughs and tears of joy. It was done. Perfect.
We included our vows, plus a reading from Claudia’s nephew Ari that he chose from his dogman book about love.”

Of their photographers, the newlyweds remark “The Berhardts were amazing, super professional but also laid back. They were just in the background snapping away and we didn’t even notice them. The shots turned out amazing! We have received soooo many compliments on our mood-encapsulating and unique photos.”

The reception, a sit-down dinner was filled with personal touches. “Darryn designed our wishing wells, which were three letter boxes in line with his job as a post-man. We also used mini chalkboards which we wrote on our table numbers. Darryn designed our signage and guest book through Zazzle.com. We brought our polaroids and stickers for guests to put in the guest book. Claudia bought the napkins and a couple of table cloths from Luna wedding and event supplies. Plus we used a sari from Darryn’s Aunty for our signing table, to acknowledge Darryn’s Sri-Lankan background.

Our wedding cake was Lego-themed! Darryn is a kid at heart and it was a fun addition, and included a miniature figurine of us and our cat Midge.”

The stunning autumnal floral arrangements for the day were styled by Heavenly Creations Floristry.  “Tanya our florist from Heavenly Creations made it very easy for us. We just had to give her a colour theme (burgundy/orange/autumn colours) and a rough idea of types of plants (Claudia wanted some natives) and she did the rest! We also wanted our flowers to have a messy/natural look rather than be perfectly neat to match our personalities. Tanya added some beautiful autumn leaves to our arrangements which completed our look.”  Says Claudia “The unique flowers and retro-style tea lights on the tables at the reception, and Tanya had used a variety of heights of flowers in vintage style glass bottles that looked amazing.”

The first dance? All about the fun! “We danced to “Everybody needs somebody to love” by The Blues Brothers. Our band the Short Order Schefs even got into costume with black hats and sunglasses.
Darryn hates dancing so Claudia choreographed something easy and funny to blend with our relaxed theme. We had the crowd laughing, and then dancing with us!”

The reception dance floor filled with as much joy as the rest of the day, says Claudia and Darryn. “Our wedding was filled with so many of our favourite things; colour, hilarity, good music, good food, being able to spend time with every one of our guests.”

 

The biggest congratulations to you both Claudia and Darryn! Thank you for taking the time to share your wedding story with us and thank you to The Berhardts for sharing today’s celebration.