After the stress of lockdowns, of COVID, of will we, won’t we, there was one thing well and truly present when Jemima and Jeremy finally got to tie the knot, and it was, the most important of all. Joy. “Honestly I can’t find one detail I loved the most, instead, a feeling. I felt such joy” shares Jemima. “Everything we did was embraced and covered in the joy of our families and friends. Getting married with Covid still around, stopping some family members from even attending, and having our wedding in person with those who could attend, was an emotional experience I will never forget. Our day was curated by love and joy.”

Choosing a beautiful winery venue in WA’s Swan Valley, and asking photographer Manis Moments behind the camera to join them, Jemima and Jeremy honoured where they’ve come from – culture and tradition, and blended it with where they are now, with surprises from family and friends, a ceremony filled with so much emotion, and a story that was so beautifully told. Settle in for this story!

The pair met at a church camp for young adults, Jeremy winning her over with an epic shot. She remembers “I was standing across the room drinking my tea and Jeremy was randomly throwing M&Ms to see whose cup he could get it in. Mine was the only one he got in, so I walked over and asked him what he was doing. From there romance did not spark, this was random!”

Jeremy asked her to marry him with a birthday trick! “Jeremy took me down south under the guise of his birthday celebration. He told me his best friend organised a photo shoot for us as a present.

I didn’t think too much about this because it would be a great present for Jeremy. We went to Sugarloaf Rock and met the photographer ‘for the first time’. He and Jeremy did a great job pretending they’d never spoken before. We climbed down the rocks to where the water started and the photographer told me to do a few solo poses; at that time, Jeremy took the ring box from his bag into his back pocket. It was so thick like gym day but on one cheek I didn’t even realise it.

Then Jeremy joined me on the rock and the photographer gave the code word ‘perfect’ so Jeremy double-checked to make sure he heard right. The next second he was down on one knee. It was just an emotional time he couldn’t get a clear sentence out. All I heard was “will you marry me?” I said yes through tears and we had a beautiful photoshoot. Little did I know his best friend drove down to bring us champagne and secretly set up a picnic on the rocks for us. It was so joyful and I love picnics. There we had our favourite food and I read a letter with all the words in it he couldn’t get out.”

Jeremy was very particular about the suit he wore, choosing a deep teal beauty from InStitchu, telling Jemima, “Just like my dress for him, I couldn’t know anything about his suit until I saw it. He knew exactly the place he wanted to get a tailor-made suit. Brought a few groomsmen and dad to figure out the exact colour and how it’ll fit. After looking through fabric samples he knew he wanted a deep teal/forrest green suit. He noticed one which caught his eye, thought about it and decided it was the one. After measurements, he had his suit ready for the wedding. With his name embroidered into the suit.”

Jemima loved dress shopping and found her gorgeous lace dress at Legends Bridal. “Wedding dress shopping was probably my favourite pre-wedding activity. I loved going to the shops and trying on dresses which made me feel so excited.

One week I booked appointments back to back to try on dresses all around Perth. I am infamously terrible at directions and drove to the wrong store first. So when I finally got to the first fitting I only had 5 minutes. I was so stressed and upset in the car I had my grandma with me and she prayed with me, saying everything will work out how it was supposed to. I met my bridesmaids and mother in law at the first place and told them to pick anything and I headed straight to the dressing room. I was about to leave after trying on 3 dresses but I felt like I needed to try on the last one and be okay with being late for the next appointment. I tried it on and loved it!

Originally I thought I wanted a figure-fitting dress but once I had on this A-line dress I felt like a princess. I felt so special and loved everything about it. It was a low back, with beading on the bodice and floral embroidery everywhere. I love flowers and felt like I was wearing a garden. It was the perfect dress.”

Jemima and Jeremy were married at Swan Valley venue The Vines “We chose The Vines as it was a great all-rounder, full-service venue” explained Jemima, “I wanted an outdoor ceremony with lots of greenery and Jeremy the most stress-free place possible. Having the ceremony and reception at the same venue was such a weight off our shoulders.”

“I walked down the aisle with my dad to the song “No matter where you are” by Us The Duo. It was performed by Jeremy’s cousin and his groomsman. It was really beautiful and such a special experience. I only got a quarter down the aisle and was handed a tissue by a guest. I couldn’t look my dad in the eyes, I knew I’d cry before even walking down. As soon as I saw Jeremy he was in tears. We were both properly sobbing tears of joy.” Adds Jeremy “I loved marrying Jemima, seeing her come down the aisle. Knowing that this is it, she’s the one I want to spend the rest of my life with. All our friends and family coming together to celebrate us.”

Jemima and Jeremy held a ceremony filled with emotion.  “Our ceremony was the one where everyone cried.  Our ceremony was so full of love and happiness. Everything I’ve ever prayed for. We both read out our vows which we always knew we’d do. From the stress of covid standing there holding Jeremy’s hand it all hit me that it was happening. I was marrying this man and I knew from there I would always have the best life.”

Jemima has the most beautiful words of wisdom to pass on. “With a lot of people telling me they didn’t believe in marriage or didn’t want to get a divorce I thought on what marriage was. I’d say, go into marriage truly understanding the special covenant you hold with one another. Honour each other in the commitment you have made when you say I do. Marriage is no place for ego or pride. As you die to yourself each day, the things you want or the way you’ve previously lived, you can make room for the creation of a new person – two joining to be one.”

“I found a lady on Instagram and loved her arrangements” tells Jemima of her decision to hire Enchanting Petals to create the floral details for the day. “We had one video chat and she came up with the designs and most colours in the bouquet. I was happy leaving her to her creative space and it paid off. The flowers were beautiful and everyone loved them.”

There was time for a champagne pop! “Honestly, everything happened the way we planned which was pretty amazing. Everything ran on time, but still allowed for fun moments to goof around with our friends and each other.”

“Naz from Manis Moments was so friendly, professional and helpful throughout the whole process” raves Jemima of the couple’s wedding photographer, “Jeremy is really big on customer service and Naz rose above his standards. He made us feel comfortable and we didn’t need to stress about anything, it was all figured out. We only needed to enjoy our day and focus on each other, we knew Naz had us covered.”

The moments of this wedding? So beautiful and so joy-filled. “Our wedding party surprised us with a live serenade of Adele’s song ‘Someone like you’ not rehearsed at all and a groomsman playing the piano – he only just started playing. We loved it.”

“We loved Jeremy and I coming together are mixing two cultures, so we made sure to include the traditional toast ‘Yam Seng’. All the guests had fun participating. As per tradition cheersing to three things: long life, prosperity and lots of kids.”

On the first vinyl record Jeremy ever bought Jemima was the classic Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together” so, of course, it was their first dance choice. “When he bought it for me and we listened together for the first time we slow danced together. It was so special to be doing that again three years later at our wedding. We only learnt the choreographed dance three days before the wedding. We practised the dance in the street after the lesson so we wouldn’t forget. The dance went so fast on the day and I was pretty nervous. But the live band added that extra touch to make this dance so memorable.”

The most biggest and beautiful congratulations to you both Jeremy and Jemima! Thank you for sharing the stories of your beautiful day with us and thank you to Naz of Manis Moments for today’s beautiful images.