What do you get when you combine a dreamy, flower- embroidered wedding gown with skeletons? The whimsical museum wedding of Bethanie & Xander! These two museum buffs could think of no more perfect place than an urban museum to tie the knot (yes, complete with skeletons as their backdrop), and when they added Bethanie’s incredible green Teuta Matoshi wedding gown,  this whimsical beauty of a day completely stole our hearts (helped aplenty by the photography of the day captured by CJ Picture).

It was way back in high school that these two first met, though as it turns out, their paths actually crossed much earlier! “We met properly when we were playing in the local swing band in high school” explained Bethanie. “We did briefly encounter each other when we were 7 or 8 years old at a neighbour’s party and got on like a house on fire there! I eventually went to the same school as him for years 11 and 12, became closer friends, and eventually went on a date to see Wall-E at the dramatic society hall near the start of year 12 – we’ve been together ever since (14 years later!)”

Xander asked Bethanie to marry him on the insistence of a very special relative, he tells “When we had been going out for about 3 or 4 years, Beth’s Nanna sat me down and pointedly told me that she had a ring that she wanted me to use when the time was right. I didn’t know what to say but that thought sat in the back of my head all through our uni years. Once Beth had graduated with her master’s, and we were heading towards our 10th anniversary I realised that it better be now!

When I asked Nanna if she had the ring still she IMMEDIATELY leapt up and ran to give it to me! I then spent the next few weeks calling Beth’s family and asking for their blessing, and organising a nice restaurant for the occasion. The restaurant was crowded and loud, and we were sitting right up the front so I was too nervous to ask her there! We ate so much and Beth just wanted to go to bed as soon as we got home but I asked her to stay awake just a little bit longer, and finally asked her once we were home.”

“While we were doing the first look in Hyde Park, Xander was standing waiting for me to come by, when Jeff got my Mum to sneak up on him – when it was my turn to go up to Xander, he admitted that he had half-expected me to be my father!”

Bethanie’s incredible green wedding gown was designed by Teuta Matoshi. She shares “I wasn’t huge on wearing a white dress, and my main wants for the dress were a) dramatic sleeves, b) ideally something floral, c) a long skirt and d) pockets. Xander’s sibling and one of my bridesmaids both helped with the initial dress search, and both of them agreed that this dress was the one! I ordered it online, giving them custom measurements – it arrived within the month and fit perfectly!”

With a first look as joy-filled as that it’s no wonder Bethanie & Xander highly recommend their photographer Jeff of CJ Pictures. “He was recommended to us by Robyn Pattison, our celebrant, and we are SO glad we listened to her! Jeff immediately got in touch to discuss setting up a time to talk and get to know us and came around to do an engagement shoot with us a few days before the wedding (super glad we did this – getting to know Jeff before the day itself meant we were so much more relaxed and able to be natural in front of the camera on the day). Jeff and his wife Celeste were an absolute joy to have as part of our wedding on the day – I’m pretty sure I heard afterwards that my family had offered to put them up in our hometown if they ever visited!

Jeff and Celeste did such an amazing job! My absolute favourite probably has to be the one of us in the Wild Planet room after everyone else had gone upstairs, standing underneath the whale.”

The couple asked their very favourite people to stand beside them on the day says Bethanie “We were so blessed to have our closest friends and family to stand by our sides.

My bridesmaids were Megan (my little sister!) and Isabel (one of my best friends – we went through two uni degrees together, lived together, worked together, and are STILL friends). On Xander’s side, he had his siblings Kipp (who I’ve known for as long as I’ve known Xander, and I love them dearly!) and Annie (we all went to school together, and Annie and Xander have made music together for YEARS)”

 

The couple chose the unique space of the Australian Museum for their ceremony, explaining “We chose the Australian Museum after Xander’s sibling showed us pictures of a wedding they went to, and at that point, our minds were made up! Our ceremony was in the Wild Planet room, surrounded by the Museum’s collection of animals from all over the world. Who else gets to say they were flanked by a toucan and an eagle as they said their vows?

We loved having the wedding in the museum – we’re both museum buffs, and whenever we’re travelling one of our first stops is usually a museum! We particularly loved the whale skeletons hanging immediately above our heads as we said our vows! The team at Create Catering and the Australian Museum were so helpful! I was blown away by how well everyone worked together and communicated to make the day go as smoothly as it did!”

The pastel hued flowers of the day were styled by Jewel Phon Flowers. “Flowers were one of the last things I organised” admits Bethanie, “but I couldn’t be happier with how well they turned out! Damien at Jewel Phon was super on top of everything, I gave him a selection of inspiration photos (mostly light pastels, some Australian native influences) and the team put together the most stunning displays.”

Bethanie walked down the aisle with both her mum and her dad. “I knew they wouldn’t get a chance again until my little sister gets married (if at all)!”

The couple chose  Robyn Pattison to perform their ceremony. “We wanted a relaxed, intimate and light-hearted ceremony” explains Bethanie,  “Robyn delivered! She helped bring everything together for us and was just an absolute rock.”

Bethanie’s wedding advice? “Don’t be afraid to do what works best for you as a couple! The day is meant to be a celebration of the two of you – if some tradition or expectation doesn’t spark joy for you, throw it out and do what YOU need to do!”

After dark, the festivities continued upstairs at No. 1 William.

The newlyweds kicked off the floor with their first dance to  Vulfpeck’s “Birds of a Feather, We Rock Together”. Explains Bethanie, “We both love some low-volume funk, and we are two birds of a feather!”

Congratulations on your marriage Bethanie and Xander. What a joy to share your special day! Thank you both and to CJ Picture for sharing today’s beautiful wedding with us.