Reconnecting years later on Tinder, Joe and Lauren planned their moody, romantic wedding to celebrate meeting their match. With Perth City Farm as their venue for the day, the couple had a blank canvas to create their perfect day. It was a celebration of their love and an opportunity to bring together friends and family they hadn’t seen since before lockdowns. Capturing the moody romance throughout the day was Shoot Me Jimmy, showcasing all the quirky and loveable moments from this wedding.

Their story really began five years after they met, when they reconnected on Tinder. “We met at Joe’s friend’s 18th, which I was invited to as a drag-along. At that time, I was 18, and Joe was 19; we got along that night and saw each other out clubbing a few times after that but never spoke that much. We ended up reconnecting on Tinder 5 years later. I was Joe’s first (and hopefully last) Tinder date!” Lauren explained.

“We were going for a weekend away in Margaret River, and Joe was insisting on stopping at the Rotary Park to go for a walk. It had been raining, so the ground was a bit muddy, but we stopped anyway. It was July, so it was also pretty chilly, but Joe took off her jumper, and I kept asking, “Aren’t you cold? Why don’t you wear your jumper??” Only to find out she took it off so she could use it to cover the bulk of the ring box in her pocket,” Lauren recalled. “We walked a little and came up to the river where there was a lookout with a heart-shaped bench, and Joe got down on one knee while I had my back turned, taking photos of the river. At first, I thought it was a joke, so I told her to shut up probably 10 times before realising it was for real!”

Taking a private moment before the ceremony, Joe and Lauren read their vows to each other at their first look. “It was a really special moment that was just for us because you really don’t get any time alone together all night,” Lauren described, with Joe adding: “The one of Lauren walking up to the first look is one of my favourites. It is so nice to see the pure happiness on her face.”

Lauren wore this gorgeous romantic set: a skirt full of pink, red and white layers from Wardrobe By Dulcinea and a custom-made top from Just For You By Cindy. “I definitely knew I wanted colour, not completely white. Mostly because I can’t be trusted not to drop food on white clothing. I never went dress shopping because I genuinely can’t think of anything I would hate more than spending hours trying on dresses. I actually chose my wedding skirt because the Etsy store came up as a sponsored ad on Instagram. I had the top custom-made by a dressmaker to match the skirt.”

Joe wore a burgundy suit and pants, with a black shirt and matching sparkly bowtie from Revelry. She wanted to wear a suit that matched Lauren, but the journey to find it wasn’t always pleasant. “The experience was one to remember and not in a good way! We ended up getting scammed by a guy who said he would custom-make the suit, but instead, he took our money and ghosted us. We were lucky enough to find something nice and fast from Suitor that I got tailored to fit me. Thank god for the internet.”

Their wedding party included Joe’s brother Dom, best friend Tyffanie and childhood friend Ai Ru (who flew all the way from London!) on Joe’s side. Lauren’s sister Katrina and best friend Hayley on Lauren’s side.

Hayley and Katrina wore simple black tops of their choice and a burgundy chiffon skirt to match Lauren’s top. Dom, Tyffanie and Ai Ru wore the same colours but reversed the order. They were, instead, wearing burgundy tops and black bottoms.

The beautiful bouquets Lauren and her wedding party are holding here were made by Tahnee from Miller Rose Botanic. “I was drawn to Miller Rose Botanic because she specialises in bouquets with succulents, and she was able to incorporate a stunning chain of hearts into my bouquet that I got to take home and keep growing after the day! I didn’t know a lot about flowers, so I just chose the colour mix, and Tahnee worked her magic. They were a beautiful mix of dark colours, dusty pinks and lots of greenery. I think our bouquets were really unique. We loved them so much that we got matching bouquet tattoos after the wedding!”

Jimmy Teo from Shoot Me Jimmy was the photographer for Lauren and Joe. They chose him after falling in love with his work at Joe’s brother’s wedding. “We used Jimmy Teo because we love his style. We love the deep, rich tones as opposed to the usual photos you see that are really bright and white,” Lauren shared. “The photos taken in front of the Long Chim neon sign are my favourites; the colours are so beautiful.”

The venue chosen for the day was Perth City Farm, allowing Joe and Lauren to come into a blank canvas and bring their moody romantic wedding dreams to life. “We loved Perth City Farm because they have space to have everything for the whole event (ceremony, reception, photos) in one place. The gardens are absolutely beautiful as they are, which meant we didn’t need to spend a fortune on decorating the space. And I particularly wanted the barn because we had seen photos of it decorated all in fairy lights, and that was exactly the vibe we were going for.”

A lot of the ceremony and reception decor and stationary were DIY by Lauren and Joe, with the help of their friends and family. The wooden arbour was made by the couple with the help of Lauren’s dad. “I designed our invitations and all the signage and just got them printed at Officeworks! I also designed and printed envelope seals at home and punched confetti from gum leaves and bougainvillea flowers. Get yourself a friend with a Cricut! The possibilities are endless! We used it to make the vinyl sticker for the wishing well!” Lauren described.

Joe and Lauren had asked their parents to walk them down the aisle separately. They walked to “Island Song” by Adventure Time and Ashley Eriksson.

The ceremony was short and sweet – perfectly matching the moody, romantic atmosphere and exactly as they wanted. “Not too sappy and lovey-dovey; we wanted everyone to laugh as well as cry. Our celebrant, Laura, did a perfect job combining the serious bits with the fun bits.”

Lauren had planned on having three people in her wedding party, but unfortunately her best friend Tameka didn’t make it. “She unexpectedly passed away 11 months before the wedding, so I honoured her by adding a photo of her on a photo charm to my bouquet, and the first song when the dance floor opened was dedicated to her.”

As reception entertainment, Joe and Lauren had two Drag Queens from Perth Drag Queens perform a show and get their guests into the partying mood. Lauren and Joe didn’t have a first dance (they both have two left feet), so this was a great way to entice guests to the dance floor.

Food was an important part of the day for this couple, including four separate catering services to ensure guests were well-fed and happy. “We didn’t want anyone having to do a Maccas run on the way home. We got a lot of great feedback about the food. And the food was so damn good from Big Don’s Smoked Meats. Who doesn’t want tacos at a wedding??”

Over the course of their five years together, Lauren and Joe had attended 10 of their friend’s weddings, so they wanted to share their congratulations and gratitude to each of those couples. “Just about all of those couples were at our wedding, so we gave each of them a shoutout in our speech and mentioned one thing we learned from each of their weddings!”

Joe and Lauren – congratulations on creating this moody, romantic wedding! And a huge thanks to Shoot Me Jimmy for capturing and submitting these beautiful moments for us to share.