To bring their dream wedding to life, Emma and Darcy only needed their three C’s – cacti, cocktails and (Darcy’s beloved) Clubsport. This gorgeous DIY backyard wedding was full of good food and drinks, good music and even better company! And the best part? Their photographer, Jacob Jennings, only had to walk two minutes down the road from his house to start capturing the day alongside Stumble Studios!

As Emma caught the bus on her way to school each day, she had no idea that her future husband was the hot, cool guy sitting at the back of the bus! “It wasn’t until a few years later, after running in the same circle of friends for a while, that we officially met and then started dating. It all kicked off at Darcy’s brother’s 18th birthday party. As they say, the rest is history.”

On their 9th anniversary, Darcy surprised Emma with a proposal she didn’t see coming in a million years. So much so that she actually thought he was joking around with her! “We were away in our new to-us camper van at Port Elliot Caravan Park for the weekend. Having just finished setting up the camper, I was sitting on the couch inside admiring our handy work when Darcy came in with a then one-year-old Ruby on his hip, got down on one knee, pulled out the ring and asked, “So how about it Schuey?”.”

After buying a dress online that she didn’t LOVE, Emma reached out to Amelia at OSHA Bridal Studio in hopes they could create something that could work. But after working together, Emma couldn’t shake the feeling that she deserved something special and not something she wasn’t excited about. Amelia may have just announced her maternity leave and was utterly swamped, but that didn’t stop her from pulling a custom masterpiece together! “She took all my concerns and insecurities and created a piece I felt both extremely confident and comfortable in whilst also feeling beautiful. Which is no easy feat when working with someone like me who is so incredibly self-conscious.

The dress was honestly better than anything I could have imagined. Amelia guided me in choosing appropriate fabrics, which gave the dress an ethereal feel. It truly looks out of this world in photos, almost photo-shopped in a too perfect to be real way. I opted for minimal jewellery with just a pair of gold teardrop earrings and Kurt Geiger London Olive Eye bone flats. I wanted something a little different but still super comfortable.”

Since Emma met Darcy, she’s known he’s an all-black kind of dresser, preferring darker colours over light. They had their parents watch over their daughters and made a day out of travelling to Peter Shearer Menswear to shop for his suit. “Darc went to and fro on whether he wanted a tie/bow tie but ultimately opted out of either. Comfort was a high priority and Darcy felt much more himself without one,” she explained. “His final look was a dark charcoal suit jacket and matching pants, with a black dress shirt. Complemented by his green face Hugo Boss watch. And his trusty RM Williams boots in Nutmeg.”

To match the DIY theme of the day, Emma and Darcy had an unofficial wedding party made up of her dad, Darren and Darcy’s older brother, Andrew. They also had their two daughters, Ruby and Elsie, who wore matching dresses from Cotton On Kids in a muted peach tulle.

Emma and Darcy had always dreamed of getting married in their own backyard, and since their previous home didn’t have that kind of space, they patiently waited until they’d found the perfect home. “When house hunting backyard wedding space wasn’t exactly high on the must-have list, but when we viewed the property and saw the old lawn tennis court down the back of the property, we knew it had all the potential to be the backyard wedding, we have always dreamed of. We wanted a relaxed backyard party vibe.”

They loved each and every vendor in their dream team, but especially Sonia their on-the-day coordinator! “She made sure everything was happening and running as it should. That everyone was where they were supposed to be at certain times. We didn’t have to worry about a single thing. Any concerns I raised she took care of instantly and helped us out with our girls throughout the day/night. The day would not have run so smoothly without her.”

These two love birds entered their ceremony like they do everything in life – as a team! “It felt fitting to walk together. After 14.5 years of building homes, our business and having our beautiful daughters, we wanted to enter this new chapter as a team, the same way we approach everything else in our lives. We walked to “I’m with you by Vance Joy”. I spent weeks listening to it, crying, trying to desensitise myself to it so I wasn’t a howling mess on the day. Darcy said he should have done the same.”

With mostly cacti to decorate the day, the flowers that were present were a statement piece. All these vibrant pieces were made by The Gathered Bunch – and they definitely delivered! “I wanted something bright, and fiesta inspired to go with the vibrant, cacti theme. They were stunning and we had so many compliments on them. I didn’t have any specific flowers in mind, I shared my Pinterest mood board with our florist, and she brought my dreams to life. Better than I could have ever imagined!”

The ceremony was intimate and funny overall, perfectly matching Emma and Darcy’s relationship. Their celebrant, Ceremonies by Katie, expertly led the small group through Emma and Darcy’s love story. Instead of picking out their witness themselves, the couple did a witness lottery and pulled names from a hat! “We chose to have only immediate family and close friends at the ceremony because the idea of public speaking in front of like 100 people was absolutely nausea-inducing. It had tears and laughter and was perfect in every way. Katie encapsulated our love so beautifully. We did opt out at the last minute of reading our own private vows. We were both very, very nervous and this felt like removing a weight from our shoulders. It was such a surreal feeling after so many years standing on our own lawn, in front of our handmade backdrop before our nearest and dearest officially becoming husband and wife.”

Emma and Darcy really are a match made in heaven: she’s the creative brains, and he’s the handyman who brings them to life! In fact, the gorgeous backdrop was a piece of DIY genius, hand-built and painted with all the prickly pear cactus paddles picked from the side of the road. “Darcy and I spent quite a bit of time (much to his dismay) cutting cacti from the side of the road, which served as decor throughout the ceremony and reception. Our table decor was all cacti cuttings in vases/jars of water,” Emma gushed. “Darc wrapped fairy lights in trees, which he hated every second of but did for me, which I am forever grateful for. Another SIL made/installed the vinyl lettering to a full-length mirror for us. We spent the better part of six months transforming the run-down old lawn tennis court. We added gardens and edging/paths. My 90-year-old grandma made an enormous number of cakes, slices, and pieces for our dessert table. We outsourced the big stuff, but we did anything we could do ourselves.”

Jacob Jennings was the creative mastermind behind the lens for Emma and Darcy’s backyard wedding – his talent is unmatched! “Where do we even begin? Jacob has been photographing our family for years, dating back to when he was first starting out. We knew there was no one else we wanted, and didn’t lock in our date until we knew he was available. Bonus – he’s technically our neighbour and lives a few houses up. Jacob is the warmest, most easy-going guy who makes you feel so relaxed. He captures the most amazing details and things you wouldn’t even think are worthy of a photo. But he works his magic, and bam, it’s your new favourite image,” Emma explained. “Darcy and I are not the most comfortable in front of a camera or prone to PDAs and were concerned we would look bad in the photos, but Jacob is just so talented. He sent us a sneak peek the day after the wedding, and we loved every single photo. It made us so excited to see the whole album. We never had a doubt in our minds that he was talented, but his quality of work at our wedding just blew us away. He is so passionate about what he does; it shines through in his personality and his art.”

Before returning to their reception, Emma and Darcy stopped for a drink at the pub. One of their favourite parts of the day was actually their reception arrival! “We left post ceremony while the other guests arrived. Our eldest daughter, Ruby, rode in with Andrew on the back of his Harley. We followed and arrived in my Clubsport to “Gimme Some Lovin” by The Spencer Davis Group (we’re big Days of Thunder fans.) Seeing all our family and friends together at our home, cheering and welcoming us to our wedding reception, was pretty special,” Darcy shared.

Emma and Darcy had three non-negotiables for their DIY backyard wedding. What were they, you ask?

“1. Good food from Chief Catering (nothing worse than being starving at a wedding because the food is crap or not enough of it).

2. Good drinks – including cocktails from Giddy Up Bar. Mojitos (my fav) and Espresso martinis for the win.

3. Good music. We had the Andy and Emily Duo as our band, which became a DJ after speeches. Which made the atmosphere laid back for the first half and a party for the second half. A mullet, if you will, with business in the front and party in the back.

We tried not to stress about anything else. As long as our favourite people were there to celebrate with us, and we had the above, we knew it would be perfect for us.”

They slipped out of their reception to take some sunset portraits at a conservation park overlooking Murray Bridge, where they encountered some surprise guests. “It was so quiet, with the most stunning sunset and golden hour. Right before we finished, we were taking photos in front of the full moon when we spotted a bunch of kangaroos in the grass below us. There’s a photo of us spotting them, and it was just this special little moment. With the moon and the roo’s, overlooking the town we both grew up in, where we are raising our daughters.”

Emma has been planning this day for over 10 years – and while her tastes may have changed, it’s clear she put her heart and soul into every single beautiful detail. “I am glad we waited. We were older and wiser. Better off financially and less inclined to bend to pressures of others about what we should or shouldn’t do. Having vendors I had my eye on for years, available for our date, and locked in was so surreal, and realising they were going to help bring our day to life was up there.”

The top five things that made this DIY wedding so incredibly unique were:

“1. Seeing our ideas come to life, in our own backyard was very cool. And getting to enjoy our backyard space with all those amazing memories attached to it for the rest of our lives is pretty neat.

2. Having our daughters be part of our day was incredible; they were old enough to enjoy it and hopefully remember it for years to come.

3. Cruising around our hometown in Darcy’s restored Holden VS Clubsport, which he has owned since before we started dating. Driving around the same streets, in the same car we did on our wedding day at 33 and 36, as we did back when we were 18 and 21, was such a full-circle moment.

4. At one point in the night, we went up to the house together and looked down at our wedding. It was like a music festival full of all our loved ones. We just stood watching it and taking it all in.

5. The impromptu last dance, circled by our friends and family while they all sang their lungs out, made us realise we were so damn lucky.

Instead of a first dance, Emma created a cake-shaped piñata to break open as a family. “We aren’t super into being the centre of attention, so we decided against the first dance and cake cutting. I DIY’ed our two-tier piñata cake, full of goodies such as mini fireball bottles, scratchy tickets, lollies, funky sunglasses, and light-up rave sticks. This was a huge hit [literally and figuratively], and I’m so glad I put in the many hours to create this. Darcy and I gave it a few whacks each, then our girls and nephews had a go before Andrew came in and broke it apart at the most perfect time.”

They also had a last dance to Chet Faker’s Like a Version Cover of “Lover” by Sonia Dada. “It wasn’t a planned dance; we were all on the dance floor for the “final” song, and Darcy and I ended up in the middle dancing together as all our friends/family surrounded us in a big circle. I’d like to say it was the perfect end to the night, but the party didn’t stop there, but it was the perfect moment and memory I will cherish forever.”

Congratulations Emma and Darcy – all your hard work and planning paid off! Thanks to Jacob Jennings for capturing and sharing these special photos with us.