It Was Never A Phase: and Nikita and Matthew proved it. From the moment they met outside a DJ competition, fate (and flawless grammar) was on their side. Fast-forward twelve years, and these two emo kids turned life partners planned the ultimate at-home wedding filled with music references, moody styling, and heartfelt moments. With Hayley Morgan behind the lens, capturing every emotional, black-lace-draped, and red-highlighted detail, this love story is proof that true romance never goes out of style; it just gets a killer soundtrack.

In the winter of 2012, Nikita was dragged along to a DJ competition by her sister Libby, who knew one of the contestants. During DJ Matticus’s set, Nikita’s attention was well and truly grabbed, so when she and Libby ran into Matthew outside, it was like fate. “They met properly outside, which was a lot less noisy, but Nikita was standing there shivering as Libby was happily chatting away to Matthew. Suddenly, he said, “Get your sister somewhere warm, she’s freezing!” The next day, Matthew posted on Nikita’s Facebook wall “, I see you didn’t die of hypothermia, that’s good”, which Nikita thought was very cute and lovely, but also featured good grammar! It was over a year before they started dating, but they both knew at the beginning that this was something special.”

Fast forward seven years, and Matt asked Nikita if she wanted a ring or a house first, and like any sensible person, she picked a house without hesitation. Marriage wasn’t exactly off the table for the pair, but it became less and less important the stronger their relationship grew. In another couple of years, Nikita had a health scare with some pretty intense ovarian cancer news, and her life flashed before her eyes. “In those moments, the important people in our life came into focus and through it all, a huge desire to walk down the aisle to my person. When we talked about it, we both realised we were now really happy to get married.”

On a trip to Melbourne for their 10th anniversary, and as the day was winding down, Nikita asked Matt an important question. “Is it still our anniversary?” and he said, “Yes, for a few more minutes”. I asked him, “Do you want to get married?”, to which Matt responded, “Are you being serious? Well yeah, of course!” I said “Wait… are we actually engaged now?” and Matt said, “I guess so!” So yes, super romantic and totally planned… not. But it was very natural and felt right. Matt didn’t get his ring until many months later when I found the perfect engagement ring and handed it to him in a little box shaped like a strawberry,” she shared.

The theme of their wedding? “It Was Never A Phase” – and we’re obsessed!! Both Nikita and Matt are emos at heart, and felt it perfectly encapsulated the way they met and how they live their lives now. Guests were asked to wear red, white and black to match the colour scheme, with emo-inspired decor hanging around their home.

Nikita wore a jaw-dropping black-and-white gown from Desert Moon Bridal, full of white tulle and stunning black lace accents, paired with a floor-length black veil. She finished her look with a custom pair of black-and-red Converse All Stars imported from America, with the words “Just Married” embroidered on the backs. With her signature red glasses coupled with a bold red lip, she was ready to take on the day. The final piece to her look was a West Ham pin on the back of her dress, representing her dad’s favourite football team!

Her customised bouquet was created by Fynw Flower Studio UK, in the signature red, black and white of the wedding.

There was nothing more important to Nikita and Matt than being able to include their dog, Kevin, in their wedding. And when they couldn’t find a venue nearby that was pet-friendly, Matt simply asked, “What about if we got married at home, and then it’s like our forever venue and every day we get to wake up where we got married?” And they did!

They created the custom backdrop for the ceremony by themselves, with the ever-fitting neon “’Til Death” surrounded by flowers, fabric and all of their favourite emo band posters. “Another special touch was a poster near the record guestbook that asked guests to donate to Seeing Eye Dogs Australia, a charity close to our heart – we foster seeing eye puppies, and Kevin was born into the Seeing Eye Dog program before being adopted to us permanently as a pet when he was medically released.”

Matthew wore black pants and a white marching band jacket inspired by the outfits from My Chemical Romance’s “The Black Parade”. He finished his look off with a matching pair of Converse All Stars with the same embroidered “Just Married” on the backs. He walked down the aisle with his best friend, Amy, to “Welcome To The Black Parade” by My Chemical Romance. “Matthew really wanted to channel our emo theme and pay a tribute to the band and 2006 album that shaped our youth,” shared Nikita.

Nikita waited downstairs while Matthew had his moment, overwhelmed with emotions. “When I was waiting downstairs for Matt to enter the ceremony as he was going first, and I heard the first notes of his song and then everyone cheering and clapping, and I just lost it and burst into tears thinking about how handsome he must look and how everyone must be so excited. I couldn’t wait to go up the stairs,” she explained.

She walked down the aisle next with her parents behind her as Bring Me The Horizon’s “Follow You” played.

Nikita and Matthew had a highly personalised ceremony that perfectly reflected their emo theme, allowed them to celebrate them and summed up their 12-year-long love story. Led by the talented Elle from Cellebrate, their custom-written ceremony was chock-full of emo jokes and one-liners from their favourite songs. “They exchanged their own vows, bringing everyone to tears. Kevin brought the rings down the aisle and stuck around to help sign the paperwork, which included a custom emo-themed kinship certificate created by Elle that Nikita, Matthew, and Kevin all added their finger/paw prints to with red ink.”

For many neurodivergent couples, a ceremony can be an overwhelming experience. So Elle kept it under 20 minutes, with Nikita and Matt planning decompression time immediately afterwards to make sure they were taking care of themselves throughout the celebrations.

Kevin was the ring bearer for this wedding, dressed in a black tuxedo jacket and matching cuffs for his little legs! “With some clever snack bribery, he did the best job of trotting down the aisle and greeting guests on his way to greet mum and dad at the top of the aisle, where he delivered the rings before running off again to his carer from Kare Kanine. He was the star of the show with his little formal outfit, jumping and running down the aisle, so stoked to be there and to have all eyes on him. It was adorable,” they shared.

Hayley Morgan was the incredible photographer for Nikita and Matt’s moody alternative wedding, and they couldn’t have picked a more positive (and emo-loving) vendor for their day! ”We got to relive the moments and the things that happened on our day through her lens, and it was so amazing. There’s not a single photo we don’t love. She is neurodivergent, and so are we, and she made us so comfortable despite us being very awkward people, and you can tell in the photos how comfortable we were,” they explained.

“We also love the candid photos of our family and friends, and the details – the things we didn’t necessarily see on the day we’ve been able to catch up on later. It also really helped that Hayley is a fellow emo kid because she really understood our aesthetic, and that meant she captured the things that were important to us and highlighted them. Hayley’s talent has made choosing an album sooo hard!”

Not only did Nikita and Matthew DIY that gorgeous ceremony backdrop – but they DIYd the whole day! All of the decor was their work, the grazing station and candy bar for the lunch reception, the wedding favours (candles with a classic “Thnks fr th Mmrs”) and bags of blanched almonds were all created for their guests by Nikita and Matt themselves.

Everyone on their vendor dream team was… well, a dream! “All our vendors were amazing – they all helped to make our day exactly what we wanted it to be. Elle and Hayley really pulled everything together for us, too, and made it feel so special.”

When it came to advice, Nikita and Matt both agreed that as a couple, you’ve got to focus on what the two of you have placed as the important stuff. “Nothing in a wedding goes 100% to plan, but at the end of it, you get to be married to your person! Whenever we look back at important moments in life, we don’t notice that someone dropped a cake or that a tag was hanging out. We remember how we felt, how our cheeks ached with the smiles, how our hearts felt full and how our eyes glistened with emotions we couldn’t keep contained. Focus on that, and the day will be perfect,” they shared.

Of all the beautiful shots Hayley captured, the ones of Nikita and Matthew in the late afternoon are their favourites. “When the light started to drop behind the trees, it made for really nice pictures, and we love looking at those photos now.”

A huge congratulations to Nikita and Matthew on your moody, alternative wedding! You should be proud of not only creating this beautiful day, but also for creating a safe space for yourselves throughout. Thanks to Hayley Morgan Weddings for capturing their day, and thanks to Elle from Cellebrate for sharing it with us.