Grace and Adam’s love story feels a little bit like the universe kept missing their cue – until it didn’t. After years of unknowingly orbiting the same Victorian towns, festivals and beaches, it took one Tinder swipe and a very patient 40-minute wait at Fisherman’s Beach to finally bring them together. So when Grace (an events and wedding florist for over a decade) planned their own day, the brief was simple: no stress, no fuss, just an elevated-casual celebration filled with texture, mood and the people who matter most.

With only 40 guests, rich black and mossy green tones, and wildly textural botanicals, their winter wedding at Barwon Edge in Geelong was unapologetically them. Captured in the effortless style of Tony Evans Photography, they can now relive each and every moment.

Like many modern couples, Grace and Adam’s story started as a Tinderella one, swiping right on the next chapter of their lives. “We officially met at Fishmen’s Beach at Torquay. We made a date for a benny-brunch as soon as we discovered our shared love for Eggs Benedict. Of course, I was over 40 minutes late for the first date! But Adam must have been keen because he patiently waited the… whole.. forty… minutes! I remember turning the corner and seeing the most adorable smile spread over his face, and I knew this was going to be a good first date. I remember thinking how amazing it was to find someone I could be my complete self with and he felt the same way. After a long walk along the beach spilling all our secrets, we kinda knew this was it,” Grace shared.

“What we both found incredible was the fact that we had spent the previous fifteen years following each other around Victoria, but never met. We went to the same bars in our younger days, saw the same bands play and went to the same festivals, lived in the same suburbs at the same time, not just once but three times over, and I would drive down to Torquay from Melbourne to pass the day away, not knowing he lived there. It felt quite serendipitous when we finally met, like it was finally time to be with my other half. So after a year of dating, I packed my whole life up in Melbourne and moved to Geelong to be with the genuine, beautiful, humble man I met by the beach.”

They came back to Fisherman’s Beach for all of their special moments, sucked in like a gravitational pull. Their first meeting, their final moments with their beloved dog, quiet moments spent in each other’s company. Nothing, however, will top one particular afternoon trip to their beach… “One afternoon we took our dogs for a walk along the beach. Adam knelt down and started fussing over one of our dogs. Thinking something was wrong, I walked over to make sure she was ok. He pulled my ring from his back pocket and very sheepishly asked me to be his wife. Smooth. Many tears and kisses and cuddles followed with a firm yes.”

To match the moody, winter vibe of the day, Grace wore this incredible long-sleeved beaded emerald-green gown. “I didn’t feel right in white. I went to a bridal gown store and tried on the white dresses and even though one in particular was very beautiful, it was in no way me or my style,” she explained.

“I had found an emerald green dress online and I couldn’t get it out of my head. It had all the sparkles! The colour was beautiful, and when I went into the store to try it on, I felt amazing in it. I felt like myself but in the best way. It also coincidentally married in very nicely with the style of our wedding so I couldn’t not get married in it.”

They started off their day with a private first look. “We had a moment to ourselves, and we were both so genuinely happy and so full of joy when we saw each other. No tears at all, just all smiles! We were then joined by our daughter and my step-son, and it was such a great moment just being together as a family and feeling official. Our family photos were a whole heap of fun as well.”

Adam wore a classic black suit with an emerald green tie to match Grace’s dress. “Adam is a humble man who doesn’t like the spotlight. Something classic was right for him and worked perfectly for the relaxed feel of the wedding,” Grace shares.

He shares: “I’ve never seen Grace as relaxed or as happy as she was that day. We shared the day with the most important people in our lives, and I felt that everything finally felt right.”

Of all the beautiful, moody shots captured by Tony Evan Photography throughout the day, one stood out the most. “The photo of Adam whispering in my ear and I’m wetting myself laughing because that sums up our relationship in one frame,” she explained.

“Tony! Tony Evans! This guy is amazing! I found him through a mutual Event Stylist colleague and instantly loved his work. So much so that we didn’t bother looking for other options, as Adam was equally happy as I was. His style worked perfectly with the overall theme of our wedding.

He was so easy to work with, and we were both happy to let Tony do his thing, knowing full well we would get some great photos from him. He made two introverts feel very comfortable in front of the camera. There was joking and laughter while we took our portrait shots, then he moved around like a ninja throughout the ceremony and lunch, capturing all those candid moments but staying in the shadows. We hardly knew he was there! We absolutely adore our wedding photos and have never doubted our decision.”

The whole day takes place at Barwon Edge in Geelong, nothing too pretentious but still elevated, perfect for their moody winter wedding. “We loved it. Barwon Edge has a gorgeous tree-lined driveway, and the glass details in the building bring the outside in. The gardens surrounding the venue are a lovely space to hold a ceremony and to take photos. The food was absolutely incredible! Our guests raved about their meals and many have revisited since our wedding. The service was impeccable,” Grace gushes.

“HUGE shoutout to Jessie, the Events Manager. She was an absolute dream to work with. She actively got involved in our day and accommodated our vision perfectly. She was very hands-on on the day itself and made sure we were taken care of and the whole team of staff are incredible.”

As mentioned earlier, Grace is an events florist and wanted to infuse her love of all things botanical into her and Adam’s moody wedding. “My personal floral style is very quirky and I find beauty in unusual botanical materials. I provided a mood board and colour scheme to my incredibly talented boss at Peony & Weasel Flower Co. and trusted her completely with my vision. The colour palette was black, green, mushroom, parchment and moss. The overall style wasn’t based so much on flowers but more on textures. The use of moss, rhipsalis plants, pods, sea sponges, mushrooms, twigs and sticks brought together with touches of slipper orchids and other bold flowers to contrast, created lots of quirky details.”

Grace walked down the aisle with their daughter, making their way out as “First Date” by Taylor Acorn and an acoustic version of “First Dance” by Blink 182.

Their goal for the ceremony? To create an intimate atmosphere where guests were able to catch a glimpse of their love story. Grace’s uncle’s life-partner (Warren Morrison Celebrant) was their celebrant, which made it all the more special. “Warren was fun, kept the jokes rolling between all the serious bits, and all our guests said he was very entertaining. We wrote our own vows that told our story. My sister read a reading during the ceremony that focused on the reality of love, not the fairytale,” she explained.

“And our incredible mantle-piece! This deserves a special mention. It was the perfect anchor for our ceremony and doubled up into an amazing backdrop for family photos directly following the ceremony.”

One element that was incredibly important to both Grace and Adam was the involvement of their family as much as possible. “They are the people who make us who we are. Our daughter walking down the aisle, my ‘uncle’ being the one to marry us, our mum signing our wedding certificate, my sister reading out a reading during the ceremony, and my sister also made our incredible wedding cake as well! We had a special chair with a reserved sign and a single rose for my dad, who unexpectedly passed away during our engagement, so he could still be a part of the day. We also had a candle lighting ceremony for him during our ceremony.”

The only aspect of the day that Grace DIY’d herself was their wedding stationery – everything else she outsourced to her incredible network of vendors she’s met throughout the years. “Having a small child and a busy day-to-day life, this was the best decision I made to keep my stress levels as low as possible.”

There are a few details that stood out as extra special for Grace, aside from marrying her now husband, but the flowers and styling top everything else. “All the visions floating around in my brain for years came to life, and it was just as incredible in real life as it was in my mind. My Bridal Bouquet was just something else with the mushrooms, black hydrangea, slipper orchids and menta roses.

I loved our wine glass acrylic name tags as something a little different; the florals were beyond what I had imagined, and my 80cm tall black taper candles brought all the drama! We had a record player with vinyls for our guests to sign and that is now wall art hanging in our hallway to remind us of the ones we love.”

The top five things that made this moody winter wedding so unique for Grace and Adam were:

“1. Involving our family. We are nothing without our family and this was very important to us.

2. Our theme and styling. As much as I love a white, green and pink wedding, this was unapologetically us and showed who we were as a couple.

3. Choosing a venue that everyone genuinely enjoyed and wasn’t purely for the aesthetic aspect.

4. Being surrounded by everyone who loves us and seeing the effort everyone made to be there. We had friends come from interstate, rural regions and Melbourne just to be there for us.

5. Hanging out with our kids and realising we have something pretty great together.”

Please join us in congratulating Grace and Adam on the beauty of their moody winter wedding. And thanks to Tony Evans Photography for capturing and sharing this enchanting day.