Moody Romantic Wedding at Vines Resort

With a custom black gown, plants in place of florals and a joyful ceremony, Emma and Cory’s wedding at The Vines Resort was unapologetically them. But through the romance and celebrations, there was also a quiet tribute to their beloved cat Murphy, whose passing shortly before the wedding reshaped how they wanted the day to feel: softer, more grounded, and filled with soul. Captured by Kat from Red Eclectic, it’s a celebration that feels especially fitting for our Mindful Issue.

On their first day of high school in 2010, Emma and Cory had a special relationship brewing: one of teen hatred. “As high school went on, things changed, and then we officially got together after we graduated!”

If there was one thing that was a given in Cory and Emma’s relationship, it was that they would get married one day. Not if, but when. “I picked out my dream ring, he bought it, and then he gave it to me/proposed at Hyde Park,” she shared.

We love seeing an alternative wedding dress, and Emma’s custom black gown ticks all those boxes! “My dress was all black and was custom-built with girls at Archela Bridal. I loved the initial dress I tried on, but I wanted something with a long train and lots of buttons, and I just couldn’t find something that was ‘right.’ So the girls helped me order the material and then had their dressmaker add a detachable train to the gown! It was a lengthy and expensive process, but I really loved the dress.”

To match Emma’s gown and the moody romance of the day, Cory picked out a classic all black suit from Suit Vault. “We both love the colour black (and most of our house & furniture is black!) so it made sense to have this be ‘our colour.'”

Cory and Emma had their first look and private vow reading with Kat from Red Eclectic: one of their favourite vendors of the day. “Kat is amazing, and her style is brilliant. She made us laugh, which was the most important thing!”

For Cory, the first look and the couple’s shoot were his favourite parts of this romantic wedding. “Having a laugh during our couples photos, seeing Emma walk down the aisle and of course, getting to share the moment with all my closest mates & family.”

As they loved everything Kat created, it’s no surprise that Emma and Cory loved all of the moments she captured equally. If they had to pick something as their favourite, the shots of their couple’s portraits pre-ceremony are definitely up there. “She did such a stellar job with our couple portraits. I definitely have some favourites of ours in the flowers at The Vines!”

The five things that made Cory and Emma’s moody, romantic wedding so special for them included:

“1. Finally getting my dress to fit (it was a LONG process),

2. Having our best friends as our witnesses,

3. Having plants instead of flowers,

4. The unique ceremony

5. And of course, Cory!”

The Vines in Perth was their wedding venue, with lots of greenery and beautiful views. “We often used to take walks on the golf course and see the kangaroos, so it was a little bit special. I also loved the amount of greenery,” Emma shared.

Originally, Emma wanted the ceremony space filled to the brim with romantic red roses. Which might have been beautiful, but their beloved cat Murphy passed away just before the wedding, changing Emma’s outlook on the celebration. “It was a major upheaval in our lives, and my feelings changed towards the wedding – I wanted something more natural and lush to represent nature, trees and birds, in honour of our cat Murphy. He absolutely loved watching the birds in the tree in our courtyard, and I felt like having a lot of plants around would be a special tribute to him. It also didn’t hurt that I love plants a lot but can’t keep them alive to save my life, so it was nice to experience them for one day! Tahnee from The Botanic Edit did such a special job with this.”

Emma walked down the aisle with her stepdad on her arm, as “Bloom” by The Paper Kites played. “It’s one of mine and Cory’s favourite songs.”

Instead of having a wedding party, Cory and Emma decided to just keep the focus on the two of them. “We didn’t have a wedding party, simply because we knew that choosing between our friends would be too hard, and we don’t like the feeling of that. We also knew it wasn’t in the budget, and we wanted people to feel comfortable and have a good time, so we didn’t worry about it. And saved lots of money too!” They shared.

Since Emma and Cory had read their vows privately earlier in the day, the ceremony was short and much more engaging for their guests: exactly as they’d hoped! “We wanted something that was special, but also lots of laughs in there, too. We wanted people to feel engaged, too, since we’ve both been to weddings where the processions have taken so long, so we didn’t want that. We incorporated our cake cutting AND a ‘shot before tying the knot’ into our ceremony so guests could toss confetti multiple times and be engaged with the whole process,” she explained.

Their celebrant, House of Ebony, was one of their favourite vendors, alongside Kat. “They are just such special people and I am so grateful to have had them do their jobs so well and capture us so perfectly,” Emma shared.

“I wanted some sort of special memorial for family members who had passed over. We had a ‘memorial’ chair with a special flower to represent each family member, and also had our celebrant, Ebony, to acknowledge them in our ceremony.”

For Emma, the thing she loved most about her and Cory’s moody, romantic wedding was seeing all her hard work come to life. “The whole day was special, and I was able to enjoy it, and I wasn’t rushing around, which was nice. It was also super exciting for me to finally see the plants display and to see all of my closest loved ones in the audience. I wish I could have invited more people!”