Fig Tree, Bryon Bay, NSW

Photography by Van Middleton Photography

Nev is a keen surfer, he loves live music, he is hard working and incredibly resourceful. I love his creative ability to turn a scrap piece of material into something with new purpose. Some of our favourite activities are playing frisby at our local park, going on surf trips (where Nev surfs and I take drone photos) and travelling the world.

Born and raised in rural Western Australia mixed with spending my adult years in Perth, I’m a country girl/ city hybrid. I love being outside, bike riding down the coast line and picnics with friends paired with an Aperol Sprtiz in hand.

FIRST MEETING

Emily and Nev have worked for the same resources company for the last 9 years. We met 7 years ago conducting an interview recruiting operators (Nev was a Supervisor and I was in Recruitment) and our attraction was instant.

I was so intrigued by Nev – he was grounded, humble, kind, intelligent and very handsome. He contacted me a week later saying ‘I’m sorry to break all the HR rules in the book, but do you want to go on a date?’ Needless to say I was thrilled and I immediately accepted.

PROPOSAL

Nev and I have been renovating our home for the last 3 years. We have poured so much time and love into it, it’s truly our special place. Leading up to our engagement we had been in the South West wine region for a long weekend, and on the Monday Nev had flown out for work. When I returned from work on Monday evening Nev had scattered petals through the house, strung fairy lights through the trees, and had built an archway in our back garden which he was standing under. It took me completely by surprise (as I thought he flew out!), I was speechless, and I fell to my knees too and accepted his proposal. We celebrated that night with our closest friends at our local restaurant Il Lido Italian Canteen.

THE PLANNING

When we got engaged we discussed the most important things to us which were our ‘wedding day musts’. Compiling the list was important to us as we often referred to our priorities when decisions needed to be made. It kept us honest and focused on what really mattered most about our wedding day.

Nev was in charge of planning our honeymoon, which he kept a surprise all the way until we were often on the plane! We spent a week in the Whitsundays, a week in Buzios, Brazil, and a week in Iguazu, Argentina. Needless to say it was the most glorious 3 weeks of honeymoon bliss.

WHICH WINE

Em and Nev hosted a ‘blind wedding wine tasting’ night at our house, inviting our bridal party and partners over and to bring a bottle of their favourite wine. The ‘winning’ selection was our chosen wedding wine.

THE HIGHLIGHTS

We had so many highlights from our wedding day.

My first is my Mum marrying us. To look at my husband in front of me, my Mum to my side and bridal party behind me was surreal and incredible. Mum is not only the most beautiful person I know, but she has been a huge advocate of Nev and me since the beginning. It was an honor having her marry us.

My other absolute highlight during the ceremony was a surprise by one of my best friends, Hannah. She had written a song, and collaborated with our musician to play it while she sang during our wedding certificate signing. Hannah has the voice of an angel and we (with all the wedding guests) erupted with a round of applause and cheer for Hannah after her song.

CHOOSING THE GOWN

I purchased my dress from the Anna Campbell store in Armadale, Melbourne. I love Anna Campbell dresses for her feminine, timeless, elegant looks. I wanted a gown that would be comfortable on the day and one which would allow me to dance! I asked Nev what his favourite physical feature of mine was, so I made sure to accentuate that in my dress.

I loved the Amelie gown the moment I put it on. By this stage I had tried on 47 dresses and not one ticked all my boxes. This dress was so elegant, comfortable, and most importantly I felt like myself in it.

The most memorable part of my Anna Campbell experience was my final fitting with Mum. We flew from Perth to Melbourne for 24 hours for my fittings and pick up. I loved that I could do all my alternations in such a short timeframe – the experience was so easy!

WORDS OF ADVICE

Talk about the things that are important to you before anything else. Nev’s priorities were to have a small destination wedding and to be able to surf on the wedding morning. For me, it was for my Mum to marry us, to feel calm and comfortable on the day, and to have exceptional wine and food. Once we had our priorities everything else came really easily – we knew what to prioritise and what to let go.

For ‘the dress’ I’d recommend choosing something that you’re comfortable wearing. If you’re a dancing queen, do a little dance when trying on dresses, to make sure you’re not restricted! If you have lots of children in your wedding then boning in a dress will make it hard to bend down and you might bruise or get hurt! More than anything though just be honest to what you want – it’s no one else’s day but you and your partner, and you’ll look beautiful in anything.