Natasha and Luke’s WA wedding at Parry Beach Breaks was full of highlights (like doing a lottery with their guests’ names to see who would be their witnesses) but surely the biggest stand out was the moment Natasha told Luke they were having a baby. “A few days before the wedding I found out I was pregnant and this seemed like the perfect time to tell Luke our happy news”, said Natasha.

The story about when they first found their wedding venue is worth a read below too. Scroll down for their full love story and to see their beautiful wedding pics and film by Holii & Ash.

+++++

How did you and Luke meet? It all begun on a Summer’s day in January at a cute neighbourhood bar in Mosman Park called Rodney’s Bait and Tackle. Timing played a huge part in it all working out for us both, after both going through some life-altering trauma in 2016 we were both finally ready to open our hearts again.

The proposal: The proposal was perfectly us. A Friday afternoon in May Luke asked if we should go for a walk down to the beach with some drinks and our fur dog babies to watch the sunset. Something we do often living so close to the beach and makes us both so happy.

Luke casually passed me a large box… and in my mind I thought how lovely Luke has bought me a soy candle, what a nice random gift. Until I opened the numerous boxes inside to find the most stunning engagement ring.

Wedding venue: A place we both had never been to. We instantly fell in love with it and knew it was a place that encapsulated the both of us. Coastal meets country. We still loved it even though we nearly lost our car on the first visit.

Wedding vibe: Coastal meets country filled with warmth and love. I’m a big lover of mood boards so these were in all group chats and helped make it easy making design decisions.

Traditions: adopted, adapted or ditched? For our wedding signing we did a lottery with our guests’ names – it was so much fun and really got everyone involved and excited.

As a florist I was slightly over all the bouquets being the same and over powering the bridesmaids outfits. I choose to have the bridesmaids hold one variety of blooms as I felt this didn’t become over powering to the surroundings and freestanding blooms behind us all at the ceremony, which we also repurposed for the reception.

We tried to get as many important people involved as possible giving little jobs to family members like bringing up the vow cards etc. and speeches to include as many loved ones as we could.

Hit or (near) miss: When we found Parry’s we were so excited we literally booked a site visit within days and got down there to view and secure a date.

After meeting with the venue owner we were really excited to explore the area and Luke thought it would be a great idea to take our 4WD on the beach. We totally didn’t have all the right gear for the spontaneous trip and got extremely stuck in the sand quit far away from other vehicles. This turned into a four hour recovery mission of trying to save our car from being washed out to sea.

I will never forget being newly engaged having to take my ring off to dig our car out like our lives depended on it.

I’ll always remember… So many special moments, but one in particular that we will remember for a lifetime was taking some time just after dinner to go and sit outside together on our own as husband and wife. It was so special seeing all our loved ones in one room together and knowing that our love had done that.

Then to really add to the drama you could tell your now husband that he is to be a Dad like I did. A few days before the wedding I found out I was pregnant and this seemed like the perfect time to tell Luke our happy news. It was also nice having a little surprise to ourselves minus the not feeling too great part for me (morning sickness).

So we went from planning a wedding to now planning to be parents – it’s been a big year for us that’s for sure.

The outfit/s: Not having any family in Perth I did find the dress hunting very daunting and emotional. I must say I only gave two dress shops a go before finding Faith Anderson. I loved that she was a designer who was just as excited about our love story as us and from day one I had total Faith I was in the right hands.

Luke’s outfit was purchased in one shopping trip, as pain free as possible. We really wanted to feel comfortable and Luke loved the idea of being able to use his outfit again.

Standout vendors: Sarah Thompson our celebrant was amazing. She really made the ceremony so personal to us. For Luke and I this part of the wedding was so important. It may be the only time in our lives that we have all the people we love together at once and everyone really felt the love and could see the time and energy that went into creating a memorable ceremony.

We still pinch ourselves that we managed to have a wedding during a pandemic and get guests from all over Australia to one location, without causing anyone to isolate.

Soundtrack: Aisle – “I’m With You”, by Vance Joy. Signing – “Better Together”, by Jack Johnson”. Recessional – “You’ve Got The Love”, by Florence and the Machine. First dance – “Guiding Light”, by Mumford and Sons. Party starter – “I Wanna Be Your Lover”, by Prince.

Music was a big thing for us both, we made Spotify playlists… It really helped set the mood for each part of the day. The band really added to this feel starting straight after the first dance.

Words of wedding wisdom: It really is just one day, so try to enjoy all the little things in the lead up. Having a wine tasting night at home to choose your wine selection. Having dance parties in the lounge room to find your wedding playlists and key songs.

The one thing most people say is you will never regret spending the money on a videographer. We nearly didn’t and made the call one month before the day. And we can now hands down say that we are so thankful – we watch our wedding video more than we view our photos. Having sound and movement included really takes you back to all those feelings and emotions on the day. I know it’s expensive but you will regret if you don’t.

Budget: Even being in the wedding industry I still didn’t really know how much weddings costs. We did well at starting with a budget of $40K. We slightly went over but to be honest we had some non negotiable things being good food, wine, location and music and these things come at a price. We saved money through less numbers as a lot of guests interstate and overseas couldn’t attend.

The future: We are loving not having to spend our weekends talking about the wedding excel spread sheet! Enjoying our time as Newlyweds. Looking forward to the arrival of our baby this year we have booked a few nights in to stay back at Parry’s once he arrives for early next year. We love that we choose a wedding spot we can take our growing family for holidays and create more memories.

CREDITS: Photos and video Holii & Ash // Venue Parry Beach Breaks // Celebrant Sarah Thompson // Florist Alice Elizabeth // Catering Perth BBQ Co // Cookie stand Get Chunky // Stationery bride and Peterkin (printing) // Bridal gown and veil Faith Anderson // Brides shoes Forever Soles // Bridesmaid dresses Shona Joy // Bridesmaid gifts Salty Aura // Groom and groomsmen suits Country Road // Rings Stefan Diamonds // Hair Amanda Barrett Hair // Makeup RU Studio // Music Eclipse Musicians // Transport Denmark Wine Lovers // Photo booth Open Photo Booth // Hire items Hire in Style and Bertie Does.

+++++

ENJOY: 10 Non-Traditional Wedding Outfits You Need To Know About

SHOP: Wedding tees for him and her

READ: Vax Chat: How To Tackle The Subject Of Weddings And Vaccinations