TERESA AND SHANE | ECLECTIC BEACH WEDDING MOLLYMOOK

MOLLYMOOK BEACH REAL WEDDING FEATURE AUSTRALIAN DESIGNER CLOUDFACE PHOTOGRAPHY

"We are a team. We always have been, and this was our personal take on becoming one."

➳ How did the two of you meet? We met working together at a Winery in January 2009. I was very shy and didn’t know how to talk to Shane – who was very confident and damn cool! We slowly began chatting more and more and then going for coffee dates in the park. We officially started dating in September of 2009.

➳ How long were you together before your engagement? We were together for just under 6 years when we got engaged. Despite starting to date in September 09, I moved away from our home town of Griffith NSW to Wollongong for University. We survived almost 8 years of long distance before getting married. I studied for 4 years and then worked for another 4 before moving home (my degree really didn’t suit a small town!)

➳ Tell us about the proposal: Shane proposed on a family holiday in Canada. It was like a blooper reel!! We went in July 2015 with Shane’s family (7 of us). We had arrived after two 10 hour flights, hiring an RV and finding somewhere to park the thing. Shane asked me to go for a walk and I dragged my feet in protest. The path that Shane had hoped would lead to a beautiful lake, actually took us to a construction site. I was close to leaving him because he was acting strange and I was exhausted from the travel - then he got down on one knee – I was sitting on a concrete pile-on and he asked me to marry him.

➳ What led you to decide on your Wedding venue? We have had holidays regularly on the south coast and love the beach. As we are from a small town where there is limited options for wedding venues, we couldn’t imagine a better place to get married than Mollymook on the beach.

➳ What was the inspiration behind your Wedding theme? A little bit of everything! And Pinterest of course. We mostly wanted to be able to do what we could ourselves so DIY searches were prominent. It became a mix between rustic and classic.

➳ Most favourite moment/s of the day: Shane crying when he saw me come down the aisle...

Standing with Shane, we were outside next to the beach on sunset looking into our venue - before we were announced...

Seeing how happy everyone was...

Watching through glass windows and taking a moment to appreciate all the wonderful people in our lives...

The speeches – we have such a wonderful family who each told their versions of our story...

➳ Favourite detail/s about the day? Our favours had to be a favourite of mine! We handmade wooden coasters – which took quite a bit of time and effort. They were worth all the arguments and tears! Every time I visit a guest and see them on display I am filled with joy. The flowers were absolutely stunning.

➳ How long did it take for you to find and how was your dress/suit shopping experience overall? The dress I chose was in the first Bridal Boutique I went to. I saw their gowns at a Sydney bridal show and made an appointment – their designs are gorgeous! I went to a few other places just in case but I always came back to their style. It was hard to pick between a few of them but we got there in the end.

Shane took care of the suits. He always knew he wanted a suit that tied in with the beach theme and he did wonderfully. I loved the blue! (I had my initial doubts, as he is colour blind!!!)

➳What does marriage mean to you? Never having to say you are sorry! Haha no...

Marriage is something we both feel pretty strongly about – in the context of us being one. We are a team. We always have been, and this was our personal take on becoming one. Our marriage was the reason to end eight ridiculous years of long distance and finally starting our life together.

➳ Any classic stories you want to share from the day? A playful prank of rings being dropped in the sand! Shane’s little brother planned dummy rings to be dropped when he handed them over!

A guest congratulating my sister and welcoming her to the family! He was a tad embarrassed when he noticed she was not in a white dress.

The classic melt down from one of our best and toughest mates – taking himself off to the corner to cry about how life is about to change.

➳ What advice would you offer to other couples planning a Wedding? Don’t sweat the small stuff. Make the right decisions for you and your partner.

Take a moment on the day with your new spouse to take it all in!

Try to remember in the end, you’re marrying your best friend - and that is what is important. But also don’t become too short sighted and hurt anyone. You will regret that later when its all done. Bridezilla moments are really not worth it.

➳ Any stand out vendors for the day? Someone that went above and beyond? I think absolutely everyone that we worked with went above and beyond. As we were out of town we had to rely on emails and phone calls in between. The week and day of every single person we worked with took time to make sure everything was smooth and all we had to do was get dressed and show up!

All of our vendors were truly amazing.