CTCW Wedding Suppliers:
Photographer: Pace Photography
Your place of residence?
South East England. However we were in Australia at the time on a year working VISA. We were living in Perth CBD. This is where we got engaged too, on Australia day on the eve of my 30th birthday.
Why did you choose to have an elopement wedding in Australia, was it planned between you and Anthony to to do this?
We decided to elope because Australia is our second home. We have both travelled around the country on our own prior to meeting, then again when we were dating, and then we lived there for a year! It is the place we got engaged and holds a lot of memories to us both. Eloping made sense to us, and it was the perfect ending to our year in Australia - keeping it just the two of us let us have a more intimate ceremony, where we could be ourselves and not have the stresses of traditional wedding days - we could focus on our vows more and have the day as we wanted.
Why out of all the places in the world did you choose Margaret River as your wedding destination?
As we were living in Perth it felt right to marry somewhere in Perth. Neither of us had ever visited the Margaret River region and had heard from others that it was a beautiful place to go - so we decided we would plan a road trip down there, and whilst there……we would get married!!
How much did you know about Margaret River before you came here?
We knew it was a wine region and that the beaches at Busselton were beautiful - everyone in the city always raved about how relaxing it was down there so we did some research on the internet - found Yelverton Lodge, which was perfect!
What resources did you use to plan your wedding in the region?
I used the internet to find elopement places in Margaret River - which brought up Yelverton Brook. After contacting them, Joy and Simon at Yelverton were happy to help us with other needs for our wedding. Pace Photographers I found on the internet and called up as they have an office in Subiaco and Southwest Region which was perfect for me as I could visit the Subiaco office for the consultation and they knew Margaret River so well already that they could recommend places for the photos etc too.
Did you tell anyone at home that this is what you were planning?
Absolutely not it was the hardest secret I have ever had to keep! We only told them once we had landed back in the UK and by that time we had already been married 2 weeks!
What was friends and family's reaction once they found out you were married in Oz and when did you tell them?
We told the family as soon as we landed back in the UK - our parents were shocked but happy for us, my own mother and father married in a similar way when they were younger! Our sisters were a little disappointed at first that they couldn't be there, but we do plan to have a small ceremony in the UK that they can all come too, so that helped to bring them around. But mainly everybody was shocked but very happy for us, many have even said they wish they could get married in the same way - without all the stresses and dramas the day usually brings!!
How does the UK recognise your marriage as legal from marrying in Australia?
It is the same as marrying in the UK completely legal and no different.
Where did you get married and why did you choose this place?
We said our vows outside in the natural wooded bushland surrounding our chalet at Yelverton Brook Lodge, we chose this place because it was very tranquil and beautiful.
Was there any time throughout your wedding planning that you felt this is going to be to hard to organise?
I think because we decided to elope everything was much simpler to organise - we had no-one else to worry about other than ourselves and what we wanted to do on the day - it was all about us, as selfish as this may sound, at the end of the day it was OUR wedding day - made special because it was just between the two of us.
Where you worried at anytime, thinking have we made the right decision to do this as we have?
At times I worried that we would be upsetting our families, but we plan to have a blessing in the UK so they will be there for that ceremony.
Did anyone help you to plan your wedding?
I had friends in Australia who helped if I needed opinions or wanted some feedback on my ideas but generally we planned the whole thing ourselves.
Your Dress and Accessories:
My dress was a Grecian, backless, chiffon style dress bought from a Boutique in Subiaco. I wore a sequined hair band and plain simple earrings - I kept the accessories very simple as we wanted the day to be as relaxed as possible.
Who was the witnesses at your wedding?
The witnesses were Joy and Simon the owners of the property.
Your Flowers:
I am a qualified florist and chose my own flowers and design - however my good friend Emma made the bouquet for me as a gift - I wanted a natural looking posy style bouquet so that it was in keeping with the setting of where we said our Vows which was in the natural bush woodland surrounding the Eco Chalets. My flowers were Akito Roses, Leucadendron, Berzellia, Schwartzwalder calla lilies, ivy trails, Chincherinchee.
Run me through schedule of your wedding day what time did you start preparing etc?
The morning of the wedding was very relaxed, we both dranks cups of tea and ate biscuits in bed watching TV before we ate scrambled eggs on toast outside on the garden of our Chalet. I started to get ready at about 10:00am as I was doing my own hair and makeup. Mark and Renae the photographers turned up at 11:00am to take photos prior to us getting married (they also helped us to arrange the table for the witnesses to signature the wedding certificate etc). The Celebrant arrived at 11:45 with her own portable sound system and Joy and Simon the witnesses, and we were married at 12:00pm.
Describe what happened at your ceremony?
I walked down the "aisle" to a song by Elbow (a British Band) - it was very emotional as Tony had no idea that I would still be wearing a long dress - he thought that it would be something less formal and simply be a pretty summer dress to the knees so he was very shocked! Our vows were chosen by us individually so we had no idea what each of us was going to say which was also nice, and we could concentrate more on the words and what each other was saying as it felt like it was just the two of us! A funny moment during the ceremony was when Mark the photographer accidentally disturbed an ants nest whilst he was taking some shots - it was quite funny to see him jumping around as they tried to run up his trousers! One of the dangers of an outside wedding ha ha ha!!!
What did you do after your wedding ceremony and photos?
We had a private Chef come to our Chalet where he cooked us a 3 course meal, chosen from a menu previously emailed to us - then we drank champagne in the hot tub at our Chalet.
What traditional aspects did you have at your wedding?
We still wore formal attire, we said traditional vows, our rings were placed on a bible and blessed, we still had a decorated wedding car and photographer, I still carried a bouquet and Tony wore a button hole (made by myself), the ceremony was traditional even though it was only ourselves, the witnesses and photographers there!
Your Cake:
As it was just the two of us we didn't have an actual wedding cake, although as a surprise one of my friends made me two small cupcakes with a dove on one and a ring on the other with white icing, and gave them to me in a box that played the "Wedding Celebration March" song when you took the lid off! So although I didn't have the traditional wedding cake……we had surprise wedding cupcakes!!
The Evening of our Wedding:
After the chef left our Chalet we spent the evening in the Hot Tub sipping champagne, and feeding the wild Wallabies and Possums with the food that is provided by the Eco Chalet owners. The animals are very friendly indeed and provide lots of entertainment whilst you are relaxing under the stars in your hot tub.
Our Wedding Car:
Was loaned to us by my Australian friend, it was a black convertible Mini Cooper. We wanted a quirky, retro car in keeping with our relaxed ceremony and wedding - it was perfect for photos in the wineries! I decorated the number plate with a "just married" sign and obviously the traditional white ribbon.
Why did you choose Pace Photography as your wedding photographer and are you happy with your wedding photos?
I love my wedding photos!
Mark and Renae were a great help on the day, it was nice to have Renae there as another girl to chat to whilst Mark and Tony were getting things organised for the ceremony and Tony was having photos taken. I found Marks website by searching on google, I called Renae straight away and once I'd explained my elopement idea she told me of their packages and that they were also based in Southwest which just seemed like fate! Once we had visited Mark he put us both at ease straight away, they are both very friendly relaxed professional couple that you could have fun with on the day and during the photos they helped to put us both very much at ease - would definitely recommend them to anybody!
How do you feel now that your wedding is over?
I am happy that we chose to do it the way we did. It was our perfect romantic day, special to just the two of us - and I would do it again in exactly the same way if I had too! I will have a blessing for our family to attend but I am glad we said our vows to each other alone, it felt more intimate and loving.
Best moment of your wedding day?
The look on Tony's face when I reached him at the aisle - very very special and emotional.
Were did you honeymoon?
We haven't actually had a honeymoon as such yet! We visited Thailand for 10 days on our way back to the UK, but this wasn't our honeymoon it was just a stopover trip on route to the UK - we have decided to leave the honeymoon until after we have had our blessing in the UK - that will be the perfect end to our 2 weddings!
Advice for other brides planning a wedding in a foreign country?
I guess I would say do your research, speak to locals who live where you want to get married, get their opinions, what helped me to plan my day was asking Australian friends if I needed some advice - sometimes its not what you know its who you know!! I also found it easier to keep a book of what I wanted, what I had booked and what I had paid etc - it made it less stressful if I could see written down exactly what needed to be done and it also helped me to keep a track of what I had spent. I then used all these details to create a wedding scrapbook to show everyone once we had returned to the UK, that way I have a professional photo book from Pace Photographers, and a Scrap book of our day made by myself!
When you look back what would you have done differently on your wedding day?
I sometimes think I wish I had hired a videographer so I could show people at home what the day was like, but then I also think that it would have also made me more nervous and self conscious. Other than that - absolutely nothing at all!
I would like to thank....
Mark and Renae for being so helpful, friendly and fun to work with, Kerry for helping us put our ceremony together (all by email), Joy and Simon for being our witnesses and providing such a perfect setting to get married and stay, all our friends in Australia who came along for the "planing ride" and managed to keep it a secret, to our families for being so understanding and happy for us once the secret was out, and finally to my husband Tony - for asking me to be his wife and for sharing such a perfect day with me that I will never forget! | 
Sabrina & Anthony's Elopement Wedding 
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