Charntelle & Michael

What could be more stunning than marrying at sunrise in front of one of the most amazing natural wonders of the world? Not much?  That’s why I am so over the moon excited to share this sunrise elopement of Charntelle & Michael which took place at Uluru.

Charntelle and Michael, our newlyweds, have known each other since high school, but took a little longer to form their relationship! They wed after five years together.

Kellee Walsh captured the magic of Uluru and the surrounding landscape beautifully today, and the magic of a wedding as an added bonus? Such beautiful moments. The wedding was organised by Jayne at Ayers Rock Resort.

There was no music for the wedding, just the sounds of the outback. Charntelle explains” We had no music…we were in the middle of the desert…but Jayne had placed candles all the way up the pathway to light our way in the dark before the sun came up…that was a really nice touch. Built up a bit of suspense for the view we were about to see. ”

Joy Campbell performed the ceremony, Charntelle recalls “This lovely lady flew in from Alice Springs for our day and presented a truly unique and very romantic ceremony for us.”

Charntelle wore a gown from Sugar & Spice in Brisbane (the wedding was the end of a three day road trip the couple took from Brisbane!). She added jewels gifted to her by Michael.

Charntelle remembers” The wedding was the end of a fantastic road trip…we actually drove to Ayres rock from Brisbane. It took us 3 days!!   So many amazing things and places we seen we will never forget..the beauty of the Australian desert and all the way we were sharing things about our lives before we met, talking about our kids and the dreams we have for their futures, our future together….and of course we started to plan our next trip! Being locked in a car for 3 days with the man I was about to marry was the best three days of my life…we grew so much closer.”

Charntelle says “The lookout we choose was the absolute BEST spot for the sunrise over Uluru…after the ceremony we had a moment to sip our champagne and watch the sunrise.  Jayne closed the lookout to the public so it was just her, Joy, our two good friends Judy and Russell (witnesses) and US…magic. I felt like we were the only people awake in the whole world.”

The blooms were flown in for the wedding and arranged by Jayne, the wedding coordinator at Ayers Rock Resort, who put the entire day together for the couple. Charntelle says “I had  all dried native Australian flowers…banksias, wattles….perfect for our location. And will last forever. ”

Charntelle says ” We were never engaged before the wedding, it was something we both wanted to do so much there was no need to ask ”

Of their photographer, who flew in a few days after Christmas for the wedding Charntelle says, “Kellee was fantastic…it was her first time shooting a wedding at Ayers Rock so she came a day early to check the lighting and find some great locations, get some inspiration and ideas. I thought his was a really professional approach. She went to that extra effort to make sure we were truly happy with our photos. If I lived in Sydney Kellee would be our first choice for all our family photos and special days. The album she made for us is amazing…I’m still carrying it around in my car, just in case I get an opportunity to show someone who hasn’t seen it yet. ”

Following the ceremony, the couple and their guests headed back to Ayers Rock Resort for a “reception”. Charntelle remembers “We had a delicious 5 star dinner that night. The ‘sounds of silence’ dinner outside under the stars, including a star talk about the aboriginal people and how they relied on the sky for directions and weather forecasts. All the while an aboriginal man played the didgeridoo…..just amazing.” There was of course, a wedding cake!

Congratulations Charntelle and Michael on your marriage! Thank you for sharing the details with us! Thank you to Kellee Walsh for sharing today’s beautiful images!