Marli and Dave

I’m kind of in love with the rustic beach side wedding of Marli and Dane. Marli looks so darn happy, (as does Dane) the wedding location is special and there is such a sense of joy and warmth to their images.  Join me on the dance floor with their beautiful images by James Billing.

Marli tells the story of how she and Dane came to be. “We had known each other for a long time through mutual friends but never really spoke. One night we started talking at the local pub and the next day we met up for lunch and have been together ever since.”

For the floral arrangements by Art of the Flower , Marli and Dane went for rustic, unstructured styling, Marli explaining, “We wanted something that was unconstructed and looked like it had been picked out of a garden. We were happy to leave the flower choice with her and she came up with a beautiful selection of daises, Billy buttons, and rosemary.”

rustic beach side wedding065

Liv Lundelius styled the bride and bridesmaid’s makeup and the bride’s hair while Avant Garde Haircreations styled the bridesmaid’s hair. Marli tells, “Being a brow artist I have met a lot of different make up artists and Liv was perfect! She has an amazing talent of making you look like you have just woken up that day and it happens to be the most beautiful day of your life. She also did my hair on the wedding day. I decided that I no longer wanted it down like we had planned in the trials and she just went with the flow and created something beautiful on the spot.”

Marli wore a V neck gown by Johanna Johnson with a hairpiece made by Teeki Designs by Amy Oram Marli notes, “Amy of Teeki made my boho veil. She is so talented. I gave her a idea of what I was looking for and she came up with a one off custom piece with a detachable veil that I took off for the reception.”

The couple made note of lost loved ones at their ceremony, Marli remembering, “We had a ‘reserved in loving memory’ sign and four single white roses on one of the pews to remember the people that were no longer there with us.”

Marli and Dane chose The Green Cathedral for their wedding ceremony, Marli explaining, “We had always holidayed in Forster and Dane knew he wanted to get married there as it was where his grandparents had their honeymoon. The Green Cathedral was built in 1940. It is a little opening in the national park with wooden pews facing the lake.”

“My brother walking me down the aisle was something I had always envisioned since I was a little girl and was one of the most special parts to the wedding. We walked down the aisle to an acoustic version of Everlong by The Foo Fighters”.

“Before the ceremony the pastor asked us to write down 3 things we love about each other. We thought she just wanted to know how we felt about each other but she actually read them out at the ceremony which was a very special and intimate moment.”

“Dane’s wedding ring has Marli’s fingerprint engraved on it and both are engraved inside with a secret message for each other.”

Marli’s bridesmaids wore green skirts from Asos with white Kookai singlets and matching necklaces they found at a tiny city store. The groom and groomsmen wore pants and waistcoats from David Jones.

Of their photographer, Marli tells, “We had already picked a different photographer when Marli’s brother called and said he had found a photographer that was completely us. We were looking for someone that suited our style – relaxed, unstructured and romantic. When we met with James Billing we knew he was a perfect fit for us. We didn’t give him any guidelines, instead just let him do what he does best and couldn’t be happier with how the photos came out. Everything we had wished for.”

“We had lots of little DIY features. We made the bunting behind the wedding table and for the backdrop of the ceremony. We collected and wrapped all the jars for the reception tables. We created a mirrored board with name tags for guests to find their seats. We created herb seedling packets for the favors that had ‘watch our love grow’ written on the front.”

Celebrations continued at Sundowner Tiona. Marli remarking, “The reception was through a little trail in the park that lead to a beautiful conference centre right on the lake.”

“We had a personalised guest book where the guests had to fill in the missing words in the sentence about us and how we met them.”

“At the reception we went and sat down by the water just the two of us and watched everyone back in the party, It was great to take a few moments out to take it all in.”

The personal touches continued. “At the reception we had his and her favorite lolly jars instead of a lolly table (which caused a lot of debate with guests as to which was their favorite). We had our three favorite cocktails in glass drink dispensers along with the beer and wine. We also asked all the guests to pick three of their favorite songs before the wedding day and played everyone’s music throughout the night.”

For their first dance, Marli remembers, “Our first dance was to The Wedding Song by Angus and Julia Stone. We wanted something that would always remind us of where we started and where we want to be every day together for the rest of our lives.”

Congratulations Marli and Dane! Thank you for sharing the story of your wedding day with us! Thank you also to James Billing for sharing today’s wedding!