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Tracy & Phil

I have loved Tracy’s spirit as I read her words about her outdoor country wedding with  Phil. A couple who are trying to live off grid and minimize their environmental impact as much as possible, a couple who are consciously trying every day to live a life authentic to who they are – every part of their wedding spoke of this and their commitment. They chose Keepsake Photo to capture their day.

Tracy tells their story. “Phil and I met in Byron Bay in 2011. We were both cruising through life and living the Byron dream of sun, beach, good friends and lots of good times! It was Phil’s dog Sal who made the first move, she used to pop over to my apartment to say hello and when I would take her back home Phil and I would have a little chat and laugh about nothing and everything. It took Phil a few months before he had the courage to ask me out and even then his mates crashed the party just to make him look good!

We were inseparable and about 6 months after being together Phil was offered an unbelievable job in a tiny little village called Gundaroo being a property manager on a farm. Before we met we were just two people going through the paces but together we are an amazing team and we are so proud of the life we have created for each other and for our children.”

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Tracy and Paul had their two daughters as bridesmaids (along with their two dogs who wore flower collars). Tracy remembers, “We both loved the fact it was very casual with no time schedule or things we ‘had’ to do. It let everyone relax and just enjoy being there together.”

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Tracy wore a dress from Eileen Kirby. “I wanted something lace and comfortable! And I found the most beautiful Eileen Kirby proposition lace dress from Momento Dezigns in Canberra. It was the first and only dress I tried on and I bought it almost a year before the wedding!!  I loved the little sleeves and the slip underneath which finished above the knee and really showed off the lace bottom. My shoes were my next favourite, also the first and only pair I tried on from Hispanitas called ‘savage cactus’ from a boutique shoe shop in Manuka called Escala Shoes and I cannot wait to wear them again and again!”

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Lilygrace Flowers created a stunning flower belt for the bride to match her flower crown.

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The couple held their wedding on a friend’s farm, noting, “We wanted a small country wedding with family and a few friends to celebrate our special day. Thankfully we were lucky enough to use Phil’s bosses property out in the bush which set the scene for everything. We didn’t want anything over the top, just simple and country and definitely not traditional. A bit like us really!”

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Tess from Style My Aisle styled the wedding, the bride remarking, “How can you not recognise the talent of Tess from Style My Aisle? I mean, wow. She just captured the simplicity of the bush and created a simply beautiful ceremony and reception. There were so many details that she tucked around that really made it feel special. And to have people come all the way out to the bush to set up a wedding… I was in awe and so were all our guests. I want to have another party just so I can have her style the whole thing!

I didn’t really have many thoughts about what it would actually look like but Tess just nailed it. I couldn’t have dreamed of a more perfect ceremony set up and I think all the photos just speak for themselves.”

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Tracey remembers “I loved being able to walk down the aisle with my fiancé, our two beautiful daughters and our two dogs.”

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Antoinette Braeder officiated the ceremony, Tracy telling, “Our wedding celebrant Antoinette was a real find – she truly believes in love and bringing couples together in marriage and she helped us create a beautiful and heartfelt ceremony.”

Our ceremony was short and sweet. Phil and I are not the type who like to be the centre of attention so this was the most daunting part for us! Thankfully we had an amazing wedding celebrant who asked me to write an introduction that set the mood of the ceremony beautifully and explained to everyone why we were getting married, what life we were going to make together and what we wanted for the future together and for our daughters.”

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The newlyweds purchased their rings from Aharoni Jewellery, telling “I cannot say enough about Eytan Aharoni.  Phil has a stunning handcrafted and one-of-a-kind Mokume Gane ring. Mokume Gane is and old Japanese technique of fusion of metals, which incorporates various combinations of metals. Phil’s ring has layers of 18-karat white gold, Shakudo (which is a combination of 5% of 24-karat pure gold and 95% Copper), and sterling silver (925). These three metals are fused together and forged, creating unusual patterns in the band. These patterns go right through the band, thus making it a solid fusion. If you haven’t seen this technique you should definitely check it out!

My engagement ring is a certified round brilliant cut white diamond half-bezel set in an 18-karat white gold setting. The diamond is held only from both edges “hugged” by the curved band. The diamond weighs 1.01 carats and is amazing! My first wedding band is 18 karat white gold band made to follow the shape of my engagement ring. Three round brilliant cut black diamonds are hammer set into the band. My second wedding band follows the other curve of my engagement ring. It is a Mokume Gane band made with layers of Palladium and sterling silver (925). I know I should say something really deep and meaningful about our rings and what they symbolise… but I know (and I can speak for Phil on this matter too…) that we just look at our rings and say “Wow! My our rings are freakin Awesome”.”

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Of their photographers, Tracy tells, “Thank goodness for Daniel and Maria right? How amazing are our photos? I mean OMG they are like something out of a magazine and completely blew my mind. And we were originally going to get a relative take the photos… phew thankfully that never happened and we came across Keepsake Photo.

I think what I was most surprised about was how much wedding photographers cost and because I have zero experience with any of this stuff I was definitely on the fence about using one, but when I saw Daniel and Maria’s website I just fell in love with the feel of the photos and how natural everyone was in them. You wouldn’t know that I hate having my picture taken because they made me feel so relaxed and happy and most of the time I didn’t even know the camera was clicking.”

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Piccolo & Fox created the wedding cake, the bride remarking, “The next standout and biggest surprise was our wedding cake from Piccolo & Fox, a local gal from Cooma who makes cakes and cupcakes etc. She had a great website with lots of different creations but if I’m honest, I didn’t really have high expectations. I know it sounds harsh, but it is Cooma and well, you just can’t be sure if what you want is what you’ll get. This was the only thing that I was specific about – I wanted a nude cake, it had to be gluten-free chocolate cake with lots of berries and flowers… sounds easy but you never know, right?

We were all watching Haylee set up the cake while getting our hair and make-up done and Wow. Just Wow!! You know when you have something in your head, and it gets taken to that next level you never imagined? It was like that. I don’t think anyone had seen a wedding cake look so mouthwatering, so photogenic and so sexy before! Plus, it tasted just as good as it looked.”

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Tracy notes, “Phil and I organised the food for the wedding. Sticking to our simple style we had a barbeque (much to my dismay because we are vegetarians!) and my family made salads, antipasto platters, quiches and finger foods. Even though it wasn’t over the top extravagant – everyone raved to us how tasty all the vegetarian food was! In fact, Phil and I missed out on almost all the vegetarian food because everyone devoured it while we were having photos taken!! We had all our own alcohol and a drinks table (set up by Style My Aisle) with stuff for the kids and non-drinkers as well.”

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The end of the night was as relaxed as the rest of the day, Tracy remembering, “We played our own music and Phil built a massive fire pit where everyone congregated to in the evening when it got a little cooler. With chilled beats playing, fire crackling and lots of laughter… it was the best way to wind down (or for some of us… wind up!) the end of a beautiful day.”

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Congratulations Tracy and Phil! Thank you for sharing the stories of your wedding with us! Thank you also to Keepsake Photo for sharing today’s wedding with us!