Tammy & Darran

It’s not often we see a wedding with jewel tones by the seaside, but when Tammy & Darran chose to celebrate their modern waterside wedding day at Cottesloe Beach Club, they wanted to make sure it honoured the season. From the groom’s marsala velvet jacket (so stunning!) to the bridesmaids wearing Autumnal hues, Anni Maria Photography  beautifully captured it all to show us how the story unfolded.

Meeting Grace created the bride’s stunning gown, Tammy lucky enough to win the experience at a bridal fair! She explains “I was lucky enough to win a competition at a wedding fair to have a bespoke wedding gown made by Meeting Grace at half price. This was especially lucky since I had yet to see a wedding dress that reflected me as a bride. I gave the ladies some requests for dress shape, cut and lots of texture! I also asked for my dress to represent my connection to the ocean, nature and my Swedish heritage – somehow they managed to find me two unique pieces of lace that looked like snow and apple blossom twigs, and a tulle train that looked like waves. They are very talented women and lovely to deal with.”

Tammy & Darran chose  City Beach Surf Club for their ceremony, Tammy noting “We wanted our ceremony to be amongst nature, and close to the ocean if possible.

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For her walk down the aisle, Tammy notes “I walked to “She Burns” by Foy Vance. I walked myself down the aisle – I’m an independent woman who gives myself to my husband, no one else.”

“When I was walking to the ceremony, we had agreed that Darran would be facing away until I reached the aisle, so having him turn around and see his reaction was pretty special.”

Nola Walter officiated the proceedings, Tammy noting “We wanted to have a ceremony where everyone felt a part of the story and experience. We had a wonderful celebrant Nola, who helped tell our story and hold the space, and we chose to write our own vows as a surprise to each other. We also wanted to acknowledge our parents and the lessons we had learnt from them, especially Darran’s father who passed away soon after we got engaged. We didn’t have any readings, although we did include a quote, “He loved her of course. But more than that, he chose her day after day”.”

Jane and Jones Flower Co created the stunning floral arrangements for the day, Tammy remembering “I asked the lovely florist Jane and Jones to do what they do best, and trusted them to deliver something amazing – which they did! I requested texture, greenery and a few suggestions of flowers I liked, and they did the rest. We ended up with incredible bouquets that were a stunning mix of texture and colour – although my arms did get a little tired after carrying them around all day, I think they were about 5kg.”

Of their photographer, the bride notes “Anni is incredibly talented and very dedicated to her craft. She spent plenty of time with us beforehand, getting to know our style and desires, as well as answering plenty of technical questions from my amateur photographer husband. We gave her our trust and she delivered in spades – we had her for 12 hours and she captured truly beautiful shots, real moments from the day. She scouted locations for our shots, pivoted on the day to find us somewhere with dispersed light for family shots, got all the bridal party shots done as the sun was setting and then powered through for several more hours capturing the whole reception till stumps at midnight – complete legend!”

  

Celebrations kicked off with a bang at Cottesloe Beach Club with a sparkler entrance! Tammy reminiscing “One of my favourite memories  was walking into our reception through a guard of honour made of smiling guests with sparklers – beautiful.”

Guests were welcomed to their seats with monstera leaf placecards, written on in silver pen by the bride’s mother.

It was the small things that meant the most to Tammy, who explains “I like little things, so there were lots of little nods to special things like – our favourite French champagne that we had when we got engaged, the acknowledgement of our parents in our ceremony, the acknowledgment of my heritage, choosing sustainably sourced flowers and eco invites, the ocean as a feature, getting photos with our friends who we consider family…lots of little things.”

Of their first dance, Tammy reminisces “We danced to Are You With Me by Easton Corbin, rearranged and acoustically performed by our friend Gary Cox and his violinist. It was not the most elegant of dancing since we had only practised a few times the night before and I kept standing on my dress – it felt special though, in between the giggles. There’s a beautiful photo that Anni took of us dancing, which is backlit and is just stunning.”

Congratulations Tammy and Darran! Thanks so much for taking the time to share the stories of your day with us. Thank you also to Anni Maria Photography for sharing today’s celebration!