I hugged Lauren and Samuel, gathered my cameras, and decided which route I would take out of this enormous fig tree we were all in. The back entrance was the closest to my car so that’s the one I chose, and as I climbed over the roots, and ducked under the branches, my head was still spinning at the fact we’d just had a wedding and reception inside a mother-flipping tree.
I thought I’d seen it all in my 14 years of shooting weddings but apparently not.
To be fair, you’d struggle to fit most weddings inside the tree, Lauren and Samuel decided to keep it super small with immediate family only, they had just 12 guests, an accountant’s dozen. Having such a small and informal wedding day allowed us plenty of time to cruise around the island for photos, we had an overwhelming number of options and managed to narrow it down to three or four key spots.
As the sun dipped below the horizon we headed to the beach for some last light quiet time. Lauren and Samuel wanted to keep their vows private – they said some very basic ones during their ceremony, and instead, wrote their personal vows to one another on pieces of paper which they read on the beach during this quiet time. It was an absolutely beautiful, authentic moment, just one of many on an unforgettable day.
Tell me about your The Beginning!
We met at School when we were 16 and 17 year old. I had been told off by my teacher and made to sit outside our classroom for being late. Samuel was on his way to another class and saw me sitting on the bench and smiled and said ‘hello’…. I frowned back and turned away ignoring him….. lol! poor kid.
A few weeks later we bumped into each other at a Fowlers Live gig in the city and ended up chatting the night away.
When and where did you get engaged?
My favourite day of the year as a child was attending the Royal Adelaide Show (hadn’t missed a year in 29 years) and was devastated when it was cancelled due to Covid in 2020 (actually cried in my car like a baby when I heard on the radio lol!) There’s something about seeing and feeling everyone happiness and excitement at the show, I just love it.
In Feb 2021 I was driving home one afternoon from work and started seeing these signs along the road saying their was going to be a Myponga Royal Show coming soon. I was so excited I rang Samuel and told him about the signs and that we had to find out when it was, Samuel assured me we wouldn’t miss it!
As I turned into our drive way there was a huge banner across our drive way saying – Welcome to the Myponga Royal Show. Samuel had organised a mini royal show at our house. When I got to the top of our drive way there were cute animals everywhere, he had made side show games, there was even a pop up restaurant that had a menu of only my favourite dishes. Samuel had even organised a Yellow Brick Road adventure around our property, was the best evening ever!
Samuel had put together our favourite playlist and after dinner asked if I would like to have a sunset dance on the lawn. As we danced our dog Lilly appeared with a big red bow around her neck with the ring attached. The rest is history 🙂
What style/theme have you chosen for your Wedding Day?
We don’t really have one. Everyone is just wearing what they want, we have left it up to nature and the florist as to what blooms are in season the week of our wedding.
What are you most looking forward to on the day?
Having a relaxing and happy time with our families.
