Jaime + Ebony - Salty Doors

Being a wedding celebrant herself, Jaime had VIP access to plenty of wedding ideas and inspiration. But her and Ebony knew they wanted to elope in Byron Bay from the beginning. "We holiday'ed there when we first got together and it was our favourite holiday. We had to go back", said Jaime.

Their brief was simple - to create an intimate and meaningful celebration with incredible vendors, fancy food and some spicy margaritas thrown in for good measure.

It all came together perfectly on the day (even the weather was on its A-game) and Jamie and Ebony got to make their relationship official in a way that was entirely on their terms.

How did you and Eb meet? Classic modern way. On a dating app called HER.

Wedding venue: Our accommodation in Byron Bay. I always envisioned being married under a beautiful tree and our accommodation had this glorious paperbark tree. It meant we could keep it intimate without being at the beach in public.

Byron Bay was always our top pick for a wedding location. We holiday'ed there when we first got together and it was our favourite holiday. We had to go back.

Wedding vibe: We eloped! Just the two of us. We wanted the day to feel really meaningful and intimate. We prioritised the things that we didn’t want to miss out on eg. incredible vendors, fancy dinner and some fun!

Our theme was just to have a little bit of fun and feel comfortable. We wanted to do things differently.

Best wedding planning resources? Luckily, I have been in the wedding industry for nearly two years now and therefore across different trends, vendors and all things wedding. Eb had a few non- negotiables but I took care of everything else. I bounced ideas off a couple of vendor friends and had the help of TikTok, Pinterest and Instagram for ideas.

Expectations vs. reality: Even though it was just the two of us, there was still a lot that went into making the day amazing. There were some stressful moments but all in all it was really fun to plan!

We also kept it a secret from EVERYONE! That was pretty tough but so worth it. We didn't have any outside opinions filtering into our wedding vision and gave everyone a big ol’ shock when we announced it.

Best thing you did? Elope!!!! The whole day we just basked in each other's love (I know cringey). We just didn't have the overall stress about chatting to everyone, making sure the day went well, did everyone else have a good time. We could completely focus on each other and take in every moment.

Hit (or near) miss: A funny/ surreal moment was when we went up to the lighthouse for photos. It was the day after daylight savings had finished so the place was packed! As we walked up, everyone, I mean EVERYONE started clapping. I was in awe and Eb was mortified as she's not one for lots of attention. We were all so shocked.

Once we got up there, two guys had a drone. Eb yells out "that's illegal" in a funny way. Five minutes later, they offer to take a video of us and send it to us. Eb ate her words and we gladly said 'sure'. So now we have this cool drone shot of us at the top of the lighthouse in Byron.

If we had our time again… (anything you’d change?) Honestly, nothing. We had perfect weather, a well behaved doggo, incredible vendors and a dream location. It exceeded expectations in every aspect. Now we are celebrating with friends and family after with a low key party.

Rapid Fire Questions

Wedding splurge:

Our vendors, some of them traveled up from Newcastle.

Wedding save:

We didn't buy fancy wedding outfits. Found both online.

First look?

YES - kind of? We stayed separate the whole day, then walked out of different doors to have that first look moment before we walked to the ceremony spot.

Best thing you ate or drank on the day?

We had a private chef make us the best dinner ever! The gnocchi was a stand out. We had a bartender make us the best spicy margs.

Aisle song.

“2 million” by Gflip (live with choir version).

Ceremony or reception (which won)?

The ceremony was a highlight.

On-budget or over-budget?

Over budget - no regrets though.

Honeymoon destination?

We combined our honeymoon and wedding. Stayed in Byron for a week and got married in the middle.

CREDITS: Photos Beck Rocchi // Venue Salty doors "The Cottage" // Celebrant Sarah Chippendale // Florist The Flower Bar Co // Catering Byron Bay Catering // Bridal gown Effie Kats (Jaime) and Catherine Deane (Eb) // Bride’s shoes Siren (Jaime) and Vizzano (Eb) // Veil/Hairpiece Etsy (Jaime) and The Ivory Room (Eb) // Accessories Amelie George Bridal (Jaime) // Rings Enigma Jewellers // Hair and makeup La.Wyld // Content creator By Lucy Weddings