Hi guys, Mel here. I thought I’d jump in and share a few details around this beautiful Byron Bay wedding, given Sarah is someone Amy and I proudly call our best friend. We’ve known Sarah since we were five years old, so when Erich proposed we were obviously thrilled and couldn’t wait to involve ourselves in the planning process.
Knowing Sarah’s dream was to have a wedding that felt like “a big dinner party”, we helped her recruit some of the industry’s best wedding vendors who took her vision one step further and created a fabulous two-day Wedstival at Forget Me Not Weddings – a scenic, 100-acre working cattle farm in the Byron Bay region.
Captured by photographer Bianca Virtue, this day was full of highlights – seeing Sarah walk down the aisle in her two-piece ensemble from White Meadow and accessories by Pollen and Plume; witnessing her and Erich’s heartfelt ceremony, which was officiated by one of their dearest friends (there were many happy tears); enjoying canapés from Fig Tree Catering while sipping on elderflower spritzers – the list goes on.
By far one of the best moments however, was stepping inside the epic Sperry Tent that had been beautifully styled by Forethought by Samantha, with furniture from The Wedding Shed and dreamy florals by Bower Botanicals. Every detail was so thoughtfully executed – letterpress menus by D&D Letterpress were placed at every table and cookies from Dough Re Mi doubled as both wedding favours and place cards.
Post feast (and lots of wine later), The White Tree lured everyone onto the dance floor and Sarah and Erich ticked off the last few formalities, namely cutting the cake (a white chocolate and salted caramel mud cake from Sweet Obsession Cakes) and their first dance, which took place inside the Naked Tipi from Byron Bay Tipi Wedding under the pink ‘Lovers’ neon sign from Kings of Neon.
It was such a magical day, and a credit to all the vendors involved whose creativity and professionalism blew us away. In Sarah’s words, “we had such a blast and we couldn’t be happier with everyone that was involved and feel so bloody lucky!”
Sarah and Erich’s wedding film was captured by the very talented Josh of Joyride Weddings to give you all the feels of the day scroll right to the bottom to check it out.
Sarah and Erich, congrats on getting married. First, could you tell us about how you met, any funny first date stories and a bit about the proposal?
We were old friends through mutual groups, then while I (Sarah) was visiting my besties in London, Erich happened to be there as well on a working visa. We spent a lot of time together hanging out, partying, etc. and discovered that we quite enjoyed each other’s company!
We had an awesome first date in London, where we proceeded to get quite wasted over the day of visiting all the old pubs in town. We hired Barclay bikes and rode them all around London, it was awesome. Then we dated long distance, travelled to India together and then when Erich returned home, we were together from there. Life has not been boring since haha!
Erich had asked my parents in January last year but didn’t propose until April which left the parents waiting in anticipation for ages! I had no idea it was going to happen. I was completely blindsided! The proposal happened in a caravan (a beaut one) in Mudgee on a hill overlooking the mountains and countryside. Erich had planned to do it the day after we got there but he was so nervous he proposed pretty much as soon as we walked in the door. So cute!
In a few sentences, how would you describe your wedding day? Was there a particular vibe or theme you went for?
The wedding day was chilled out, relaxed. Just a welcoming vibe, like a big dinner party! Beautiful place settings, cutlery and glassware were important to me as well as the overall look. Garden party vibe meets classy, romantic vibe. Lots of candles, good tunes, laughs and plenty of delicious wine and yummy food!
Did you write your own vows? If so, what made you do that and did you use anything in particular for inspiration, for example, love quotes?
We did indeed. We felt it was more personal. Also, with neither of us being religious we wanted the ceremony to reflect us as individuals and as a couple rather than being overly generic. Inspiration wise, we reflected on all our amazing travels and shared adventures, our celebrant also gave us some helpful tips too. We decided on the layout together and then made sure each of us worked to a set time limit, so it flowed nicely. Oh and we also used Wedshed’s Vow Writing Guide which was a godsend!
What’s the best piece of advice you took on when planning your wedding?
Surround yourself with an amazing team! We were so lucky to have Mel and Amy as our best friends to firstly introduce us to Sam who steered us in the direction of the rest of our incredible Wedshed team. We couldn’t be happier with everyone that was involved and feel so bloody lucky!
What’s one thing you wish you knew before you started planning?
It is an emotional roller coaster. Wedding planning can have the ability to leave you frazzled (a new experience for a fairly calm and even natured person like myself) with the feeling of having too many tabs open on your browser. But also, when calculating your champagne quantities you should include the months prior because all decisions are best made with bubbles in hand.
Now that you’re married, what’s the best piece of advice you can give other couples?
Think about things that are really important to you. This is the one day that is solely about you and your partner so try and include personal touches to the day that reflect your relationship and both of your favourite things. Like choosing to serve wine from that special trip to Mudgee or having your favourite cocktail served with dessert.
This is your one chance to celebrate your love with the people you love. It is an epic moment, so take your time and plan out how you want the day or weekend to flow. We highly recommend having a recovery party, it’s a great way to continue the celebrations and also properly catch up with all of your friends and family.
Did you scrap any wedding traditions? If so, what?
We didn’t do the bouquet toss or garter removal. We also decided not to get a big group photo of all the guests and opted for photos of just our immediate family and bridal party, that way we had more time to mingle and enjoy ourselves post the ceremony.
Finish this sentence. The best (or most unique) thing we did at our wedding was…
Having one of our best mates marry us!
CREDITS: Photography Bianca Virtue // Videography Joyride Weddings // Ceremony and reception Forget Me Not Weddings // Planning and styling Forethought by Samantha // Flowers Bower Botanicals // Catering Fig Tree Catering // Cake Sweet Obsession Cakes // Cookies Dough Re Mi // Furniture hire The Wedding Shed // Signage Blaze Displays// Bridal dress White Meadow // Makeup Georgina McBride Hair and Makeup // Hair Sinead Marian Hair // Earrings Pollen and Plume // Brides shoes Steve Madden // Bridesmaid dresses Sheike // Grooms suit Paisley & Gray // Groomsmen suits Uniqlo // Bowties OOTA // Rings Etrnl and Seiffert Jewellers // Makeup Georgina McBride Hair and Makeup // Music The White Tree // Naked Tipi Byron Bay Tipi Weddings // Sperry Tent Sperry Tents Australia // Neon Kings of Neon // Stationery D&D Letterpress // Celebrant Kathryn Marshall and Rachel Johnson // Transport Byron Sodhi Transport // Recovery The Bangalow Bowlo // Catering One Green Acre // Recovery furniture hire and styling Style and Hire // Bridal accommodation Aria.
+++ OTHER READS:
- Join our couples-only Facebook group, ‘Wedchat by WedShed’.
- 7 Ways To Support Small Wedding Businesses
- How To Decide On A Styling Theme For Your Wedding
- Wedding Venues Where Your Guests Can Sleep Over
