You may have tilted your head at the realisation that (aside from photographer Barefoot & Bearded) there were only two guests at these nuptials, first featured in Issue 17. But let’s start this out by warning you that this is anything but your typical wedding. A couple who had no hesitation in doing things their own way, Em and Dan never officially’ got engaged. £We had always talked about wanting to elope, a conversation of which we were having over a toasted sandwich (most of our important conversations are had while eating toasties), and that conversation kind of turned into us researching places to elope, and then before we knew it, we had booked it all in! (Like, within two days).
A non-negotiable for this pair’s elopement…? No, not those damn coloured smoke bombs (we were hankering for something a little different too). Instead, thanks to a £kind-of-cute-kind-of-concerning obsession with llamas, Em and Dan harboured a far-fetched fantasy to have one present as they tied the knot. £I contacted a local llama farm owner requesting the strange attendance of a llama at our wedding’. Thinking Mark (the llama owner) would quickly class me as a lunatic and block me from being able to send him any further emails, he replied very helpfully stating he’d love to be involved’. I tried to be cool, but in reality, I was fan-girling like a 13 year old at a Hanson concert circa 1997. And so, Mystery the llama donned a tophat and bow tie making him, without a doubt, the coolest, and probably also the furriest, ring bearer (and third wheel) of all time.
The fun times and deviation from the norm didn’t stop there. For a duo as unique as this one, a typical wedding band for the groom just wouldn’t do. £Instead (mid ceremony) I drew a circle on Dan’s arm which he got tattooed the next day. When I was drawing the ring’, I said something along the lines of, gee, I better not stuff this up!’, at which point, I knocked the pen with my pinkie finger, resulting in me drawing a kidney bean on Dan’s arm instead of a circle. He got it tattooed exactly how I drew it, so it just sort of looks like he has an ode to jelly beans tattooed on his forearm. It was a funny moment, one which I feel eternally bad about. Sort of. Not really, jokes Em.
This seemingly £ultimate anti-bride, only seems to have lost her cool when it came to shopping for a dress as she hilariously recounts, £my dress was from Rue De Seine (obseeeeeessed with them!). Finding the dress on the day was pretty easy – The Bridal Atelier was the second shop I went to and it was the second dress I’d tried. I OF COURSE tried on a bunch of other ones, you know, just to be sure, and because #dressups, but the Moon Gown stole the show. Now, I say this like I am super easy-going, but I’d done a tonne of research beforehand and put together a brochure with all my potential gowns (that is classic me, btw). On the day, I was incredibly lucky to have the designer (Michele) at the store, and she helped me choose and fit my dress. I was fangirling, hard, and I think I’m still recovering from the experience, haha.
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CREDITS Photos and cinematography Barefoot & Bearded // Florist Raven and the Rose // Stationery Minikin Mill // Printer Snap Printing // Ceremony Ellis House, VIC // Decorative elements Poppies for Grace // Celebrant Mrs. Jones // Rings Magenta Creative Jewellery // Llama Hire Hanging Rock Llama Treks // Bridal gown designer Rue De Seine // Bridal Boutique The Bridal Atelier // Robe Homebodii // Shoes RMK Shoes and Novo // Hair and Makeup Living Dolls Makeup Artistry // Jacket Jack London // Shirt Industrie // Pants MJ Bale // Suspenders Garbage Leather via Etsy // Tie / Bow tie Scotch & Soda // Shoes and socks Tarocash // Barber / grooming Snips of London.