DEE & DAN'S BYRON BAY WEDDING

“Marriage to us is a public statement of a lifelong commitment to each other,” says Dee. “It’s a commitment to creating something together and building a life together, [but] it’s also a great excuse for a bloody good party with a group of your favourite people.” These two are bang on, and so was their wedding. There to bring the big day to life? A few of our faves, Byron View Farm, Ivy Road Photography and M.J. Bale to name a few. So scroll down for all of the gorgeous pics and our one-on-one with the bride and groom…

THE PROPOSAL “I (Dan) knew I wanted to propose on our holiday to the UK and Europe. We were staying in Notting Hill, in London and went for a morning run up to Regent’s Park and Primrose Hill. I was planning to do it up the top however there was a strange bloke doing Tai Chi up there and for some reason we found it really funny. We were walking back down the hill and I said ‘I love going for runs with you in the morning. I hope that for years to come, we’re still going for runs together all over the world.’ I got down on one knee and got the ring out of my jacket pocket and asked Dee to marry me. Thankfully she said yes. We got a taxi back to our apartment and called our families and then went to Harry Potter Studios. It was one of the best days of our lives.”

THE VENUE “We knew we wanted to get married in Byron Bay for a couple of reasons. It was the first place we went to on a date, the place we had our first weekend away together and I guess we always found ourselves going back there and it became a really special place to us. The Byron Bay Wedding Fair was on a few months after we got engaged so we saw it as the perfect opportunity to see some venues. Byron View Farm was the second wedding venue we saw that day and as soon as we drove up to the property, we knew. It was like trying on your perfect dress. We saw it and instantly fell in love with it. There’s something indescribably special about that wedding venue, breathtakingly beautiful, peaceful and secluded.”

FAVE DETAILS “Definitely the flowers. I gave the wonderful ladies from Bower Botanicals a Pinterest board and we talked briefly about what kind of flowers we would love and then we left the rest up to them. We were both speechless when we saw what they had created for us. It was more than we could have ever dreamt of and they really went above and beyond. Specifically the hanging installations in the marquee and the ceremony flowers were just amazing.”

THE DRESS “My dress was actually the first dress I took a screenshot of about a day after Dan proposed to me! I never thought I’d be able to try it on though with it being a Berta dress, but I did some research and found out that Raffaele Ciuca in Melbourne were having a trunk show and would have that dress in their store for a few days – it was like it was meant to be. I flew to Melbourne to try it on. The experience was so great and Maria from Raffaele Ciuca made it such a special experience for me, my Mum and my Sister.”

A WORD OF ADVICE “Take your time and don’t be afraid to ask for help! Planning our wedding was so stress free for us because of these things. We made sure we had heaps of time to plan and found it worked best for us if we planned little bits of time. Each month we had a few things to tick off of our list and this made the experience really enjoyable. We also asked for a lot of help from our family and friends leading up to the wedding. Everyone was so wonderful and so happy to help and it also included our family and close friends more in the wedding. Win, win!

WE’RE GLAD WE… “Spent a little bit more money on hiring a videographer. The day goes so fast and even though we made sure we were really present on the day, there are special little moments that you miss or forget! Watching our wedding video back was like reliving our whole day again. We’ve watched it so many times and are so glad we will have a memory of our day forever.”

STANDOUT VENDORS “They were honestly all amazing! The standouts would have to be Shelley & Brendon from Ivy Road Photography and Tegan from Roost Film Co who made us feel so relaxed while we were taking photos. They were so excited with the photos they were getting which made us so excited and the whole experience was just really fun and lovely! Jaala and Kelly from Bower Botanicals were also outstanding and they just put so much thought and effort into creating our flowers. Benjamin Carlyle Celebrant was an absolute legend and really took the time to get to know us, which made our ceremony really personal.”

Dee and Dan’s beautiful wedding was originally published in Hello May’s Real Wedding Special 2020. We are all sold out, but you can snag a copy of the latest Real Wedding Special 2021 on our online store. And if you want to see more from their standout photographer, Ivy Road Photography, head to their Directory listing with us here. Also, Byron View Farm and M.J. Bale. But first…