Stella & Ryan's Northern Territory outback wedding

An outback wedding was always on the cards for Northern Territory-based Stella and Ryan. After getting engaged at Yellowstone National Park during their once-in-a-lifetime, round-the-world trip, these two nature lovers knew straightaway that they wanted to host their weekender wedding in this “special part of the NT”

“We both love the native bush and wildlife of the Northern Territory, so we knew we wanted a pretty typical bush wedding with neutral tones and native flowers. We also definitely wanted to make a weekend out of it.”

Venues in the Top End which could accommodate the celebration they hoped to throw are quite limited, according to the couple, so they really only ever considered Mt Bundy Station in the small town of Adelaide River. “We locked it in while we were still overseas, before we had even been out there to have a look
as it is usually in high demand.”

And man, did they make the most of this bush bonanza – cue riding around in an old bull catcher, while one of our fave photographers Emma MacAulay caught all the magic on film.

FAVE MOMENT

“Everything! walking down the aisle and seeing Ryan standing at the end, my dad giving me away, having our first kiss as husband and wife and then walking into the ceremony (the BIGGEST and best rush of energy ever!).”

THE DRESS

I was fairly nervous about wedding dress shopping, as I am very particular with the dresses. I kind of had an idea of what I wanted and had definitely looked at every single dress online and on Pinterest, but I was still keeping an open mind during fittings. I went to quite a few different boutiques but none of them really felt like me… Until I walked into Lola Varma and I knew instantly that I would be getting my dress from there. It was such a beautiful space . The only time I cried during the whole process was when I put the dress I ended up choosing on. I just remember looking at my best friend Em and we both burst into tears. My top three dresses were all from Lola Varma actually. Every single piece they make is incredible.”

STANDOUT VENDORS

“Our photographer Emma, videographer Alix and celebrant Nikki of Love Empire! These three women are the absolute dream team and went above and beyond for us! We seriously cannot thank them enough for being a part of our special day. Also Sue, the owner of Mt Bundy Station was the best host ever! She was so incredible to work with and made our wedding/the whole weekend run so smoothly!”

A WORD OF ADVICE

“Trust your gut and do what you want! It is your day, no-one else’s. Although planning a wedding can be overwhelming, just try and have fun together whilst doing it (and lock in your key vendors ASAP!). Also, things will go wrong, whether they’re big or little, so just try and go with the flow.”

WE’RE GLAD WE…

“… Stuck to our guns and didn’t get persuaded into doing things we didn’t want to (like inviting those old family friends who we have only met once about 20 years ago or ‘Uncle Bill’s’ fifth cousin). We are also so thankful that we got a photographer AND videographer. It was worth every single cent.”

This epic wedding first appeared in the Real Wedding Special. Shop it here and use DOUBLETROUBLE at checkout to receive Issue 38 for free! You’ll also find Stella & Ryan’s incredible photographer Emma MacAulay on the Hello May directory here and celebrant Love Empire here.