This glorious duo – a florist and a football club CEO – have been in love for “too long to remember,” finally tying the knot in a gorgeous elopement on the cliffs of South Australia, complete with bagpipes echoing along the coastline and an abalone diver page boy popping up from the water in a suit to deliver the rings… Yes, we are assuming you want to know more, guys. So scroll down for all the details (one of our faves, the bride’s cape from Karen Willis Holmes) and pics (by Jessica Mary Photography) below…
THE INSPO “It was the land. The actual location itself was the inspiration behind our day. Everything ultimately related back to that location: the epic countryside, the memories and adventures it ignited. It was us.”
DIY “You could say the flowers were a DIY, although, this is my day job. Among all the crazy stuff that 2020 had dished up, I can also add selling my business, simultaneously starting a new one (The Flowersmith) and getting hitched to the crazy list of events that went down! I was fixated on the flannel flower being the floral hero for our day and had great delight in constructing my bouquet and buttonholes. I love the movement of the flannel flower and remember watching James’ buttonhole bob up and down as he made his way up the hill to the sound of bagpipes – it was poetry in motion.”
THE DRESS “The struggle was real. Cancer, chemo, COVID-19 and a short engagement, all challenged the process of finding the perfect dress. Everything I tried on made me feel blah. The pièce de resistance in my outfit was definitely the Opera Train by Karen Willis Holmes. A unique piece of bridal wear, detachable by effortless off the shoulder puff sleeves. I worked back from here, so isolated the exact style of dress I required – I was after a simple design that would lend itself to be worn again. My last-ditch effort, on the final possible day to shop and final hour (literally at 4.50 pm), I walked into a boutique in Adelaide (Denim Iniquity, Hyde Park) and simply asked if they had a strapless white dress that was fitted yet not too figure-hugging. And voila, the perfect dress and perfect size was found by Australian label, White Story.”
REFERENCES “I met both Jessica Mary Photography and Alix The Celebrant at a fashion event in the Adelaide Hills. Both girls had such great happy energy and I loved Jessica’s style of photography. We all just knew we were all the right fit. Finding a videographer was important to us and when we saw Sam’s work from Light Wise there was no other option. It showed a very clear vision and craft of telling a love story. Because we were eloping, we were relying on an epic visual catalogue of the day to show friends and family, [who] we had keep a date free two weeks after we eloped. They were under the impression that we were celebrating me finishing treatment (chemo), and although this was certainly part of our celebration, we also surprised them on the day with our magic video from our wedding day.”
MEMORABLE MOMENT “Our ceremony was held at the top of the hill where I was in position with our celebrant. In keeping with James’ Scottish (and Italian) heritage, as James made his way up the hill to greet me, the whole coastline echoed with the sound of bagpipes from local piper Brian, which I had pre-arranged (secret squirrel stealth mode), as a surprise for him on the day.”
LITTEL LOL “Dom the Diver is a friend of ours – an abalone diver in Port Lincoln and our unofficial Page Boy. When James and I had our engagement picnic, there were a couple of divers that casually just appeared from the water. James had just given me the ring in an empty oyster shell and we both discussed how funny it would be if we could have Dom appear from the water to hand over the rings on our wedding day – so he did just that – completely dressed for the occasion in his suit.”
STANDOUT VENDORS “Sam from Light Wise coordinated full communication between all parties for the whole day and was instrumental in liaising/ coordinating all facets of the bagpipe element with Brian on the day. Katie from Leonards Mill has been a special part of this journey with us and Pia, our host at Lapito House was out of this world accommodating for a dream stay.”
If you want to see more from Emma and James’ photographer, Jessica Mary, head to her Directory listing with us here. And don’t miss the abundance of Karen Willis Holmes content we have here for all the dream dress inspo you’ll ever need. But first…
CONTRIBUTING VENDORS Photographer Jessica Mary Photography Cinematographer Light Wise Florist The Flowersmith (Bride) Ceremony The Jetty Hilltop, Second Valley Reception Leonards Mill (Pre-Wedding Luncheon) & Wolf Blass Function Centre via Norwood FC (Announcement Party) Cake From The Wild Other Desserts Saudade Entertainment Brian Scown (Bagpipe) Celebrant Alix The Celebrant THE BRIDE Bridal Gown White Story Bridal Boutique Denim Iniquity Cape Karen Willis Holmes Hat Lack Of Color Jacket Marina Hardwick Shoes Tony Bianco Makeup Frankie Makeup & Brows THE GROOM Jacket, Waistcoat & Shirt Jack London Pants Diesel via David Jones Ring Melbourne Manufacturing Jewellers Shoes R.M. Williams