With the pair living in the remote town of WA’s Pilbara Region, “a working town, think red dirt and not much else…a rolling green sea-change was in order – and the idea of a destination wedding in Byron Bay was born,” said the bride to be, Jess, who tells us she and Nath met in (wait for it) “the most romantic of settings…schoolies!”
Having spent the past seven years loved up, Jess and Nath enjoyed a lengthy three year engagement. “We just chipped away at things bit by bit, scheduling a number of visits to Byron Bay in the lead up to get a feel for things and meet with potential vendors,” one of which was their celebrant Ben Carlyle, who the couple agree made there ceremony all the more special.
Living so far from their venue-to-be, Jess tells us it wasn’t always easy planning from afar, “living so remote (and I mean remote, like a six hour round trip to the nearest Woolworths) all of my scouting was done online and in mags (Hello May as a matter of fact!)”
As far as top vendors went, the couple agreed their photographer Shane Shepherd was an integral part to the success of their day, “He was the very first booking we made for our wedding – having obsessively stalked his incredible work online, even without knowing where or how we wanted to get married, we knew we wanted him to be the one to photograph it…Another favourite was the faultless catering by Fig Tree Restaurant – a beef cheek so delectable I was already questioning the marriage to instead declare my admiration for the tastiest hunk of meat I’ve ever ingested.”
Jess and Nath agree that during their whirlwind of a day, there was one particular moment that stood out. “We managed to sneak away during the reception and hit up the awesome Insta Kombi together, it is one of our favourite memories from the day and as it turns out some of our favourite photos as well as unbeknown to us the legendary Shane was outside sneakily snapping away – photography god!” And man are we glad Shane did, we adore the gorgeous pics!
Loving Shane’s epic work? Same here. You can read all about him on our Directory, and why not check out this epic Byron Bay wedding also photographed my the lens-legend.
CONTRIBUTING VENDORS Photographer Shane Shepherd // Event Planner and Stylist Byron Bay Weddings // Florist The French Petal // Stationery The Distillery and The Wedding Shed // Ceremony and Reception Venue Byron View Farm // Catering Fig Tree Restaurant // Cake Sweet Obsessions // Wedding Favours Hello Naomi and Custom Favours // Furniture Hire The Wedding Shed // Marquee Byron Bay Weddings // Photo Booth Insta Kombi // Lighting and Sound Hire Byron Bay Weddings and Byron Audio // Signage Starboard Press // Entertainment DJ Pip of Byron Audio // Celebrant Ben Carlyle // Rings Michael Hill // Transport Byron Bay Magic Bus THE BRIDE Bridal Gown Designer Spell & The Gypsy Collective // Hair Piece Lovisa // Flower Crown The French Petal // Garter Bra’s N Things // Shoes Rubi Shoes // Accessories Swarovski // Hair Luciana Rose // Makeup Clare Moriarty // Bridesmaid Dresses Mura Boutique // Bridesmaid Gifts Samantha Wills and Spell & The Gypsy Collective THE GROOM Groom and Groomsmen’s Suits Gentlemen’s Outfitters // Shoes Tarocash // Groomsmen Gifts Cuffz and Gentlemen’s Outfitters Charlestown.