This is the forest wedding of our dreams, folks – and an elopement to boot. With just three guests (the couple’s parents) in attendance and photographer extraordinaire Barefoot & Bearded documenting all the delightful details of Megan and Ash’s big day, this is one you don’t want to miss.

Fab florists Film & Foliage did a stellar job (as always!), totally blowing the blushing bride away when she saw what they created. “We absolutely loved the floral arbour created by the florist, which was made up entirely of native flowers,” she shares. “They also put together a gorgeous flower crown for me to wear with my dress.” But for groom Ash, the food got his vote for best bit of the day. The Wilderness Chef “cooked up a storm for our wedding lunch, which looked and tasted amazing!” he gushed. “That salmon – delicious.” Scroll on for all the yummy details!

THE PROPOSALWe were on holiday in Noosa for a friend’s wedding. I [Megan] was in the bathroom of our little Airbnb one morning a couple of days after the wedding, and I was looking in the mirror and brushing my hair when Ash came up behind me and put his arms around me and started saying all these lovely things about how much I mean to him. He then asked me to close my eyes and turn around. When he told me to open my eyes, he was down on one knee holding out a ring and asked me to marry him! I burst into tears and said yes!”

THE VENUE “We spent months looking at traditional type wedding venues but then we saw photos of previous elopements that Anteloping had done at Watagans National Park and thought it looked like a stunning location and suited the nature type wedding that we had envisaged. Nothing we had looked at previously compared to this and it made us realise that the beautiful secluded forest setting was exactly what we were looking for!”

THE VIBEWe were keen to have an outside wedding with a relaxed vibe and nature as our backdrop.”

THE DRESSI didn’t want to spend hours in various wedding dress shops, I was happy to wear just a nice dress rather than a traditional wedding dress, so I looked at a few in Zimmermann. When I tried on the dress I eventually chose, it fit perfectly and I really loved the style. It stood out from all the other dresses I tried on. I enjoyed looking at different dresses but I’m also glad I found ‘the one’ pretty quickly!”

MEMORABLE MOMENTS “So many! I really enjoyed getting my hair and makeup done in the morning, and it also made it more exciting getting ready separately from Ash and only seeing him all dressed up for the first time when we had the ‘first look’ in the forest. I also loved that we walked down the aisle together rather than Ash waiting at the arbour for me. Saying our personal vows to each other was also really emotional. Ash also read out a beautiful poem about marriage during our vows, which was so special.”

STANDOUT VENDORSEveryone in the Anteloping team was amazing! They are all so professional and skilled in their specialised areas of work, but also work so well together as a team and really complement each other. They were so down to earth and relaxed, and made our day so fun and memorable.”

This stunner of an elopement first featured in Issue 32 of Hello May‘s print edition. This particular one’s sold out (you guys just loved it!) but there are plenty more incred weddings where that came from! May we suggest the 2021 Real Wedding Special, filled with more gorgeous nuptials than you can poke a stick at?

PS. If you’re looking to elope just like Megan and Ash, hit up some of their top vendors, Film & Foliage and The Wilderness Chef (who both make up part of the clever Anteloping dream team).

CONTRIBUTING VENDORS Photographer Barefoot & Bearded Florist Film & Foliage Planner Anteloping Ceremony Watagans National Park Reception The Tree House Airbnb Catering The Wilderness Chef Celebrant Kim Oakhill Civil Celebrant Rings Wallace Bishop THE BRIDE Gown Zimmermann Flower crown Film & Foliage Accessories Grandmother’s earrings Hair & Makeup Chic Artistry THE GROOM Suit, Shirt, Tie & Shoes Black Jacket Suiting Barber Oscar Oscar Salons