Sara made it clear to Casey that when he proposed, he had to do it in the morning so they had all day to celebrate. “The tricky thing was, I am in no way a morning person, so the only way he could get me out of bed was for me to promise I’d wake up and check the surf with him on his birthday!” If getting up early for someone isn’t love, we don’t know what is!
She said yes, obvs, and with super-talented photographer (and one of our good mates!) Alexandra Cohen behind the lens on the big day, Sara and Casey were literally guaranteed bloody stunning memories captured of their super-intimate big day. (Take a scroll and see for yourself, this gal makes magic with a camera!)
THE VENUE “We organised the entire wedding from Los Angeles without seeing the venue. We had seen the dreamiest photos of the Fig Tree Restaurant, it was so natural and so raw, we were instantly in love. Luckily, Casey’s mum was able to go visit the venue and confirm it was as spectacular as we imagined. There was not another venue that even came close to it so we said ‘Yep!’ and booked it straight away.“
THE THEME “Minimal everything! We both didn’t want an over-the-top wedding and we knew how beautiful the venue was, so we didn’t want to take away from the natural landscape on the property. We chose a ‘minimalist tropical’ theme. No flowers except for the wedding party’s bouquets and boutonnieres – all the table arrangements were deconstructed palms and foliage, single stems placed in assorted glass vases. The colours we drew from were natural greens, white and black.”
FAVE DETAILS “Our arbor was a standout feature that was not only so beautiful but also held immense sentimental value. One of our best friends (Timberwolf and Co) handcrafted our wedding arbor with timber that dates back to 1908. Arbors are a symbol of your union and coming together under one arch to be married, so we knew we wanted something special for our big day. It was actually disheartening looking at what was on offer because you know a million couples have used it, or the design was super plain, so when our friend surprised us with a handmade piece of art, his arbor became this beautiful token of our day. Our second favourite detail was our 1968 Ford Bronco we bought in Texas and shipped over to Australia. Yes we shipped over a vintage car, but it’s not as dramatic sounds! We are planning on moving back to Australia soon and just shipped the car ahead so we could have it for the wedding. The Bronco is the grooviest car and represents our style perfectly – it’s got this American Southern charm but is also this epic surf wagon to throw your boards in and drive down to the beach.”
THE DRESS “I knew exactly what I wanted in a wedding dress when I started looking – just simple and effortless – and I wanted to feel sexy! Surprisingly, it was hard to find a bridal boutique in Los Angeles that had dresses along those lines! Everything was poofy, gaudy and bedazzled. I finally stumbled across LOHO Bride, named by one fashion mag as the ‘cool girl’s bridal shop’ and I knew this was the place. The first time I visited the boutique, I actually went with Casey. Everyone was like ‘going with your fiancé is a terrible idea’ but honestly, who better to go with then someone who knows me, my style and wants me to feel my best on our wedding day? You only are given a few beautiful ‘moments’ with your fiancé during this whole experience, you get the engagement and the wedding day, the planning doesn’t count because that’s stressful, so the dress shopping was another one of those romantic experiences we had together. Once I put on the dress by A La Robe, it was like a second skin, so silky, so elegant yet simple and my future hubby went bonkers for it!”
MEMORABLE MOMENT “Our wedding was small enough that we were able to have one long, shared table for everyone to dine at. During dinner, we snuck away and walked up the stairs so we could look out over the people we loved the most, eating, drinking and laughing together. It was a very special moment because all we could think about was that our love was the reason they had come together. We had people fly from across the world or take the day off work (our wedding was on a weekday) to be there. In a moment like that, you realise your marriage is more than just you two as life partners, it’s about bringing the people who you each love most in the world together, physically, spiritually and emotionally.”
CUTE CUSTOM “I wore a necklace that has been worn by four generations of women in my family. It was a gift to my great grandmother on her wedding day and has been passed down to all the women in my family to wear on theirs. I was absolutely honoured to wear it.”
A WORD OF ADVICE “The smaller the better, and by small we mean less than 40. We had so many moments with our guests and alone with just ourselves, just because we weren’t constantly running around to see everyone. When you wind down your guest list to just the essential people you love, magic happens, it’s like concentrated love energy. We also had time to go into the kitchen and thank the staff and chefs who worked so hard on making the day possible, they are the real heroes of your day. We planned a huge party a few days after the wedding and invited the friends who didn’t attend our wedding and that was our way of including everyone while still having the intimacy on our day.”
WE’RE GLAD WE… “We each had margarita on our wedding day and that was pretty much it. To be fully sober and just buzzing off that wedding high together, I wouldn’t change that feeling for the world. We ended our night by drawing a hot bath and sipping on a bottle of coconut water reliving all the moments of our day.”
STANDOUT VENDORS “All our vendors are absolute superstars, they all deserve medals and the highest praise! Our photographer Alexandra Cohen is so incredibly talented, her work is complete magic, and of course it is, because she’s a magical human being. When we met Alex, she told us she loved doing wedding photography because ‘wedding photos travel through time’ and that is exactly how she captures your story – like your children, your grandchildren and your great-grandchildren are going to look back at look these images and see these moments of love frozen in time. We were lucky enough to have Alex visit us at our home in Santa Monica and she casually snapped photos of us with our dog at the end of our street, which was along the beach. The photos we got back were so beautiful, we didn’t know how our wedding photos could beat them! But Alex is Alex and she knows how to make every shoot authentic, raw and true to the moment. On our wedding day, she had scouted all the shoot locations near our venue and was super-organised with her time. Honestly, the shoot happened so quickly and so efficiently that it was over in the blink of an eye. But when we received our photos, it looked like we had been shooting for hours or even days with all the locations and shots we covered. She is a magic maker and we could not recommend her enough.”
This gorg wedding first appeared in print in our bangin’ 2020 Real Wedding Special. Grab your copy (and plenty more amazing issues) at our online store. Oh and when these pics totally blow you away, we definitely recommend giving Alexandra Cohen’s directory listing a squiz.
CONTRIBUTING VENDORS Photographer Alexandra Cohen Cinematographer Clash Studio Event Planner, Stylist & Signage Byron Bay Weddings Florist Anamundi Arbor Timberwolf and Co Stationery Bride, Amalia Reyes (envelope calligraphy) Printer Gold Image Printing Ceremony, Reception & Catering Fig Tree Restaurant Cake Hello Little Crumb Hire Items The Wedding Shed Lighting & Sound Hire Byron Audio Entertainment Jake & Andy Celebrant Andrew Michael Marriage Celebrant Rings Natalie Marie Jewellery (engagement ring), Jennie Kwon Designs Sara’s wedding band) Transport Steve’s Ballina Byron Transport THE BRIDE Gown A La Robe Bridal Boutique Loho Bride Hairpiece Maison Sabben Robes Reformation Shoes Michael Kors Accessories Sarah & Sebastian (necklaces) Hair &Makeup Phoebe Fever via The Future Mrs Bridesmaid dresses Reformation Bridesmaid gifts Ahoy Trader THE GROOM Suit & Shirt Club Monaco Shoes Ted Baker Barber Darsan via Fringe Hair Salon Groomsmen suits Club Monaco