Matt and Audrey’s set out to “celebrate our love story – share the heart of it and celebrate why we chose each other.” Their intimate wedding at Morrells Boutique Estate is a lovely garden party with personalized details including the bride’s custom dress—made by her mother! Check out the details in these lovely images by Dust and Dreams Photography.
What made the wedding special and unique?
We initially wanted our wedding to be an engagement party that turned out to be a surprise wedding for our guests. We wanted the wedding to be relaxed, informal and easy going. Unfortunately, we couldn’t stick with this initial idea. Our wedding was special and unique because we remained true to our intention. We didn’t want a big wedding with over the top elements, gifts or making it hard for our guests to get to us. We wanted to celebrate our love story – share the heart of it and celebrate why we chose each other. The day turned out to be better than we had hoped! It was small, intimate and so full of love.
Tell us about the gown and where/how you found it!
I struggled to find a gown that was perfect for me. The ONE that made me feel like I was becoming my husband’s wife. After months of searching for a light, romantic dress my mom offered to make me a dress. And it was perfect. I wore a dress that was made for me by a lady that knew me the best.
What were some touches added to make the wedding personal?
My husband and I planned the wedding together – right from the beginning. He was so present and so patient – it really contributed to my appreciation for him. From the beginning of our love story, we have been calling one another “Big Bird, Little Bird” and as a wedding stationer it was so wonderful to be able to illustrate this element into our visual (wedding stationery) love story. I was able to put my love of painting into my love of planning our wedding. The wedding stationery held the visual elements of our venue, our favourite colours, memories from our engagement and the icons that represented our nicknames for one another.
What was the most memorable part of the day?
All of it! But I definitely loved getting ready with my girls. We did our own hair and make up, we took our time, we took breaks to walk through the gardens…it felt like a fancy sleepover. I didn’t want to lose the authenticity of their personalities. They did their hair and make up the way they wanted to – and this made me so happy because the essence of our wedding was to celebrate the organic, natural way things happen.
Tell us how you met and became engaged.
Once upon a time, Matt was given a wrong number at work when he needed technical assistance – by chance it was mine. Eventually we got talking, we became friends, he bought some of my art and then we met in real life. And when I met him it was like I had known him for years. Our whole lives we have been crossing paths. We grew up a few homes from one another when we were children, we have mutual friends – but only met for the first time, by chance when we were in our mid twenties. Don’t underestimate the timing of your lives. When you are ready – you will find the love of your life.
After a few months of dating, we knew we had found “our human”. He planned a surprise weekend getaway for me at Kloofzicht in South Africa. We had never chatted about how I/he dreamt of getting engaged. But I knew I wanted to be near nature and hopefully in a hot air balloon – in the sky above the world. On the day of the engagement, we woke at 5am – to go on a hot air balloon! And it was beautiful, just like I had always dreamt of – well almost. We were unable to go in the hot air balloon as the sky was too cloudy and the nearby airport considered it a risk to fly near the planes in the fog. When we got back to our hotel, we decided to take a long walk to shake off our disappointment. We came to a bridge, surrounded by tall grass. I was taking photos of the tall, golden leaves and when I turned, Matt was on his knee with an open box showing the most beautiful ring. I still got to feel like I was in the sky above the world. And then all the tall grass around us became filled with big and little birds. It’s as if the universe was sending us confirmation of our union.
Photographers: Dust and Dreams Photography // Venue, Catering, Decor & Florals: Morrells Boutique Estate // Wedding Stationery: Stohne Illustration // Bridesmaids Dresses: Infinity Dress // Bridal Gown: made by the Mother of the Bride