Laura and Tim
Location: Fig Tree Restaurant
Date: 28/04/23
Aesthetic: Timeless elegance
Vibe: Intimate, intentional and endlessly relaxed
Guests: 60
We love sharing the story of two worlds colliding, tell us about what happened when yours did:
Laura: Our story started as a lot of modern day love stories do. We met as two fine young twenty somethings living our best lives in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs. The stars aligned for our first date in Coogee and we hit it off straight away connecting over our love of Newcastle (Tim’s home town and where I was planning to return to) sushi, coastal walks, tennis and we have pretty much been inseparable since!
What's life like now, how do you spend your spare time?
Laura: Married life looks a lot like life before we were married but it feels different, in the very best way. We get to spend our spare time doing our favourite things but now we get to do them as Husband and Wife!
We love hitting the gym together, spending time with friends, coffee on the weekend, getting out and about to the beach, going on a coastal walk and working on improvements to our home. We are also big fans of Saturday afternoon cricket (Tim’s playing, I’m watching) and we never miss a Knights game!
You had an intimate wedding in Byron Bay, tell us a little more about the overall experience:
Laura: Our wedding really was our dream day and it was everything we could have hoped for and more. The overall experience was a relaxed and intimate garden party with our nearest and dearest.
We kept our wedding venue a surprise for our guests which added an element of anticipation and suspense and we think this created even more excitement about the day. We asked our guests to meet at a specific time and place in Byron Bay to be picked up and they were met by a classic red double decker bus to transport them to the surprise venue - Figtree Restaurant. We kept everything under wraps and the whole day was a surprise.
We started with the surprise red double decker bus (including an unexpected extra stop to collect Tim on the way), drinks on arrival, flowing into the outdoor ceremony under the fig tree set against the beautiful view of the Byron Bay Hinterland. After the ceremony, we celebrated with a champagne tower and cocktail hour by the pool before moving onto a few games at the reception, speeches, handwritten cards for each guest, a surprise dress change before the first dance and then a DJ to dance the night away.
What were you looking for in a venue? How did you choose Figtree over other locations?
Laura: Figtree is nothing short of magical. We looked at a lot of venues locally and it wasn’t until we visited Figtree that we knew we had found ‘the one’. Arriving at the venue, we instantly felt connected to it. I remember as soon as we stepped foot onto the property, I looked at Tim and we both will say, we ‘just knew’. We also had a lot of guests comment that the place just had a special feel to it, something they couldn’t quite put their finger on.
From a practical sense, Figtree had everything we were looking for - a modern, light and bright aesthetic, it feels coastal with a country kind of charm to it and it has the most beautiful view of the Byron Bay Hinterland out to the ocean. We knew that we wanted to host an intimate wedding and the restaurant area was perfect to fit our 60 guests with just the right amount of space for a dancefloor. One of our priorities was being able to hold an outdoor ceremony with a view whilst also balancing this with the practicality of having a solid wet weather plan that we would be happy with. Figtree provided an amazing outdoor ceremony location under the beautiful fig tree but it also had great wet weather options.
This meant that no matter what the weather was doing on the day, we could relax knowing that we had all bases covered. The venue is also a short drive from Byron Bay for the convenience of our guests and has the most beautiful onsite accommodation for the bridal party, so it really ticks all of the boxes. We had also read many reviews about the incredible food from Figtree so we knew this was going to be amazing.
What was the main influence behind the style and aesthetic of your wedding day?
Laura: We knew we wanted an elegant, timeless and classic aesthetic that complemented the beautiful natural lighting and country, coastal venue that is Figtree with it’s manicured gardens and lush greenery. We wanted a modern and minimalistic feel to the styling to really let Byron Bay and the venue do the talking so to speak. We chose a crisp white colour palette for the florals and neutral tones in the styling which meant that we could add our personality and touches of ‘us’ through other elements on the day.
Describe the vibe and how you achieved it:
Tim: Choosing the venue played a big role in setting the vibe for the day. We really wanted to create a relaxed experience for us and our guests so taking the time to select a venue that could allow us to shape our day with this in mind and offer everything we wanted to do all in the one place was really important to us.
Laura: The two words that we anchored to throughout our planning were intimate and intentional and I think we really achieved that. We created a garden party with our closest family and friends that was fun, relaxed and included our favourite things. We were really thoughtful about how we wanted to feel on the day and the celebration being a true reflection of us. We also considered our guests’ experience in everything from the timeline to the choice of drinks that were served.
What were a few unique things you did to make the experience personal to you and why did you choose them?
Laura: I chose to walk down the aisle solo, Tim met me halfway along the aisle and we walked into our wedding and married life, together. This was such a special moment for both of us. As we had a small and intimate wedding, we decided not to have a bridal party, instead we asked some of our closest friends to spend the morning with us getting ready which was such a relaxing way to start the day. We asked our grandmothers to warm our rings and be our ring bearers. This is one of our most cherished moments and something that we will never forget. We also asked both of our mothers to be our witnesses which was really important to all of us. If you know me, you know that I love to write and receive a meaningful card, note or message and that I am super sentimental. We wanted to share our love and gratitude for each of our loved ones, so, in place of favours we wrote personalised, hand written cards to each and every one of them - there were tears, there were laughs, there was lots of emotion - it was such a magic moment as time stopped in the reception for everyone to read theirs. It was also a beautiful reflection exercise writing these before the wedding and really helped to ground and centre us in some of the busy moments leading into the big day.
Tim: We crafted the menu to include our favourite foods; at cocktail hour we chose our favourite drinks and canapes which meant there were margaritas and oysters all round which perfectly completed the setting. Instead of arriving at the venue in separate transport, I decided to join in the fun and jump on the bus with our guests on the way to the ceremony. The day before the wedding, we added in an extra stop on the way (that the guests didn’t know about) and I jumped on the bus to cheers, applause and high fives. This was such a great experience and was such a great vibe to really get the party started (and also calm any nerves).
It's hard to pick a favourite moment, but try anyway:
Laura: Ah this is such a tough question! So many different elements of the day had their own special moments. I would have to say that walking down the aisle and seeing Tim, our closest family and friends against the stunning backdrop of Figtree was something that I will never forget. Also, the ceremony experience as a whole and sharing our personal vows was something really important to both of us and the feeling in those moments is just magic.
Tim: One of my favourite moments was our grandmothers warming our rings and being our ring bearers. To have them included in such a special moment was unforgettable. The ceremony experience in total, the location, our guests, the way that Loz delivered our ceremony and exchanging our personal vows.
What drew you to Hungry Hearts Co?
Laura: We had the pleasure of being a guest at a friend’s wedding where Loz was the celebrant so we knew first hand that her talent is something special! The way she tells the story with the perfect balance of humour, wit and sentiment makes for the perfect ceremony that is engaging for both the couple and their guests. Since then, we followed along on instagram and fell in love with Rhys’ photography style. When the time came for us to plan our wedding, we knew this was a duo we needed on our wedding day! We essentially booked our wedding around their availability and if we could do it all again, we would do the same!
Something Rhys really values is letting things happen naturally and keeping couples relaxed. How did you find being photographed by him?
Tim: With Rhys as our photographer, it just felt so easy, he knows exactly what he is doing and everything felt really natural and flowed perfectly. He gave a few great suggestions but really just encouraged us to do our own thing and I think that is where you get the best photos. Rhys was so laid back and is easy to connect with and just felt like a mate. We were also lucky enough to do an engagement shoot in Newcastle with Rhys which really set the scene for what to expect so we felt completely comfortable going into the wedding and had full trust in Rhys’ ability.
Laura: Rhys is so talented at his craft. He is super relaxed while being such a professional - we felt like we were hanging out with a friend we had known for years. The way Rhys was able to blend into the day was incredible, capturing all of the little moments in between - we were absolutely blown away with the photographs he captured. Rhys has such a talented eye and when it came time for our portraits we slipped away for a minimal amount of time that we barely missed the party. Our portraits flowed so smoothly and were so much fun! Rhys gave us a little bit of direction to help make the most of the lighting and the location which we were really grateful for but was even more so encouraging for us just to be ourselves and enjoy the moment.
Lozzy told your story, can you describe how you felt during your ceremony?
Laura: I would say our ceremony was a bit of an emotional rollercoaster - in the very best of ways. At times it felt like we were the only ones there and at other points in time, we were sharing the laughs with our friends and family in the audience. The way that Loz crafted the ceremony meant that we were captivated by the emotion of it all - there were happy tears, there were laughs, there were gasps as we were hanging off every word from Loz as she told our story so perfectly. The ceremony experience was one of the absolute highlights of our day.
Tim: I was a little nervous to begin with but Loz has this great way of making you feel relaxed with the way she tells your story and delivers the ceremony. It felt lighthearted and fun but also with the right balance of being sentimental. It really was the most perfect setting, our ceremony was planned & delivered so perfectly by Loz.
How did our ‘How To Vow’ Guide help with your vow writing process?
Tim: The guide was great in terms of drawing some inspiration in the different ways to approach vows, things like how to format them so that they flowed and that they matched in terms of sentiment, style and length. In that way, it really helped to collate the different thoughts and ideas and tie them all in, in a cohesive way.
Was there anything that happened on your wedding day that took you by surprise?
Tim: Yes! Little did I know that Laura had been working behind the scenes for months on a custom made second dress! After speeches, Laura secretly popped over to the onsite accommodation and changed into her second dress while Loz organised our guests in a circle ready for our first dance. As the crowd gathered I was looking around to where Laura was before she made a grand entrance in her second dress ready to kick off our first dance. It was definitely a wow moment!
Was there any advice you got prior to your wedding day that changed the game for you?
Tim: Make sure you spend the reception together with your partner. While it sounds so simple, it is so easy to peel off into different conversations with your guests and be separated. If you stay together, you get to share the experience as a couple, creating shared memories of the day together. If we found ourselves separated at points in time, we came back together, this was such a game changer for us because it meant that we were mindful of this and it felt like we could take it all in, together.
What’s a piece of advice you would give to couples planning their wedding now?
Laura: Find the joy in every moment of the planning process, enjoy it and make it fun! They say the time leading up to the wedding flies by and they are correct. If we are lucky, we get one opportunity to plan the wedding of our dreams, so savour every moment in the lead up and don’t put too much pressure on the decision. When you are planning your wedding, really reflect on your values and make decisions that are true to you as a couple. We picked the traditions that resonated with us, ditched the ones that didn’t and created some of our own and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
Tim: Do your research on vendors early, and if you have your heart set on particular ones, enquire and lock them in early so that you book who you really want. We booked our wedding based on the availability of particular vendors and it really paid off. We wouldn’t have changed a thing.
Vendors
Couple - laura and tim
Venue - figtree byron bay
Photographer - Rhys from hungry hearts co
Celebrant - Loz from Hungry hearts co
Videography - Brittany FROM Wallflower Weddings
Planning - Byron Bay Weddings
HMU - MBL Bride
Florist - The French Petal
Acoustic Music & DJ - North Coast Entertainment and DJ Matty
Transport - Byron Bay Double Deckers
Cake Maker - Hello Little CrumB