2020 Wedding with Intimate Church Ceremony & Garden Party
Photography by Benjamin Stuart PhotographyBecause Carla and Dan put it so beautifully... "If planning a 2020 wedding during a pandemic gave us anything, it was a completely fresh perspective of what really matters when you get married- it’s certainly not worth agonising about the details. To quote Dan: ‘the details always fall into place, and they don’t really matter anyway’. Our small-scale celebrations enabled us to create precious, intimate memories with our immediate families which we will cherish forever. Our advice would be to dedicate some time to those you are closest to otherwise the day may just pass you by in a blur!"
What Made Our Day Unique
One thing that made our day so different to most weddings was how many times we changed our plans for the day, which made it even more incredible that the day went as smoothly as it did! The day itself ended up being incredibly intimate with just 30 people at the church and 10 at the reception (a fraction of the 200 guests we had originally planned for), but it gave us a unique chance to celebrate the coming together of our immediate families in a very special, relaxed reception.Carla & Dan
Favourite Moment
Easily our favourite moment of the day was exchanging our vows to one another in the church. Promising to protect and love each other publicly in front of God and some of our closest friends and family was so profound and emotional. The speeches were also a big highlight- as there were only our immediate families present, the speeches could be totally inclusive and recognised the part that each and every person sitting around the table had invested in Dan and me as individuals and as a couple (many a tear was shed)!Carla & Dan
2020 Wedding
Being able to share Carla and Dan's socially distanced 2020 wedding with you all today has filled our hearts with joy. They held their ceremony in a church and gathered just a few of their closest family and friends for a garden party which they decorated with tassel bunting, festoon lights and a just married sign. Their intimate celebration is proof that your wedding can still go ahead if you want it too, and still be every bit as wonderful as you'd hoped. The singing and dancing capture's around the firepit are definitely proof of that! Plus, there's the added bonus of having a huge party to celebrate at a later date. Because, let's face it, who wouldn't want to wear that gorgeous Essense of Australia wedding dress again!Inspiration & Styling
The feel of the wedding was very intimate and relaxed, but there was also had a real sense of celebration. We got married on the first-day churches opened for weddings after 3 months of lockdown (4th July 2020), and we really felt the collective excitement of those around us that we were able to get married despite the circumstances. In terms of colours and styling, we liked the combination of lots of foliage with whites and peachy/ apricot tones, which our florist captured so beautifully in the bouquets, table decorations and floral arch.Carla & Dan
Suppliers
We chose a lot of our suppliers based on personal relationships we had with them. Our photographer, Ben, is a family friend and our florist, Johanna, is an old friend of my parents, which made working with them even more enjoyable. Due to the last-minute nature of our plans, we ended up finding a hairstylist, furniture and glassware hire a matter of weeks before the wedding, and we were so grateful to them all for how incredibly flexible and accommodating they were.
Carla & Dan
Marry Now, Party Later
We are planning a big ol’ party next year to celebrate with all of the faces we missed seeing this year- hopefully, by then it will be safe to be able to eat and drink together before dancing our hearts out. The support we received from so many people was truly humbling. From family and friends organising all the incredible food and offering beautiful houses to host us, to the masses of good wishes from all corners, we felt so blessed by the generosity of so many. We managed to live stream the ceremony to all of our guests which we would highly recommend to anyone having a scaled-down wedding. We had a lot of feedback saying how emotional people felt despite watching on a screen with some slightly temperamental audio! I bought a veil to wear on the day and only realised during the reception that I’d completely forgotten to put it on before the ceremony and that it was still buried in a bag somewhere. Can confirm that the lack of veil didn’t make the slightest difference to my enjoyment of the day!Carla & Dan
If you're considering marrying now and partying later, read our article with advice and tips on planning a two-part wedding. Plus, you can also catch Elaine and Andrew's socially distanced wedding with handmade Korean Hanbok's.
