Real Wedding // Alisha & John’s Forget Me Not wedding

Alisha & John’s beautiful Forget Me Not wedding will be remembered as the perfect spring day. No stone was left unturned, in terms of bespoke styling and utilising every space across this stunning private property in Byron Bay’s hinterland. Witness this special celebration through the lens of Amelia Fullarton and read their love story below.

Tell us your story, how did you both meet? 

We met at music college, fresh out of high school and quickly became very close friends. We formed an acoustic duo and started playing in bars, restaurants, charity functions and other private events around Sydney. We had a very tight bond from the beginning which quite naturally evolved into a romantic connection and has flourished ever since! It has now been 8 years!

How did the wedding proposal happen? 

We were in Byron Bay visiting my family and having a short break from work, staying at the beautiful Villas of Byron. On our first night we booked to have dinner at Italian Byron Bay, and while we were out, John had our Villa filled with rose petals, tea light candles (100 to be exact) and love heart chocolates spelling out MARRY ME (with no question mark as it was non-negotiable). It was absolutely stunning and I stood in the doorway crying for 5 minutes before I could even focus on my beautiful ring and say YES! All of our family and friends knew prior (some for months), I have no idea how the secret was kept, but it was perfect!

3. What were the reasons for choosing Forget Me Not as the venue for your wedding day? 

Not long after we got engaged I started researching wedding venues in Byron Bay. I always knew that I wanted to get married in Byron as I had such a strong connection of family there. My parents also met in Byron and we had now been engaged there! As we knew we would have quite an extensive invite list (both coming from large European families), a lot of the smaller venues were out of the question. We booked in with Che at Byron Bay Weddings to tour around Forget Me Not less than a month after our engagement and brought our mothers along for a whirlwind one day trip to Byron and back. As soon as we arrived we fell in love, it was so magical and really captured my love of being in the hinterland of Byron Bay. With it being an amazing canvas there was also so many things we could do with the space, and with no limitations, it was an absolute dream…

What style were you striving for with your table settings, florals and reception? Was there a certain look or vibe that you wanted to create? 

My personal style is modern, romantic bohemian and I really wanted to convey this through our wedding styling as well. My florist, Lhasa from Beautiflora was an absolute gem to work with and really understood what I wanted to create with the florals. I could have easily gone even bigger, but had to stick to some sort of budget! With the furniture and reception styling, I chose everything from The Wedding Shed and Kiera from BBW assisted in styling the areas beautifully! A crowd and personal favourite was the Naked Tipi – when can I move in?

Were there any vendors that you particularly loved working with and why? 

I loved all of my vendors. It was so easy to communicate with all of them and execute the vision I had for our special day! I have exceptional love for the ladies at Beautiflora as we were so in sync with our ideas and inspiration. Our photographer, Amelia Fullarton, is also such an incredible human, the photos turned out so natural and beautiful and we felt so comfortable all day.

What were your favourite parts of the planning process with Byron Bay Weddings? 

I loved working on the styling and picking all of the items from The Wedding Shed, being able to visually look at your selections online made it so simple (especially when you are planning a wedding and working full time). We also thoroughly enjoyed our tasting at Fig Tree Restaurant – it gave us some great ideas on flavours and Jack (head Chef) compiled an amazing custom menu for us which everyone LOVED!

Overall, what was your most favourite part of your wedding day and why?

 It is so hard to choose, every moment was special in it’s own way. I actually loved the whole process of getting ready in the morning with my girls, I was so relaxed and Asta at Villas of Byron prepared an amazing grazing platter for us to enjoy with some champagne! My father and I performed in place of a Father/Daughter dance, our incredible live jazz trio was put together by Steve Russell who also joined in which was great. Coming from a musical background, this made far more sense for us than a dance and is also a great memory that we will cherish forever. The whole day went so fast, but being able to be with my husband experiencing it all has to be my favourite part – it really set the tone for our life together and we can not be more excited!

Alisha & John xo

Suppliers
Venue: Forget Me Not // Byron Bay Wedding Celebrant: Susie Figgis // Photographer: Amelia Fullarton // Videographer: Jarod Lucas // Florist: Beautiflora // Hair & Make-up: Heartfire Collective // Catering: Fig Tree Catering // Drinks: The Cellar // Cake: Rebellyous Cake Co // Lighting:  Byron Audio// Transport: Byron Magic Bus // Music: North Coast Entertainment // Furniture & Styling: The Wedding Shed // Planning & Coordination: Byron Bay Weddings