Real Wedding // Dani & Alex’s Fig Tree Wedding

Dani & Alex celebrated their gorgeous wedding day at the stunning Fig Tree Restaurant on a picture-perfect spring afternoon. With a romantic, elegant vibe at the heart of their styling vision, Dani – who works in the wedding industry herself, drew inspiration from some of her past brides and chose vibrant pops of colour to bring her vision to life. This dreamy day was everything that Dani & Alex had envisioned and was styled to absolute perfection! It was such a pleasure to be involved, alongside an incredible lineup of talented suppliers! Read on to hear more about their magical love story.

Tell us about your story, how did you meet and where did the proposal happen?

We are high school sweethearts and have been together for 15 years having met in school in New Zealand back in 2008. After travelling the world together, we finally settled on moving to Melbourne in 2016 and have been here ever since. 

Although we were together a long time and marriage was talked about a lot, the timing never quite suited for where we were at in life. The timing of the proposal was perfect however as after purchasing our first home together we went away to celebrate Alex’s birthday in Lake Daylesford (threw Dani off any scent of a proposal) and after a break in the rain, we walked around the lake before stopping on the jetty where Alex dropped down on one knee just as the sun was setting and a rainbow appeared overhead.

What were the reasons for choosing The Fig Tree as the venue for your special day?

We always knew we wanted a destination wedding, and have always loved Byron Bay. Our families are from New Zealand, and we have friends from all across Australia and NZ, so why not make it somewhere where we love, and where our loved ones could come and enjoy extended celebrations, and make a holiday out of it. When we started looking at venues in Byron Bay, as soon as we came across Fig Tree Restaurant, we knew it was the one.

It ticked all of our boxes – having the accommodation on site, wanting the ceremony and reception all in the one place, being able to take photos on site and overall being a beautiful wedding venue. We had a phone call with Che, and at the time the borders were closed between VIC and NSW, so we did a virtual tour and paid the deposit directly afterwards. We knew that if it looked that stunning over a phone call that it would be even better in real life. 

Fast forward 18 months, we viewed Fig Tree Restaurant for the first time the week of our wedding which exceeded all of our expectations.

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?

Dani works in the wedding industry as a makeup artist, so has seen a lot of beautiful wedding setups before. She definitely drew inspiration from some of her past brides but always knew we would like to keep it minimal with a pop of colour. The overall vibe we wanted was romantic and elegant and our vendors absolutely nailed our vision. 

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

Couldn’t fault any of our vendors – they each played a huge part in making our day what it was. Each of our vendors absolutely went above and beyond our expectations.

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

Our monthly catch-ups with our amazing planner Eydie over Zoom. She totally got our vision from the start and was amazing at pointing us in the right direction with choosing vendors. We didn’t find the wedding planning stressful at all, it was such an enjoyable experience.

Tell us what were the most important aspects of your wedding day and which moments really stood out to you?

Having an intimate ceremony and reception couldn’t have been more perfect for us. We had 68 guests – our closest friends and family and wouldn’t have changed a thing. 

To have Chris Hutchison play as the guests arrived off the bus to the ‘surprise venue’ – the beautiful ceremony moments with our amazing celebrant Andrew Michael – who facilitated such a big moment, yet made it feel so relaxed, fun and easy. 

Getting to sip Gin Cocktails with our guests around the pool to dancing the night away with all of our favourite people. Every moment was so much fun, and we wish we could do it all again. 

What would be your biggest advice to other couples currently planning their wedding?

Enjoy the process, don’t get caught up in what everyone else is doing, just focus on what is important to you as a couple and have fun!

Dani & Alex xo

Suppliers
Bride: Make Up by Dani  // Venue: Fig Tree Restaurant // Hair & Makeup: Hair By Brittany & Xenia Elise // Celebrant & MC: Andrew Michael // Photographer: Bayleigh Vedelago // Videographer: Moon and Back // Childcare: Kidz Klub // Florals: Wilderness Flowers // Musician & DJ: Chris Hutchinson // Cake: Just Add Flower // Transport: Byron Bay Double Deckers // Car Hire: 365 Limousine Hire // Stationary: One Mimosa Please // Catering: Fig Tree Catering // Lighting:  Byron Audio // Furniture & Styling: The Wedding Shed // Planning & Coordination: Byron Bay Weddings