Real Wedding // Irene & Nick’s Forget Me Not Wedding

Irene & Nick have captured the essence of how beautiful a hinterland wedding in Byron Bay can really be. They were recently wed at Forget Me Not. Read their love story below.

Tell us your story, how did you both meet?
We first met in 2013 studying Psychology. We became really good friends, choosing the same classes, the same tutorials and spending our lunch breaks together. After being friends for a year and a half, Nick flew to London to study abroad for 6 months where we realised just how much we liked one another (long distance friendship – it’s a real thing). On 22 December 2014, Nick flew me to Paris, France…we had dinner on the Eiffel Tower, visited the Mona Lisa, ate freshly baked croissants and locked our love forever on the “love-lock bridge” – je t’aime!

How did the proposal happen?
After having dated for two years, our “dating” anniversary was approaching and Nick had planned a special day out together to celebrate. We began the day with a mini road trip down the coast…heading towards Byron Bay for what I thought was to be watching the sunset by the beach and dinner at a restaurant. As we pulled into a secluded beach, Nick asked me to wait in the car so he could “check the temperature of the water”.

Nick then texted me and told me to head toward the beach, following the “signs” along the way. As I hopped out of the car, I saw a sign that read “Irene – follow the red line and don’t look back”. As I continued toward the beach, I began to see a line of red rope weaving through the beachside trees all the way down to the sand. Following the red line, I found 12 x padlocks, locked onto the rope, with a timeline of photos tracing back from our very first photo together. The final padlock, with that day’s date was left unlocked with no photo attached. The red line then took me down to the beach where I saw Nick waiting in the distance with a picnic set up. When I finally reached him, he began to speak, dropped to a knee and pulled out a ring box…Nick popped the question and I said YES! From there we took a polaroid, attaching it to the final padlock. We then locked the final lock and threw the key in the ocean – WOO!

What were the reasons for choosing Forget Me Not as the venue for your special day?
Forget Me Not is the most beautiful blank canvas – we were compelled to choose this venue because it presented endless opportunities to not just host our dream wedding, but to create our dream wedding. From the breathtaking hinterland and mountain top views right down to the glistening lake, we could envisage every element of our wedding playing out at this venue. The moment we stepped foot on the venue, every other option fell second best. We felt at home and knew that it was the right place for us.

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?
We have always been in love with all things French, and having had our first date in Paris, we wanted to imitate a French theme for our wedding. Byron Bay Weddings were incredibly accommodating to this, and cared about every little detail. Our formal invitations, foliage and floral, internal décor and table set up, guest favours and even the wedding cake were all French inspired. Our highlight though was Chef Che’s incredible French menu that had our guests buzzing (even to this day!)

Were there any vendors that you particularly loved working with and why?
We were incredibly blessed to work with so many awesome people – here is just a handfus that we would love to show some love.

Forgot Me Not – Jo Schneider was extremely accommodating and great to work with. She welcomed us into her home and property and really allowed us how to outwork our dream venue.

Annie Ruby Photography – Annie and Holden Connolly are two of the best human beings ever! They flew all the way from America, were down to adventure & party, covered both photography & videography but most of all knew how to take the lead with capturing photos while still giving us the privacy and space to enjoy the little moments.

Fig Tree Restaurant – One of the most consistent comments we’ve had about our wedding is the food! Chef Che and his team created the most delicious, delicate & dreamy courses of food we’ve ever tasted. After dining at Fig Tree Restaurant in the lead up to our wedding, we wanted to give Che creative license to make the food that he loves, which translated beautifully into a dining experience that took our guests to France. Thankyou Che!

Petal and Peach – The amazing Rebecca created our dream wedding cake. With little experience with cakes, all we knew was that we wanted the cake to be French-inspired. She made the process so stress free – she took our requests on board and from there created our amazing 2 tier, half-naked, French meringue cake with profiterole puffs. To top it off, she decorated the cake with beautiful foliage that matched the rest of our wedding.

Unveiling Poppy – Amy is hands-down one of the most talented florists that I know. Not only did she create an amazing array of flowers and foliage for us, but she and her husband created our very own triangular arbor.

Overall, what was your most favourite part of your wedding day and why?
Nick – My personal highlight, apart from the wedding night of course, was a single time-stopping moment that Irene and I shared in the afternoon. The ceremony was complete, our bridal and family photo sets were done, guests were arriving at our transparent marquee in the hinterland and we finally had a few moments to ourselves. Alongside our photographers we made our way up to the top of the hill at Forget Me Not via golf buggy to share a quiet moment together before the reception. To me, it was perfect. The sun was setting, we popped a bottle of champagne, and we were dancing on top of the world. Wife in hand, formalities done, this was a moment I will never forget!

Irene – my personal highlight was our first dance. We had practiced once before we took the floor that night (rookie move) but managed to pull off the most amazing and smoothest first dance ever. During our first dance, the power cut out – all the lights went off and the audio stopped working – but we continued to dance anyway, our singer/guitarist continued to sing, and our guests turned on their flash lights on their phone and shone them towards us. It was a magical moment and not something that you can plan, but one that we’ll cherish forever.

Irene & Nick 

Suppliers
Venue: Forget Me Not // Hair: Tanielle Jai // Celebrant: Pastor Steve Dixon // Music: Bronson Ioane // Photographer: Annie Ruby Connolly // Videographer: Holden Connolly // Florist: Unveiling Poppy // Catering: Fig Tree Catering // Cake: Petal and Peach // Drinks: The Cellar Bottle Shops // Lighting: Byron Audio // Furniture & Styling: The Wedding Shed // Planning & Coordination: Byron Bay Weddings