Real Wedding // Natalie & Sean’s Byron View Farm Wedding

Natalie & Sean enjoyed a relaxed, boho, style wedding at the incredible Byron View Farm. They wished for a romantic and soft wedding day without it being overly traditional. We worked alongside an absolute dream team of suppliers who helped bring their wedding to life through all of the changes of Covid. We were so excited to see Natalie and Sean tie the knot on the most perfect Byron Bay day! Take a look at their beautiful wedding.

Tell us your story, how did you both meet and where did the proposal happen?
We met at work in 2017, we were friends at first as we were both already taken, but both changed that as soon as we got to know each other better. We fell in love very quickly and moved in with each other within a few months.

Sean proposed at the Long Reef headland walk, we were both feeling a little bit dusty from the night before, but Sean got us out of bed for a rain walk. As it was early and raining, there weren’t many people around. He took me down to the small beach that no one really goes to and dropped down on one knee. My family from Scotland were visiting so we got to celebrate with them later that night, which turned into an impromptu engagement party. It was amazing, as given what happened with COVID-19 my family wasn’t able to make the wedding, so it was so special we got to celebrate the engagement with them.

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 were going for a relaxed, boho, Byron Bay style. We wanted white and blush with a hint of rust. We wanted it to be romantic and soft without it being overly traditional.

Were there any vendors that you particularly loved working with and why?
We absolutely loved every single one of our vendors. We feel like we couldn’t have picked better vendors. If we were to call out a favourite it would have to be our photographer, Amelia Fullarton. She was so calm, relaxed and professional. We asked her to be a ninja so we didn’t feel like we were being photographed all day, and she did exactly that. She also recommended we delay our couple photoshoot as the lighting wasn’t great so she didn’t want to waste our time when she knew the quality of photos wouldn’t be as good. She then gave us 20 photos 2 days after the wedding and we absolutely loved every single one, she just has the most amazing eye and doesn’t just snap photos all day, she is very specific and curated with her photo-taking and the result is just beautiful.

A tied favourite has to be our celebrant, Michelle Shannon. She is incredible! We knew as soon as we skyped her, she was the celebrant for us – she was cool, calm, relaxed and a bit cheeky. She was so helpful in the lead up to the wedding with writing our ceremony and vows. Then on the day, she gave us the most perfect ceremony. She doesn’t stand in between the couple, she let us hug and kiss as much as we wanted throughout the ceremony and she came up with beautiful inclusions to the ceremony that we wouldn’t have thought of. It was the perfect balance of emotional and funny and a true representation of Sean and I, as a couple. After she left everyone kept talking about what an amazing job she did.

We also loved Goldbear Wedding Films – Mike was such a cool cat and was great at directing us. We have received our teaser and he totally captured the fun and happiness from the day.

We also couldn’t recommend Byron Bay Weddings more, they have been so helpful throughout the whole planning process, Maddie was amazing, always there to answer my hundreds of questions. Then we got handed over to Kate and she was such a calming presence at what was a very stressful time; trying to work around wet weather options and new COVID cases popping up. Then, Dave, on the day was so calm, helpful and chilled, which is exactly what we wanted. He rolled with the punches and made sure everything ran so smoothly. And of course, Che, he’s a total legend and was always there to chat to us when needed, put on an amazing tasting experience and then completely nailed all the wedding food on the day, so many people said it was the best wedding food they have ever had.

Also, Byron View Farm is just the most magical place we have ever been to. We couldn’t imagine getting married anywhere else. Rob, the owner said to us the place has great juju, and we couldn’t agree more!

Tell us what were the most important aspects of your wedding day and what moments really stood out to you?
The ceremony was the most important aspect of our wedding, as this was the moment we actually got married. We wanted the setting, view, music and ceremony to really express us as a couple.

The venue was so important to us as this just sets the scene for a magic day.

We also just wanted everyone to be relaxed, having a great time with plenty of food and drinks.

A moment that really stood out to me was when I walked down the aisle, seeing it all set up as we had planned for months, with everyone standing with their shade umbrellas and Sean standing up there with the amazing view behind him, it is a moment I will never forget, it was so so special. Another moment we loved was when everyone joined us on the dance floor after our first dance, looking around and seeing everyone slow dance to our song was so lovely.

You got married during a global pandemic, how did you find the experience?
To be honest, throughout the whole planning process we didn’t really let it impact us. We just kept rolling with the punches and just knew that at the end of the day all that matters is Sean and I want to get married, so even if it’s just us there we will be happy. There was definitely a few things the pandemic took from us that we wish it didn’t, such as not allowing our international guests to attend, which included my whole extended family from Scotland.

I guess we don’t really know what it’s like planning a wedding, not during a global pandemic. I loved every bit of planning the wedding and the pandemic wasn’t going to take that away from me as you only get to do it once!

The biggest stress we found was the week of the wedding, as the cases in the Northern Beaches started to pop up. We didn’t get much sleep that week as we were so worried our wedding would get cancelled a few days out. However, we were one of the extremely lucky couples who got married in 2020, as we happened to get married in the two weeks where the restrictions had eased.

What reassurance would you give to other couples in the same situation that are hesitant or have concerns about their upcoming wedding?
We literally had the best day of our lives and for a full day, COVID-19 didn’t exist in our world. We were in our happy love bubble and nothing would take that away. At the end of the day, if you don’t want to wait for the world to go back to normal and are happy to compromise a few minor details to your dream day, trust us, it will be 100% worth it! This is also a time to maybe rethink the big day, and make it smaller and more intimate and make it more about you guys as a couple. We had planned to have 80 people and ended up having 50 due to the pandemic, and it was honestly perfect.

Natalie & Sean xo

Suppliers
Venue: Byron View Farm // Hair: Anita Bauer Hair // Makeup: Makeup by Maree // Celebrant: Michelle Shannon – Byron Bay Celebrant // Photographer: Amelia Fullarton // Videographer: Goldbear Wedding Films // Musician: Scott Day-Vee // Florist: FLWR Studio // Cake: Byron Bay Cacao // Transport: Byron Bay Double Deckers // Catering: Fig Tree Catering // Lighting:  Byron Audio // Furniture & Styling: The Wedding Shed // Planning & Coordination: Byron Bay Weddings