Images by Joshua Mikhaiel, married by Victoria from All We Need Is Love
The story of Mairaed and John’s intimate elopement in Royal National Park, in their words;
“We always knew we wanted a simple wedding. The concept of expensive fanfare with all the trimmings was certainly not a wedding style that fitted our lifestyle, values or what we wanted as we committed our love together. Our approach to our wedding was about highlighting the things that are important to us the things we love to share in a relaxed and fun day.
We are both from big families and after sitting down to write a preliminary guest list we quickly reached 100+ guests without even trying. John is Canadian all of his family still living there and Mairaed’s family is in Melbourne. We knew that no matter the location, lots of guests were going to have to travel if we had a ‘traditional’ wedding.
Having an intimate, low-cost and eco-wedding was much more our style. Something simple which we could capture and share with our families after the fact.
Hearing our love story perfectly woven together in a beautiful ceremony put together by #teamless member Victoria from All We Need Is Love. Having just us and our witnesses present meant that our commitment was poignant and perfectly intimate. It’s all captured so vividly in our memories.
Heading up to the cliff tops at Wattamolla for sunset so Photographer Joshua Mikhaiel could work his magic and capture us at sunset amongst the stunning scenery of the Royal National Park. We were even joined by whales breaching and deer.
Finishing it all off with a deliciously romantic bonfire at the beach, filling our bellies with rum, gin, cheese and sharing our first dance under the stars.
Marriage to us means making a commitment to each other to support each other to be the best version of ourselves. Vowing to walk beside each other in the dark moments but also sharing and celebrating the most wonderful bits of life – ocean swims, coffee at our favourite café, riding our bicycles and big belly laughs.
John – I am grateful for Mairaed’s fierce determination, the bond that she shares with her family and community, and her beautiful kind hospitality (including her incredible cooking!)
Mairaed – John is such a driven and hard working individual, he makes big goals and is not afraid to go after them. But more than that, he has never been afraid of allowing me to fulfill my ambition. His support is unwavering.
Living purposefully means aligning our actions with our values and vision for our future. The world is filled with lots of ‘mess’ and ‘stuff’ and it’s very easy to loose sight of what is ACTUALLY important – having each other and our community to share in the things we love and enjoy.”
Thank-you so much for sharing your story!
Enjoy Jon and Mairaed’s full wedding gallery below:
