“The idea of sharing a meal, being loud and messy and intimate was important”. Lauren.
Together for 10 years, Lauren and Scott’s family already included two kids and one fur baby. They were doing things back-to-front, but never being one’s for tradition, this was totally fine by them. They were already fully committed to each other and hadn’t felt the need for a piece of paper to prove it. But over time, and as their relationship developed and deepened, their perspective began to change. They realised there was power in standing up in front of the people that meant the most to them and making a formal and public declaration.
With full and busy lives, Lauren and Scott wanted their ceremony to be a low-key affair, but still incredibly meaningful. From a traditional smoking ceremony and Acknowledgement of Country led by Lauren’s friend Harry, a mixed wedding party of friends with no set sides and making an entrance together with their boys to telling their love story and writing heartfelt personal vows, every aspect of the ceremony was intentional and truly reflected them and their relationship. Even the location itself had special meaning. They wanted a natural setting and chose Como Pleasure Grounds as it was a special place they visited often as a family.
“There are so many special moments, but some include holding Scotts hand and looking out to this crowd of people with the most radiating and loving smiles shining at us. Harry conducting a smoking ceremony was incredibly special, giving us a meaningful way to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land and pay our respects. This cleansing ceremony grounded everything for us, and having it conducted by a friend made it all the more meaningful. Spending time hugging and speaking with everyone straight after the ceremony meant the world to us. Finally, we loved climbing up the rocks behind our ceremony while holding our little guys hands and making silly jokes to get them laughing”.
Their sons, being the most important people in their lives, were always going to feature in the day. Too young (and a little too shy) to speak, they helped with the rings and just generally added to the cuteness factor. At one point all the guests sighed a collective “awww” when their littlest guy declared “I love you mummy” mid-ceremony (followed shortly after by “lets go now”). A story that will be told over and over again for years to come.
“It was a wonderful find! I was able to see ideas of how we could make our wedding reflect our ideas, and not be pushed into so much of the marketing of the wedding industry that we just didn’t identify with. It also led us to Sandra who was the most incredible photographer and just understood from the moment we met her what it was we were after. The fact that she already knew Andrea our Celebrant, who I was also friends with, meant our little wedding team already felt really intimate and warm from the start”.
