Hannah + Gareth

How did you meet?

We met at work but the back story is my best friend had actually worked with Gaz at a previous job but we never met! I hadn’t wanted to get involved with someone from work but he was a complete romantic that just swept me off my feet and just couldn’t deny the attraction.

What are your three favourite attributes of your partner?

Extremely intelligent, extremely fun and extremely kind hearted

When did you know they were the one?

Very early! He took me away for quiet weekend of just us in the Glass House Mountains where we simply cooked, cuddled and explored. He had just got back from a trip overseas and when climbing up one of the mountains, pulled out a receipt from KL airport that had written on it “I’m in Love with You”.

Who proposed and how?

We went back to Glass Home Mountains to climb one we hadn’t the previous trip and it was at the top he proposed. Perfect moment.

What was the best moment for you at the wedding?

Theres a couple of course! That first moment of seeing Gaz’s beautiful, handsome smile and our eyes locking, knowing life had turned out exactly like I always hoped and it was meant to be. Looking at Gaz and having a quick kiss before he held my hand tight and lead me into the reception as his wife in front of so many or our nearest and dearest, felt so proud and like life was complete. Also watching our 18 month old daughter suddenly go from being clinging to me to simply holding her cousins hands and walking calmly down the aisle to my husband, however found out later she blanked him and just went straight for the toys we had set up to one side! Poor Gaz! Then my Dads speech, it was emotional, beautiful and funny – just perfect like him. And my Dad walking me down the aisle and getting emotional – I love my Dad dearly and had dreamt of that moment since I was a little girl and it was such a once life time special moment.

Where did you fall in love with your dress and why?

I actually already had a dress and having always loved the Made with Love dresses but been torn between lace and crepe, suddenly Carlie jumped out at me on social media and I just couldn’t stop thinking about it. We live overseas and so in final trip back to Australia prior to the wedding, I secretly went and tried her on. I felt guilty about changing dresses so didn’t go ahead but had instant regret when flying out the country again so while away, decided to bite the bullet and just order her. The team at Brides by Design were so supportive and amazing as helping seek and make a rush order happen. We flew back in 1 week prior to the wedding and had alterations (thankfully not too many based on size ordered was pretty close) and that was it. Week before the wedding I officially tried her on for the first time and am SOOO glad I made the change. She was the dress for me. I seriously couldn’t have had it without the incredible team and talent at Brides by Design, they went above and beyond but remained so calm, supportive and lovely through whole process.

What advice would you tell other brides?

Our wedding was literally in the weird time of Covid-19 unveiling itself and prior to everyone really knowing what was happening however the beginning of lock down rules such as quarantine for all international visitors. This meant we lost 30% of our guests coming in including my husband’s Dad and all but one of his groomsmen which was devastating. So the week prior was extremely stressful with accommodating change almost every day, supplier dropping out, dealing with emotions of people not coming and not knowing if we should be going ahead or not. So by the time the day rolled in, we were both not that relaxed. In reality, if our wedding was 1-2 weeks later, it wouldn’t have happened so we are so grateful for what we did have. Although I still had the best time, I wish someone at some point had just grabbed me and told me to stop thinking about all the stress of the lead-up, take in the moment/s and savor it. It goes so quickly and it took me a few hours to simply settle in.

What was one thing you did differently for your wedding?

Start talking to all the guests earlier and be quick about it! With a sit-down, it takes time to get to everyone and you want to talk like you normally do with decent conversation but I realized 1-2 hours in that I hadn’t got to half the guests and was running out of dance floor time! Be a little selfish, make sure you say hi to everyone but keep it short so you see everyone at least once then have more time for dance floor antics and further chat with your favs.