Date: 4th February 2022

Venue: Casa Mio Surf Hacienda, Crescent Head

How it all began….

After many dud Bumble dates, Georgia was beginning to think that she would be single forever! That is, until her older sister Hannah randomly mentioned one afternoon that she had a friend named Ell who would be a massive catch – kind, great personality, surfy, good looking – Georgia thought, sign me up!

After sussing him out aka stalking him on Instagram, Georgia made the first move and sent him a friend request followed by a DM. Ell had just been on a surf trip to the Mentawi’s with the boys and had no phone reception for two weeks. Upon his arrival at the Airport, he was delighted to see that “Hannah’s little sister” had added him on Insta. Once he liked a few of her photos and vice versa, Georgia decided to slide into his DM’s and introduce herself.

Then, the rest is history!! An instant connection from the moment they had DM’d each other, to meeting him in person, they got along like a house on fire and it just felt so right! A week after sending non-stop DMs, Georgia and Elliott went on a first date, became boyfriend and girlfriend a few weeks after that, moved in together within months, bought a dog together, went on a big overseas trip, got engaged and then got married!!

The question!

It was on a beautiful sunny afternoon during the Northern Beaches lockdown on Christmas Eve, 2020. Ell suggested they take their dog Sanchez to the empty Mona Vale Golf Course to throw the ball around and get out of the house. Georgia, being a typical female FBI agent of a GF knew he was up to something and had suspicions of a proposal (sorry Ell hahaha). Elliott threw the ball to Sanchez and as Georgia turned around to watch him play fetch, Ell got down on one knee and proposed. Then, arranged by her sister, brother in law and two nephews, they enjoyed a little picnic on the golf course with champagne and nibbles.

The perfect spot

Georgia and Elliott got married at Casa Mio Surf Hacienda, Crescent Head. Stumbling across this amazing property years ago on Air BnB when Georgia’s girlfriends were going to book a NYE trip. Biggest vibe ever!

Ever since then, Georgia envisioned getting married there as she loved the style of the property and loved the idea of having a wedding that wasn’t at your standard wedding venue – something that could be DIY and personalised. Along with that, Crescent Head is also a very special place for Ell and Georgia– a place they go often and have had some really amazing surf/camping trips there.

Ceremony

The ceremony was set up under a beautiful big tree at the property, with a huge timber arbour in front, made by Ell. It was decorated with some greenery and a white sheet draped around the edges. Down the aisle was a jute runner and to each side there were long wooden benches which the guests sat on. They had some pink and white biodegradable confetti for the guests to throw in the air as they exited the aisle.

For the Ceremony, Georgia’s three sisters as Bridesmaids who walked down the aisle with one Nephew each including their dog Sanchez who wore a matching tuxedo to Ell’s. Ell had his three best mates as his Groomsman and included his two sister who did a reading for the special couple..

Georgia walked down the aisle to “I will spend my whole life loving you” by Imaginary Friends, followed by the signing to “Dreams” by The Cranberries and then exited to “Just Like Heaven” by the Cure.

And the Party!

The Reception was held under a huge 10x23 stretch marquee decorated with festoon lighting at the entrance and lots of greenery wrapped around the inner poles. From back to front they had the Bar, followed by the dining area which were three rows of timber trestle tables and chairs, a dancefloor with a huge disco ball hanging above it, and a live band/dj up the front with the cake table to the side. The tables were styled with white cheese cloth table runners topped with green foliage down the centre and some home made candle decorations made with wine bottles.

DELCIOUSNESS

Catering

It was important to Georgia & Elliott that the food was top notch so after much research they hired a Newcastle based Caterer - The Wilderness Chef. And WOW! The food was phenomenal. All of the guests said it was hands down the best food they have ever had at a Wedding and they couldn’t agree more. They were so good they hired them again for Georgia’s Mum’s 60th!

Cake

Hot n Tasty created a top tier of vanilla buttercake with white chocolate ganache, topped with some orchids to tie into the theme (as Ell and Gerogia had orchids for the ceremony). On the bottom two tiers they had some special edition Krispy Kreme wedding donuts.

Bar: The Cocktail Initiative – they served standard wine and beer + a special cocktail which was served all night long.

ALL THINGS BRIDAL

Bride’s dress Jane Hill “Ellington” gown. Georgia wanted something simple yet elegant.

Bride’s Shoes: IHouse of Harlow white block heels

Bride’s jewellery: Gold metal A. B. Ellie statement earrings

THE MOMENTS

First Dance

Georgia said ‘Our first dance was to Gary Clark Jr “Our Love”. We had been searching for the right song for our first dance for many months and stumbled across this song and we fell in love. We then made up our own first dance one night at home when we had way too many drinks and practiced it about 1000 times that night (which is hilarious because we both absolutely suck at dancing but we absolutely killed it on the night of our wedding!!)’

Favourite moment

Georgia and Elliott said ‘Saying our vows to each other was one of our favourite moments. We were both nervous in the lead up to it, but once you’re standing up the front and you’re reading your vows to each other you feel like no one else is in the room but you two. It was beautiful :) I cried so much I couldn’t talk at one stage LOL. Another favourite part was the first dance – as previously mentioned, we made this awesome dance up all on our own, so when we faced our fears and got up and danced in front of everyone it was actually the best.”

CREATIVES

Photographer

Eddie Blake from Ripple Weddings was their photographer. Ell knows Eddie personally and his work is amazing so they didn’t think twice about using him on their special day. He was so professional and captured the day perfectly.

Videographer

Ell’s friend Luke filmed the whole wedding on his go-pro.

Stylists

Our team at Salt and Wildflowers set up the wedding and made their vision come to life. Georgia said "‘Absolutely amazing team of ladies!!’

Hire

Rosie Pose: dining tables, chairs and “Mr & Mrs” sign. Georgia ‘We picked them because they had a great range of products that were to our taste and are fairly local. Salt & Wildflowers: signing table and chairs, timber benches, jute runner, napkins. S&W also have a great range of products and set up our wedding, so it was an easy decision to hire a few things from them!

Handi Hire: Coolroom hire. They are a local company suggested by Salt & Wildflowers. Emma from Handi Hire was very helpful!

Terry’s Coaches: Bus Hire. This was another vendor suggested by Salt & Wildflowers. Gavin was great and was very prompt with his responses.

Willowtree Marquees: Marquee, dancefloor and festoon lighting. Georgia said ‘we used them because they had the style that we were looking for and at quite an affordable cost. Mick was amazing – he help set up the huge marquee up in the torrential rain the day before and even assisted with us hanging our giant disco ball up!!’

Entertainment

Another fantastic suggestion from S&W, they chose a band called Mid North Coast Wedding Music. They were amazing!! They had the whole combo of a solo act, band and dj. A band is a must at a wedding!

Florist

Ellerslie Florist supplied the flowers for the wedding. Green foliage for the dining tables, arbour and inner poles of the marquee, single white roses for the bridesmaids, a single orchid for the groomesman and orchids with baby’s breath for my bouquet. Leanne the florist owner was FANTASTIC. She exceeded all of their expectations with the presentation of her stunning flowers. She even assisted on the morning of the wedding. Absolutely lovely lady!

THE OTHER BITS

Groom’s outfit: Elliott wore a baby blue suit with a white shirt made by Institchu, tan dress shoes and a tan belt.

Bridesmaid dresses: The girls wore a long, white linen, strapless dress by ESS the Label.

Bridesmaid accessories: The girls wore some gold and white earrings from Ayla and Oak and nude shoes of their choice.

Hair: Georgia’s sister Amy is a hairdresser and did loose waves in the Bridesmaid’s hair. Karina HMU did her hair in loose waves with one side pinned with a pearl pin.

Make up: Karina HMU did all of the makeup – a natural look with a bronze glow.