A Black & White Winter Wedding

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Surrounded by those closest to them, Brendan & Gemma’s wedding was simple, intimate and relaxed — just the way they imagined. Guests dressed all in black, which just added to the already beautifully clean & crisp palette. The whole day is filled with winter styling inspiration and personal touches — like Gemma’s elegant long-sleeve gown (made by the a friend!!) and a breathtaking floral arch (we can’t stop staring at those white blooms!). Keep reading to find out more about these two lovely souls and see more from their day!

 

Tell us about your proposal. It was Christmas Morning 2013 ( Our first Christmas as a family of 3, so it was extra special already ) We were opening our presents and at the bottom of my stocking was a card from our son ( Raef ) That said To Mummy, Love Raef. Inside it read… “Mummy we just wanted to say how much we love you…so will you marry my daddy”. As I looked up they were both sitting there with the ring. Instant tears and of course the answer was YES!

How did you know your partner was the one? Brendan and I met in 2005 at a party coincidently at his mum’s house. I was super shy and remember Brendan coming up to me in the hallway and chatting, I don’t even know what we spoke about I just remember thinking mid conversation “I wonder if I end up marrying this guy”. He remembers me getting out of my friends car that night as I pulled up and his thoughts were “I am going to marry that girl” both were such fleeting thoughts and something we forgot straight after and sounds so cliché. We went on with no contact for a good 4 years before I “stalked” him ( Those are Brendan’s words lol )

What do you love most about your partner? He is literally the kindest person you will ever meet, he would go out of his way for anyone. He is so genuine in everything he does, no matter what life throws at him – he always see’s the best in eveyone. He is an AMAZING dad to our 2 ( almost 3 ) kids and a very loyal and loving husband. 

What was your favourite part of the wedding day? It all turned out beautifully everyone was so relaxed which made it so easy. I loved that we had our 2 boys at the ceremony – they kept it so down to earth with their spontaneous and funny little interruptions throughout the ceremony. Our page boy Kalan ( Brendan’s little brother ) handed the rings to Brendan and at that moment our boys thought this must have been the time to come up and give us something so they came up and handed us their Turtle and Donkey for us to hold. Getting the rings was a bit of a juggling act holding our kids toys lol ( as we thought “we just need 10mins to say I do kids” ) then as Brendan placed the ring on my finger, our youngest Karson slapped Brendan on the bum like “great job, dad” and turned around with a big grin. Trying to get a 3 and 2 year old to do the basics is hard enough so none of that was planned but it made it so special and had everyone in stitches. 

I also loved that our Photographer Joey pulled us away to have our own photos away from everyone, it gave us time to just be “together” and enjoy the moment for what it was uninterrupted. By the time we got back to the reception we got straight into having the best time with all our close family and friends. We wanted a relatively small wedding with only our nearest and dearest so we didn’t have to play catch up with everyone but just make the most of the moment – it really all does go so fast!

Describe your wedding theme/style. I have always been super simple in my style and I wanted to stay true to that. We had our wedding in winter which was perfect because I always wanted to have a long sleeved gown and I felt so comfortable wearing it. I had bought a dress when we first got engaged and then I fell pregnant with baby no2 so that went out the window. I ended up approaching a family friend ( Sarah Davies ) who has a business called Little Lops, so I knew she could sew. I had all the faith in the world in her abilities but she had never sewn a wedding dress before. She was Incredible from start to finish and I could not be more grateful for how it all turned out.

I am also a flower addict and having a best friend/ bridesmaid that was a florist I wanted to go crazy in that area. I also had a request on the invite asking all our guest to wear black, lol – People thought I was crazy and had so many mixed opinions on this, however the photos turned out amazing just like I imagined. Eveything was clean, crisp and minimal.

What is marriage to you? This has been such a controversial conversation we have had with many family and friends who constantly put pressure on us to get married in our 10 years of dating. We always knew we would get married and both have never had a doubt in our mind that we would spend the rest of our lives together. However, we have attended many weddings and seen a handful fall apart in our time together. We are both realists when it comes to this topic, I feel like so many people get caught up in the fairytale of it all and then when the going gets tough there are so many people who are quick to throw it all in. Brendan and I have been through so much together, things that you can’t understand how one might react until you go through them first hand. We have renovated and built houses, had 2 children ( and another on the way ) and the demands they put on you, we run Brendan’s building business together and all the stresses that go with this. We have both have had our run ins with health, we have been broke and we have been well off – you name it we have been through it. Nobody knows what card life is going to hand them and how they will react when the stress and pressure is put on them and we both knew if we could make it though any of these testing times and still love each other more then the day we met we could make it through anything together. Hard times are what get you from one happy memory to the next and we truly believe there is nothing we cannot get through without each other. We didn’t want to get married because the pressure was put on us and it was expected we wanted to wait until WE were ready – regardless of how long that took.  To us a piece of paper didn’t change anything but it officially made us Mr and Mrs Schmidt. x

Carly Tia

Credits

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