Full of stylish DIY inspiration and the most heartwarming love story, this whole day has us teary eyed! The genuine emotion and connection between these two is so beautiful, right along with the loving community that surrounded them and helped with every piece of their day. Keep reading to get to know this sweet couple and make sure to watch their moving wedding video by @morelifefilms — it’s well worth a few minutes of your day.
Tell us about your proposal. I always said I would know when he was going to propose because I would be able to tell how nervous he was leading up to it but I had spent all of the day before with him and he was so relaxed that I really did not see it coming! I found a note under my car seat that said open at 3:00pm and go to the top of pine hill at 4:30pm (sunset time) with your bike. At the top of the hill there was another note that told me to ride down our favourite path until I found a surprise and, after riding for a while through beautiful bush scenery (which is where we had some of our portraits taken for our wedding), there was Zac; standing under a sign that said “I love you Kathryn, will you marry me”. Looking out over the hill, he had also set up fairy lights in numerous trees and a picnic to watch the sunset together over wine and cheese.
How did you know your partner was the one? Our story was a very complicated one at the start as we were both very young and did not really know the right way to deal with our feelings. So even though we loved each other right from the start, we did not really become anything official until we decided to be serious after 5 years of confusion. It got to the stage where we knew we couldn’t keep hurting each other like we were doing so we decided to concentrate on my own journey and health and it wasn’t until after that period in our lives that we saw each other with different eyes; it was like a fresh start. We became best friends FIRST and I knew from that point that this was the real deal and that we would make a very awesome team. After all – I don’t think I’d ever stopped loving him (hence the sign “it was always you”) and there was so much change that happened in both of us that I knew that where our hearts were at, personally, we were ready to love each other properly; and with respect.
What do you love most about your partner? His kind, gentle and down to earth heart that has taught me to take myself a lot less seriously. He inspires me with his love for God and people. With everything he does, he always puts in 110% and is the hardest and most ethical worker I know. His smile, laugh and warm hugs are never held back from me…and did I mention he has the best bum and gives the best massages!?
What was your favourite part of the wedding day? It’s hard to even know where to begin because I loved every single second and detail of the day. I really believe God had His blessing on the whole day. Even after many weekends in a row of terrible weather, the weather was just perfect for our day outside! They do NOT lie when they say it’s the best day of your life.
If I had to choose though, I think it would be all the feelings and emotions that came with the day. The amount of gratefulness, love, excitement and happiness I felt almost made my heart burst. Not once did I feel anxious or nervous. Those that know me, know that stress can really affect me a lot of the time but I was so at peace all the week leading up, the night before and especially on the day.
I even started the day by waking up after a great night sleep and sat with my puppy Ruby in the hammock until my bridesmaids and family woke up and joined me with their excitement. It was all just so beautiful, so relaxed, and so special. While we were getting ready, my bridesmaids and I danced to Beyoncé’ in our robes and we laughed all morning together.
I think my love for all of my nearest and dearest grew astronomically. Throughout the day, I constantly made sure I stepped back to take it all in; all the faces of my favourite people; the music; the food; the beautiful speeches, the joy oozing from my parents; the support & love from my bridesmaids; my husband and his happiness; and all the details I had planned for 11 months finally happening and flowing together nicely. I allowed myself to feel all the emotions that I needed to feel in each different moment. I feel like there’s always pressure to feel a certain way when it comes to your wedding, especially on the groom to cry when his bride walks down the aisle! But I made sure that we both knew it was ok to express our emotions in whatever felt real at the time. If I felt like crying, I let it happen. If I didn’t feel like crying, I didn’t feel ashamed. It was just a pure and surreal “live in the moment” experience like none other.
Everything went exactly how I dreamed it would go, and even if I missed a few little details in the planning, I had amazing people who stepped up without being asked and made sure it all worked out for us. I was so moved by the amount of people that, from the goodness of their heart, offered to help in any way they could. I really loved involving my guests in my wedding day as Zac and I wanted it to feel like a community effort. I wanted the day to be a pure representation of Zac and I, creatively showing who we are and what we love. We love people! So we were so grateful and honoured to involve those we loved and who were apart of the wedding. Our dessert bar is a great example of this. We had a number of our guests, including my mum and Zac’s mum, make our favourite desserts of all time. I think they were blown away too by just how fast the rest of the guests devoured their home made masterpieces! We had our dear friends sing and play at our ceremony. Zac’s brother and best man, Ben, sang and played our first dance song. Local, talented chefs, made our taco bar (which Mexican is our favourite meal). One of my biggest role models was our MC. Our pastor and mentor for many years was our officiant. Our choice in vendors, like our photographer, videographers and band fit in so well with our vibe as they were the friendliest, most relaxed, fun loving people! I’m so glad they were a part of our day as well. Many people (some I haven’t even mentioned) and many details that were so close to our heart really made our day the perfect day it was. It really is who you do the day with that make it so much more magical. As good as the aesthetics are; and don’t get me wrong, I LOVE amazing aesthetics and appreciate detail, but the feelings that made my heart overwhelmed were because of the people who loved on us and made us feel special.
Describe your wedding theme/style. The aesthetics of the day were definitely earthy, fun, contemporary and whimsical with as many personal touches as we could achieve. The main colours were represented in my bridesmaids dresses. Lots of warm, autumn tones while also maintaining an earthy feel. Lots of plums, pinks, greens and flora.
We wanted to incorporate our love for our beautiful, rural, bushland that our hometown of Narrandera is, hence the decision to have it all outdoors. I think we had the perfect balance of contemporary and earthy, with the amazing metal chairs from Bang Event Co, the bridesmaids dresses and the tailor made, velvet green jacket that Zac wore. His jacket was seriously my favourite and I really believe it helped tie the whole aesthetics together. It has embroided “Specially made for the wedding of Kathryn and Zachary Campbell. 28.04.2018”. I picture it to be an amazing family keepsake for many generations. The reception was lined with festoon lighting and the dance floor was covered in gold confetti which brought a sense of fun to the day. The neon sign was also a fun, contemporary touch, as it cast an awesome pink hue across the night. AND it was custom made using my handwriting!
My dress was seriously my perfect dress. It wasn’t what I originally pictured (I always wanted my arms covered) but as soon as Amy from Love Marie Bridal picked it off the rack for me, I cried; as did all my bridesmaids and mum. The shape and beads were fun and contemporary as they shone with the dancefloor lights. It was also whimsical and earthy with the floral patterned beading. I just loved it.
We had personal touches everywhere and made sure we represented what we loved in every detail. One thing that was very special was having the reception at my home where I’ve lived with my mum, dad and brother for pretty much most of my life; and where Zac got a cooked meal most nights the whole time we were together!
Zac is an electrician so he made the lights over the dance floor (last minute request by me). He is also very handy, so he built the bar, the walls and fence for the neon sign, AND the dance floor from scratch. We are renovating our first home together at the moment and the material he used for the dance floor is going to be used as the under-flooring for the house. We think this is super special because it has all our loved ones scuff marks from dancing and now it will be used as the foundation for our home. The neon sign was my handwriting. The tables were all made by my dad. The wall at the ceremony, which myself and my bridesmaids entered through, was built by dad. The fire buckets were cut and painted by dad; which he even etched “Zac loves Kathryn” into the sides. Everything floral was done by myself and my bridesmaids. I’ve always wanted to make my own bouquets, so after a 6 hour drive to Sydney to pick the flowers I loved, my bridesmaids arranged them into beautiful bouquets. We set up and hung the arbor the night before. I painted and wrote on the signs for the ceremony, reception, bar and dessert bar. As I mentioned before, our dessert bar was filled with our favourite desserts and the taco bar represented our favourite meal!
The reception setting was very relaxed with no assigned seating. However, there was a seat for every guest and someone always had somewhere to sit and relax when needed. The bar was an open bar and the fire buckets were scattered around the area for people to gather around.
I feel like our reception painted a nice picture of the kind of life Zac and I want to live together. One that is inviting, fun and real; and I fully believe we pulled off a wedding day that represented exactly that! I wish I could describe each detail and feeling properly, but I don’t think I’m that good of a wordsmith!
What is marriage to you? I feel like I am yet to really discover what marriage is – and I think that’s exciting. However, if I could describe what I know about marriage, 2 months in, it’s a perfect team of 2 imperfect people; complementing each other with their strengths and weaknesses, their dreams and their passions. It’s doing life with your best friend who you get to love in the deepest way a human could possibly love – no boundaries or fear!
I have amazing friends who have been married a lot longer than I have and they have helped me settle an important truth in my heart going into marriage. To always remember it’s not about feeling a certain way all the time, and although those feelings are amazing and they should be enjoyed, it’s about choosing to love your partner no matter what you feel in that moment. I’d be silly to think each day will be all sunshine and roses, but that’s ok because in the good and the bad I know I have someone who only wants the best for me and who will tackle anything with me hand in hand; and I will choose to do the same. We believe marriage is sacred, and although we don’t fully understand the depths of it yet (does anyone really get to the point?), we know that our commitment to each other is an important and a beautiful thing and it’s not something we will ever give up on just because we are having a bad day.
Kathryn + Zac | Short Story | Narrandera from Morelife Films.
