Rebecca's & Kurt's Wedding Story
The Romance
Kurt and I met 3 years ago in my hometown, Goulburn. Kurt grew up in a small country town nearby, then moved to Goulburn when he finished highschool and started working. We met on a night out where I discovered that Kurt played football with a few of my cousins and that I had gone to Uni and had become really close with his cousin, who later became my Maid of Honour.
Surprisingly, with so many connections, our paths had never crossed until this time. We were both ready to find love but I don't think either one of us realised just how quickly we would fall in love.
We were inseparable, and within 3 months of meeting we had decided to move overseas together. Kurt had always wanted to play football overseas for a season and I wanted to support him as I knew that he would make sure it was an adventure of a lifetime for both of us.
The Proposal
Now living in England, half way through our year away, we came back to Australia for a week for my brother's wedding. While we were home Kurt picked up my ring that he had already chosen. But he didn't propose then. Unknowingly, I carried it all around the airport at the bottom of my bag and travelled back to England, totally naive as to what was happening. A few weeks later we went away for a weekend to a seaside village, Scarborough. We had drinks near the beach before dinner and went for a walk out to the lighthouse. Kurt spun me around to get a photo of the sunset behind us and when he finished spinning me around he was down on one knee. I was in shock and said 'are you serious?' so many times before saying YES!
The Planning
Planning a wedding is a lot of work, but it is totally worth all of the effort. Once we moved back to Australia we had 10 months to plan our wedding. Kurt was a great support. We did all of the planning together and made lots of our decorations ourselves, as we wanted to make our wedding personal and special. Kurt is a carpenter and he put his skills to use, making easels, frames for the seating plan and signs. We spent many nights decorating jars, painting signs and making photo collages together. I love that we have those memories leading up to our big day.
The Wedding Day
Kurt and I got married on the 24th of September, the first day of the school holidays. It had been raining on and off for months in Goulburn, but we were lucky enough to get a nice sunny day. I got ready at my mum's house with my mum and bridesmaids and Kurt's family rented a beautiful old house for the weekend where the boys got ready and had their photos taken.
On the morning of our wedding I woke up really calm but I also had a feeling of excitement and nervousness that is hard to describe. Everything was all organised and in place so there was nothing left to do but enjoy it all. My bridesmaids and I had a relaxed morning getting our hair and makeup done. Headlines Hair and Beauty did our hair and Tara Florence Artistry traveled down from Canberra to do our makeup. Once we were ready and I had given my bridesmaids, my mum and mother in law a gift to thank them for their support we enjoyed some champagne and were ready to go.
Kurt and I wrote letters to each other which, of course, made me cry with happiness. We didn't see each other before the ceremony, but he did send me a message during the morning assuring me that however the day went that at the end of it we would be husband and wife and that's all that mattered. It was a nice surprise. He has such a calming influence on my life and always knows when I need him. His message gave me butterflies, just like when we first starting dating.
The Ceremony
We got married at St Peter and Paul's Cathedral in Goulburn. This church is significant to us as it is the parish where we were baptised and I attended the connecting primary school and high school. Kurt's dad's name is Peter and his late Pop, who he was really close to, is Paul. That was one of the easiest decisions of our wedding planning, to get married in such a beautiful old Cathedral. My mum walked me down the aisle. It was a dream come true walking with my mum down to the love of my life. We had a live singer who sang country ballads. The acoustics were amazing and the atmosphere was very special. I didn't want the ceremony to end!
The Reception
Our reception was at the Racecourse. The grounds are beautiful all year round, but especially in Spring. Our theme was rustic and relaxed- lots of lace, ribbon, flowers and hessian. Bek's Bloomz created soft flower arrangements to match the navy bridesmaids dresses and grey suits. Words can't explain the feeling of having all of our family and friends around us to celebrate our love. We danced the night away to the award winning wedding entertainer, Johnny Spitz. It all went too quickly, but we have lots of beautiful photos captured by the talented Sara Fife and hilarious wedding videos shot by Launch Film Productions to treasure forever.
The Honeymoon
After our wedding we had a few days at home to spend with family and friends who had travelled for our special day (we had some guests come all the way from England). Then we went on a honeymoon to the Maldives. It was absolutely beautiful and so relaxing, everything that I hoped our honeymoon would be. We had an overwater villa and the crystal clear endless water view was amazing after weeks of busy wedding planning! Friends of ours recommended going to the Maldives and I am so glad that's where we chose. We would go back in a heartbeat!
Wedding Advice ...
My advice to other couples, particularly brides, is to take a moment to stop and enjoy all the excitement before leaving home for the service/ceremony. I was too excited to marry Kurt and was busting to leave. This was unusual for me to be ready and on time as I am always running late! Enjoy every moment. It goes way too quickly. Oh, and choose a good photographer and videographer. It was the best decision we made. Then you can re live the memories of your special day forever.
If I had my time again ...
If we had our time over I wouldn't change a thing. I didn't realise that the day could be so perfect. I don't think it would have made a difference if something did go wrong though, if you are marrying the right person then everything will be fine and it won't matter.
Read about Rebecca's winning experience in the 2016 Bride of the Year Competition
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