From their first meeting in primary school, to running into each other throughout the years, this beautiful White Lily Bride, Alex and her now-husband Rhys were always finding their way back to each other. A chance encounter in Brisbane's Fortitude Valley nine years ago led the pair to realising it was meant to be all along. We sat down with Alex to learn about their love story, finding her dream gown and everything wedding-related in between.
THE LOVE STORY
Alex admits the thing that makes their relationship work is the fact that they are the best of friends. "We both genuinely like to make the other happy. It’s all about the little things. We laugh all the time!" She says. "We are both quick to acknowledge mistakes or if we've hurt the other, and we always know when to say sorry."
THE PROPOSAL
Prior to proposing, Rhys showed Alex' dad and brother the ring he had purchased. "He had taken the ring back to the car and put it on the front seat but had completely forgotten. His intention was to hide it again. So when we went to leave, I opened the door to a jewellery bag on the front seat!" Alex said.
Alex was patient though and a week later, Rhys got down on one knee at the Wild Horse Mountain Lookout at sunset overlooking the Glasshouse Mountains - talk about romantic!
THE PLANNING
"The most important aspect of our day was that we wanted to keep it real. We wanted it to be authentically us," Alex said when asked about the style of her wedding. "We wanted to stay true to ourselves, feel and look like ourselves and not let anyone tell us what to do. We didn’t want to look back on our day and not look or feel like us. We didn’t let people make us feel bad for not being invited or talk us out of doing what we wanted!"
The couple stayed completely true to themselves and both even chucked on their Vans sneakers for the occasion. They kept their piercings in, didn't actively try and hide their tattoos and walked down the aisle to a heavy metal band - together! Alex & Rhys are the absolute definition of doing your wedding, your way.
THE DRESS
"I found myself trying on so many dresses in the beginning. From puffy, strapless, lace, beads, but none of them felt like me and to be honest, I couldn’t wait for it to be over." Alex says when discussing what dress shopping was like initially. "When I saw my dress, I knew it was the one. Another bride was trying it on and I asked to see if after her."
"Toward the end of the appointment, I nearly said not to worry about it, but I fell in love immediately. I felt elegant and beautiful, but not over the top and I just felt like me. I had another appointment afterwards and had no interest in any of the other dresses as I knew I’d found the one. I called that afternoon to buy it!"
When asked about the advice she would give any future brides, Alex had this to say, "Stay true to yourself. Don’t worry about what anyone else says or thinks. I'm so glad I did what I wanted."
Alex said YES to the incredible ADRIENNE gown by Pronovias.
THE BIG DAY
Alex & Rhys tied the knot in Tasmania at the incredible The Keep. The couple originally planned to elope but when their friends and family asked to be involved, they didn't turn down the opportunity to celebrate with their nearest and dearest.
They spent the night before their wedding together with the private chef they had engaged, they watched the sunset, sat in front of the fire, woke up together and got ready for their big day together.
"We didn’t go without. We had everything we wanted for our day because we chose to spend our money on ourselves, rather than on friends or family we rarely talk to or see. We also spent a week travelling and eating our way through Hobart." Alex said. "I would also suggest investing in a good videographer and photographer. Dave’s (Alex & Rhys' photographer) work is magic and we now have these amazing memories forever!"
COMPLETE THIS SENTENCE
Being married means: "It's being able to wake up next to and kiss your best friend everyday. It's sharing a bond that no one else could possibly understand. It’s picking the person to spend your whole life with, knowing you will never get sick of them, or still thinking they are the most perfect human no matter how much you both age. You don’t need to be married to do any of these things, but it just makes it that little bit more special."
The Dream Team (AKA Alex & Rhys' incredible vendors)
