EBONY X JAKE

Yabbaloumba Retreat weddings images by fennel and fern photography grace loves lace bridal gown

images by fennel & fern photography
wedding date 18 december 2021
140 wedding guests

Ebony + Jake met in 2012 and were together for just over eight years before Jake proposed. "I tell you what, he kept me hanging." Ebony laughs. Ebony had been in grade school when she saw a cute boy playing basketball with his little brother. "My mum drove me home to get me changed into my cool activewear and I went and watched him play for a bit haha. Two days later, my mum rang me to tell me she spotted the said cute boy who had been playing basketball, working at the local sports store!" Eb tells.

"I immediately got changed into my cutest floral dress and put my hair in a messy bun and took my 16 year old self down to the sports store to introduce myself. I had no idea what I was doing but I took the plunge and asked him if I could have a look at a wallet in the cabinet, then I made some small talk and found out he was new in town. He was a little shy, so I left the store and searched every Jake on Facebook until I found him. I messaged him and said “Sportspower boy, winky face.” He replied and it was a classic case of love at first sight (or stalk?) and the rest is history!"

the proposal.

Our proposal took place at our favourite spot in the world and it was perfect. Jake and I have our favourite look out at Point Arkwright which we called our spot, we would go there every single day for years, with our dog Duke. One day, we went for a very regular walk and coffee, in my active wear and not looking very Instagram-worthy we went to our favourite spot. It was very common for us so nothing seemed odd! Jake said that our dog had a note for me, I was confused and as I looked down, I saw that our dog had some paper in his collar. I grabbed it out and it said “Want to marry Dad?” I turned around and Jake was on one knee. I was equal parts in shock and excited, it took me a solid 90 seconds to stop saying ‘OMG’ and actually say yes – it was perfect and a moment that I will never ever forget.

the venue.

Jake and I have always said that we wanted a venue that we could have a really big, fancy kind of party. Yabbaloumba Retreat offered everything that we were after, our guests had the option of staying and glamping for the night, which was huge for us as the venue was a little out of the way in the hinterland and we wanted everyone to have the best time. The venue felt classy but also laid back, which his again what we wanted. We had the option of three different areas for our ceremony and kept it separate to our reception so it felt like we were in two magical places for the wedding! The entire venue is stunning and was a bit of a blank canvas to be able to do what we wanted – we decided to only use the big barn if it rained, which it didn’t! So we had it all outdoors with festoon lightning, a big dance floor and lots of low level picnic style tables for our guests to hang out. It was the first and only venue that we looked at and we definitely wouldn’t have changed a thing!

wedding theme.

I’ll be honest, Jake really didn’t know about the theme (better that way hahah) but I am a huge lover of natural tones, my wardrobe and home is filled with neutrals with a bohemian touch, so we wanted to make it as ‘us’ as possible. We are a very laid back couple and wanted that to be reflected in our day, so for us we didn’t want to do a very structured or formal theme, no sit down style or black tie. I found a colour palette and was able to work with the vendors to create a day that flowed with our style and it worked so well! A friend of mine designed and made my bridesmaids outfits and they were all colours that we loved (mixed colours) and the entire day was based around those colours, from the flowers to the styling of the day.

favourite moment.

There were a few moments in the day that I think about almost daily, firstly, walking down the aisle. It was such a surreal feeling that I wish I could re-live! I felt like I was in a bubble and nothing else in the world really mattered, it was such a special moment. We also talk about how special it was for us to have a bit of time just for us when we went and got our photos done at sunset. It was such an amazing moment to look down from the hill when we were getting photos to see all the people we love. The reception area lit up with so much love, it was so beautiful for us to spend that time just us as well, everyone speaks about how important it is to have that time, and it is so true! Our band was an absolute hoot too, having them perform was seriously the best.

Ebony & Jake 2022 from Grace Wriggles on Vimeo.

favourite detail.

There are so many details that we loved, the flowers were amazing and everything that I had envisioned, my best friend/maid of honour made our wedding cake and it was so special for us to have had her do that, it was so beautiful and delicious and everyone raved about it! Another detail we loved was the styling, we used Boho Sisters and they made the venue look incredible. It was like something out of a magazine and it felt like it was very us, we were so glad we went with them to help style our reception.

suit/dress shopping experience.

My dress was actually not the dress I had thought I would wear! Originally, I went dress shopping and tried on a couple of dresses, I was 98% sure on one of them but something just wasn’t quite making me 100%, so my sister suggested still going to my appointment at Grace Loves Lace. I tried on the dresses I had in mind but then discovered one that I hadn’t really seen on anyone. I envisioned myself with something with big floaty sleeves and this was hitting the mark for me, at first we were like ‘nah’ but then we realised with small alterations it would be magic. I made my decision that day and never looked back, I was absolutely obsessed with my dress, the low back and the big floaty sleeves, everything about it I loved. Jake’s suit shopping took me by surprise! For a laid back guy he definitely took this seriously, we both kept the dress and suit a surprise for one another so I had no idea what he was wearing!

Jake: I really enjoyed the suit shopping, it was cruisy and also fun that Eb had no idea what I was going to wear! I wanted a timeless suit and was lucky to have a groomsmen that was a business man and knew to take me to the right spots! It was good fun getting the guys together and a really seamless process, which was awesome.

what does marriage mean to you?

Marriage is an unbreakable bond, it’s loving the sh*t out of someone day in and day out and somehow, loving them more and more every day. I was lucky enough to have met Jake as a 16 year old girl and love him even more as a 26 year old adult. It’s growing together, thriving together, and living life together. For both of us, marriage means more to us than just a ring and a day, it is compromise, sacrifice, working hard, growing together and being one anothers biggest fans.

classic story.

I will never forget the horrified look on one of my best friends face, who also happened to be doing my hair and makeup, when myself and my bridesmaids were getting photos before I got dressed into my wedding dress and we were popping champagne.

As I popped it, the champagne went all over my face and in my hair – I panicked, but thankfully there wasn’t too much to fix and it was honestly hilarious and our photographer and videographer captured the exact moment. It was classic and made for a good laugh. We had two priceless moments that was so euphoric and fun, our wedding party entrance song which was gimmee gimmee gimmee by ABBA and our champagne tower moment, we had champagne showers playing – both moments were classic as we couldn’t have looked more like the dancefloor of a nightclub – everyone was such a vibe and it was so much fun. Our band also improvised a rap and acoustic song for us and it was so much fun, everyone took the dance floor seriously which was an absolute pre-requisite haha.

advice.

Prioritise making decisions based off what you, as a couple, want. I think that getting too many opinions can become messy, not everyone will agree with your plans and not everyone has the same vision! Do exactly what you want to do and don’t think twice about it. For example, I made the mistake of asking way too many people what their favourite beers were and it made deciding on 3 beers so much harder than it needed to be because we were so wrapped up on what beers people would like.

You’ll never be able to get 150 people in a room and have them all agree, so go with what is best for you both and everyone else will ultimately just be stoked that they got to be part of your day! My second bit of advice would be to legitimately take the time with your new husband/wife at some point in the day, as it is SO busy and as much as everyone tells you this, it is actually true. We did some really nice and intimate photos at sunset and it was such a beautiful moment away from the wonderful chaos down at our reception and it was a moment I will always treasure.

wedding songs.

Our aisle song was an acoustic version of dirty paws by of monsters and men, and this was performed by an amazing local singer, Liam Waller. We welcomed the bridal party to gimmee gimmee gimmee by abba and it was a hoot! Our first dance was Forever by Ben Harper

stand out vendors.

We were so lucky with all of our vendors, our photographer and videographer were amazing and we were so grateful to have such an amazing job done by them both. We were also so impressed with our band, they were honestly amazing. We saw them playing in Byron bay a few years ago prior to even being engaged and we both said when we got married we had to have them! They were so much fun, they played a mix of so many covers plus some originals and our dance floor didn’t stop. It was an amazing experience to have such talented people perform like they did.