NICOLA X ASH

freemantle wedding images by through the wild photography

"After the passing of my husband years earlier, at aged 37 I decided it was time to see if there was anyone else out there or if I would just be happy with me for the rest of my life. Having not dated for more than 10 years, the ways of online dating had improved, and I set myself up on Bumble just to see what fish were left in the pond. I soon found a handsome Submariner named Ash, who didn’t have any photo’s of fish in his profile & promised he could cook more than 3 dishes. I was intrigued and swiped for him, upon matching I then set about confirming if he could actually cook more than 3 dishes or if it that was a hook for ladies like me that prefer to be cooked for than cook! From there our banter kicked off and a few days later we had our first date at a small bar that we shut down! From there our first date lasted a week, except for when the handsome Sailor had to head off to work – he handed me a set of keys after our first date and only got them back when we bought our house together!" Nix tells.

How long were you together before your engagement?

Compared to the rest of our relationship, the engagement took a while to come around. After starting to date, we found out Ash was being sent on a deployment in a few months for 4 months, somehow against the odds, I fell unexpectedly pregnant after 2 months of dating and bought our house after 4 months together. I was starting to think a proposal would never happen, as our first anniversary went by, but he got it together at 18 months- which when in your 40’is basically a lifetime!

The proposal.

On our first childfree staycation after the birth of our son, we were so happy to just have some ‘us’ time. With no plans for dinner, we decided to pop into a restaurant on Elizabeth Quay with views of the river. After a champagne toast , Ash started fumbling in his pocket and popped the question, well a question of ‘what do you think’ upon producing the ring. My first response was to ask if he was joking, shortly followed by "you know there are no take backs" and finally Ash actually asked me to marry him - there were ugly tears of happiness, and our staycation is one I will not forget.

The venue.

Our choice of venue was an easy one, apart from being our local pub it has been part of many of our milestones together. Upon agreeing we wanted a fun party vibe rather than a formal wedding; we checked the availability of The Left Bank in February 2022 and were married end of August 2022.

The theme.

All we wanted was a fun relaxed party with the required wedding bit included so that’s what we did! We threw out the metaphoric rule book and did what we wanted- only people we wanted there, kids running around everywhere, no wedding party and very few formalities.

Favourite detail.

I adored our cake, we wanted to have fun with it so it was a double layer retro heart cake in white with blue lambeth piping and the wording ‘We Did. Seriously it’s legal now’, my tulle & pearl bow veil and having fun with my makeup having smokey navy blue eyes to tie into our colour theme and finally my 3 year old sons little tux to match Dads.

Favourite moment.

I loved the time I got with my son Aston before the wedding, all dressed up in his tux; a total mini-me of his Dad, seeing Ash’s face as I walked down the aisle to him and soaking up the time with each other whilst having our photos; by not having a wedding party we got to focus on just us.

Suit + dress shopping.

It was the easiest experience in the world, I knew I didn’t want a standard wedding dress so looked online and found my layered tulle dress at ASOS and on sale it came down to $165! It was my Carrie Bradshaw moment come true, on the morning of the wedding I decided I didn’t want the layered sleeves on the dress, so my Mum was unpicking that morning for me. As for the suit, it was super easy we had Ash’s jacket from a Submariners cocktail party a few years earlier, so we just arranged some new pants & shirt from YD and all tied together with his beloved Christian Louboutin shoes.

What does marriage mean to you?

Having been married before, I know how it does ‘feel’ different from just being together & I love being a wife. I love having my best friend also be the one to raise our child, laugh with, love and absolutely fancy the pants off. We are so realistic with a relationship, we talk a lot so we know where each other are at and included in our vows that ‘We vow to not always like each other, but we will always love each other’ and that is so important. To me, marriage is like toasted sandwiches, rather than a fillet steak; you will have far more toasted sandwich days than you will have fillet steak. But a good, toasted sandwich can be enjoyed just as much as a steak if made with the right ingredients & cooked with love.

Classic story.

Our son, who walked me down the aisle, stole the show when he got to the end & loudly exclaimed ‘Hi Daddy!’ as though he was surprised that Mummy was marrying Daddy and ending the night in Fremantle wandering around in our dress & tux ordering kebabs to take back to our hotel!

Advice.

Focus on the marriage rather than the wedding; if all your plans go pear shaped but you still are married at the end of the day it was a great day- the wedding is one day, your marriage is for a lifetime. Don’t let other people make the day about them, work out what an ideal day looks for both you & your other half, from there compromise and plan a day that makes you both happy.

Wedding songs.

My aisle song was How Long Will I love you – Ellie Goulding and recessional was Nothing Else Matters (Acoustic)- Matt Johnson which is an acoustic version of the Metallica song as it is ‘our song’ but more weddingish.

Standout vendors.

My photography & videography from Through the Wild Photography were amazing, our photos were fun & relaxed; it was like having your friends take photos that make you look & feel amazing. Our other stand out was our venue, The Left Bank- the events team were great, we gave them an absolute workout with the cocktails at the bar, made sure food flowed as needed as it was a cocktail reception and sent us (the bride & groom) with a farewell shot!