Alexandra & Ash | Kayrouz Bridal (2024)

Alex worked overseas for six months, so I had plenty of time to organise something without having to worry about making sneaky phone calls or getting caught out. I booked a secret week away in Tasmania as a ‘welcome home’ trip, of which three days were at the most stunning house (Eagles Nest) in West Kentish. The property was secluded, overlooked Mt Roland and had the best outdoor bath you’ve even seen – it was an old milk vat and at night, you could sit in it and star gaze looking at the milky way. Across the three days I had booked a private chef, masseuse, photographer and event planner who created a beautiful flower installation with grazing platters for the proposal.

Alex arrived home from overseas and we were due to go to Tasmania a fortnight later. A few days after Alex got home, her mum called me at 4pm and said “Tasmania is going to close their border tomorrow due to COVID, what are you going to do”? At this time, COVID was new in Australia and we didn’t know what the future was going to hold. After some frantic Googling, I found out if we landed in Tasmania before 4pm the next day, we would make it in time for the border closure without needing to quarantine. I looked at new flights and the only one available was at 6am the next morning out of Sydney.

I had to come clean to Alex and said “I’ve planned a secret trip away, but if we don’t go tomorrow morning, we might have to cancel. Should we go or wait for COVID to blow over in a few weeks”. Alex is always up for an adventure, and without hesitation she said “lets go”. After speaking to Alex, I locked myself in a room and had one hour before close of business to book flights and call all the suppliers in Tasmania to check their availability for the next few days. Luckily, they were all able to make it work! We frantically packed our suitcases, and in mine I hid, wrapped in a bunch of jumpers, a heavy proposal album I had made in the six months Alex was working overseas. The album was full of memories from our travels and adventures we created over our five year relationship, and in the back i had built a hidden ring compartment. Alex picked up my suitcase and said “this is so heavy, you have to take some stuff out”. I had no choice but to remove the jumpers and by 6pm, we were on the road from Canberra to Sydney. I knew I was going to be freezing in Tasmania, but couldn’t say so without ruining the surprise.

We spent a few days in Tasmania and on the proposal day we went to a berry farm for breakfast. I had to get Alex out of the property for three hours while the event planner set it up and the photographer found a good place to hide. After about 1.5 hours, Alex wanted to go home. I sta

Living in Canberra, we spent quite a bit of time exploring the NSW South coast with friends and family. We love the South Coast’s picturesque white sand and turquoise water but knew we didn’t want a beach wedding. Being animal lovers and having friends and family travelling from overseas to celebrate our wedding, our ideal venue was country-chic with onsite accommodation for our nearest and dearest. We looked at a few venues, but when we say The Woods Farm, we knew it was perfect and ticked all the boxes. It has incredible accommodation and facilities, a variety of farm animals (rescues included), is close to the beach and has a list of optional extras to create a dream wedding.

Our theme was country-chic and our colour palette was neutral pastels with pops of pink. Once we had a theme, it made it easier to select florals, decorations and accents, invites, signage and bridesmaids dresses. Our vibe was relaxed and fun which was perfectly catered for by The Woods Farm team and our amazing suppliers. Our wedding spanned three days and the night-before provided an opportunity to catch up with our loved ones over dinner, drinks and a few games. This was incredible and took the stress off us rushing around on the wedding day trying to catch up with our friends and family. Our wedding day was perfect – so many laughs and lifelong memories – and our departure day allowed us to farewell everyone over an incredible breakfast.

1 – Take a moment to escape the reception and be with each other to talk about your favourite bits, laugh at the funny moments and just appreciate all the hard work planning your dream wedding. Having 20 minutes to ourselves amongst the blur of the day was a real ’stop and admire’ moment.

2 – Select a theme before you select your vendors.

3 – Ask your photographer and vendors to review your timeline and ensure it is realistic without you feeling rushed. The day flies past and it’s easy to try and cram too much in.

4 – Create a list of non-negotiables, lock these in first and align your budget to them.