The Perfect Fit (Wedding Edition)

How to make your wedding day about you.

Hello Girls Unhinged family! Its been a while since a blog post was done but alas we are here and hopefully posting a little more regularly.

2022 was a busy year for us at Girls Unhinged HQ, new houses, marriage, and a pregnancy announcement. As some of you may remember Megan and her (now husband) Nathan tied the knot back in December and did so in an intimate elopement ceremony in Perth, WA.

A question we have been asked a lot what how, in 2023 where our generation are typically steering away from the traditional weddings and ways of life did, we manage to have a wedding that aligned with our values; but kept our family happy.

Eloping… many things come to mind when the word elope is throw around, I know that it did for us. When Nathan and I met we discussed marriage. I was surprised to hear that marriage really wasn’t on Nathans radar. We always spoke about kids, jobs, and houses; but when we spoke about marriage his stance on it was that it doesn’t make someone love you more. If something isn’t going to improve or change the dynamic of your relationship, what was the point?

Fair point right.

For me (Megan) marriage also wasn’t something I wanted to cause a big song and dance about. I have never found myself looking at magazines, looking at bridal dresses or thinking about my bridesmaids, thinking about speeches and everything associated with a wedding. In fact, now I think about it.. I think all that caused a lot of anxiety for me. The only thing I found myself browsing on a regular basis (even when I was single) was the type of engagement ring I wanted ha-ha.

At the beginning of 2021 there was a huge shift in our relationship. I was diagnosed with stage 4 Endometriosis, and pelvic floor issues. I was given an intensive laparoscopy and we had to have the conversation we thought we had a little more time to sit on… babies.

 From here a lot of things naturally progressed quite quickly. I think on reflection that’s the thing I love most about Nathan. Nothing in our relationship has ever been forced. Everything moved naturally over the years, and although quick… I couldn’t picture it any other way. At the beginning of 2022, after a wicked valentine’s day sale we went to our local shops for what I recall being a casual Kmart visit. 45 minutes later I walked by the window of a local jeweller, and I fell in love with an engagement ring. I tried it on and the rest is history. Nathan loved it, I loved it and within a 10-minute time frame we walked out with an engagement ring on order.

The concept of marriage to me, changed when we decided to try for a baby. I wanted marriage not because I thought it would make Nathan love me more, or because it looks good on paper, or because it makes things any more official. I wanted it because to me, once we had a child; it was a way of us being a collective team. Having the same surname as my soul mate and child made me feel like we were a family, one that I have longed for, for a really long time. For Nathan I think if I hadn’t pushed for a wedding, he would’ve been quite happy to have things remain as they are, which in hindsight there’s nothing wrong with that. I just loved the idea of stealing his last name and being someone’s wifey.

Eloping was important to use for many reasons, but mainly because we both collectively knew marriage to us wasn’t a fancy party, or ceremony and for that reason it was important it was small and intimate. As previously mentioned, marriage wasn’t a huge deal to either of us, and therefore putting pressure on ourselves to spend ten’s of thousands on a wedding for people we frankly never see; just didn’t make sense and was never going to make the cut.

Venue & Vendors

When I think of eloping I think of anything that Is classed with “non-traditional” rather than the old fashioned concept of “running away” to get married. So to be those of you that had an engagement party, then surprised guests by having a surprise wedding.. you eloped. Those of you like us who had immediate family present only, you also in my eyes eloped. I think its important to remember that if you google search eloping now, that is the consensus. So if you tell people you are eloping and they make you sound like a bad egg for running off into the wilderness to get married without being inclusive of others you can tell that Karen actually sis…. That isn’t it!

Below are the amazing people who made our day a special one:

Perth Registry Office – Ok, so this was probably my only mistake throughout all my planning (so not bad I guess). We thought this was the official Births, Deaths, and Marriages (BDM) office. We thought you could get married and then walk away with your marriage certificate, but we got the wrong place. If I had my time again I wouldn’t marry here. The service was appalling, and I think if I wasn’t simultaneously 20 weeks pregnant, I would have been bridezilla. We paid $450.00 to be married here by a celebrant, however I will go into more detail over an Instagram live why I would do things differently next time.

Pagoda Hotel & Spa – This place was amazing, the rooms were older but renovated, had an amazing spa, and amazing customer service. The food was also ON POINT. Which is what I needed later in the day after the ceremony. Our parents and siblings all went back here and booked rooms for the night, so we ate, had drinks, and then went back to our hotel rooms to sleep. Nathan and I then got up nice and early the following morning to spend the day at Rottnest, everyone else enjoyed a sleep in and some well deserved buffet breakfast options. The deluxe rooms here with a spa (which is was we were kindly gifted by my mum) average at about $220 - $350 for the night depending on how early you make your booking. I say, even for $350 its an amazing Perth City accommodation option.

Outfits – Our fits honestly were easily accessible from mainstream stores (LOVE THAT!) and we loved them. Nathans suit attire was from Connor, if you are anywhere in Australia, you will know all about this franchise. For his pants, jackets, shirt, shoes, cuff links and all other accessories; he overtook me in the price department at $700.00. I will say though, someone fitted him specifically and he ordered it in tailored and it arrived in 4 days. I think that’s awesome service and if you are in the need for a good quality suit that you’ll wear over and over again id highly recommend them prior to looking at an actually “suit store”. The best part is after the initial outlay for the suit, their dress shirts (especially on sale) can be as low as $20.00. So, you really do get bang for buck and can outfit repeat as much as you like!

My dress was a satin slip number from Petal & Pup, and my shoes were a simple but elegant choice from Bellini. Now, I will say. Non-pregnant me would have thrived. 20 weeks pregnant me did not LOL! The weather on our wedding day was about 37 degrees and it was humid! I was also suffering with low blood pressure quite badly at this point in my pregnancy, so I was randomly fainting (a lot!).

The dress came in at a total of $109.00 and my shoes came in at $89.00 (from memory). I also had my makeup done which I NEVER do. I am so glad I trusted my gut and did it because let me tell you… every part of my body was sweating that day, but my face DID.. NOT.. BUDGE. So a massive shoutout to Makeup By Katy Wood for my look on my special day. My Makeup came to $120.00, and honestly, I could’ve gone to Rottnest the following day still looking snatched.

Finally… my photographer

Moments By Adele – Anyone who is Perth based NEEDS to hire this woman for all your special life moments. Baby showers, weddings, elopements, birthdays, newborn shoots. WHATEVER. I couldn’t have coordinated the day without her, mainly because after nearly fainting the first time I literally had zero energy and she was able to know what I wanted and put things in motion for me.

We wanted dark, moody, vintage / street vibe photos and boy did she come through. They were stunning! The photos in this blog are examples and I have many, more where they came from. I’ll go into this more in a live also, because she deserves to have a mention of her own! This blog doesn’t do her justice!

While you ponder your thoughts, and ask yourself is elopement for you; browse the vendors and stay tuned for an upcoming live this week for further, more in depth details; along with an opportunity to note down any questions and pick my elopement brain.