ELLEN + BRENDAN

Ellen and Brendan met in 2005 on the first day of Year 7. They were in the same class and it is safe to say it wasn’t exactly love at first sight. They developed a friendship and had a bit of an ‘on-again-off-again’ dalliance throughout high school but didn’t officially get together until they were 21 years old.

The proposal came on the February 26, 2022 when Brendan organised for Ellen’s friend Claire to take her to lunch at their local café. While she was out, he had flowers delivered through Ellen’s work wife, Simone. He set up dozens of beautiful flower bunches around the living room, lit candles and played Ellen’s favourite song. Claire gave Brendan the heads-up when Ellen was on her way home and when she opened the front door, Brendan was standing in the living room with a ring. He immediately dropped to one knee and had her favourite song playing. She laughed and cried – and eventually said yes.

Ellen and Brendan first explored many different types of weddings. Initially they thought they would have a DIY-style wedding with a marquee on a beautiful property. After doing some research, this idea became too overwhelming to organise with all the moving parts. Brendan then suggested RACV Resort in Torquay. They drove down on a sunny Saturday morning in March to visit and fell in love with the venue as well as the event coordinator Sarah Laird.

From their first meeting, Sarah made the planning process incredibly smooth. Ellen and Brendan felt they were in such good hands which took a lot of stress out of the planning. They tried to do as many things possible by themselves, including designing and creating their own signage and stationery – which was not easy considering they had a 200-guest wedding.

This couple really wanted their day to be classic and elegant but with a touch of colour. Annie Shorter from Steel Magnolias floristry made this happen by creating white and blue florals to match the minimalist table design.

Brendan wore a classic, black dinner suit and white shirt. He wanted something timeless that he could look back on years later without cringing. Ellen wore a sculptural, fitted, Georgia Young Couture gown with off-the-shoulder sleeves, a draped bow detail on the back and art-deco inspired stitching details on the skirt.

Ellen changed into a dress she made in the week of the wedding later in the evening. It was a strapless, gathered organza, mini dress with a train. This was quite a relief to change into after getting warm on the dance floor.