Make no mistake… When a structural engineer marries a business strategist it’s bound to be a meticulous event with nothing left to chance.

We chatted to Christel and Morgan about their flawless wedding day in an iconic Yarra Valley location with a phenomenal team of suppliers and what it meant to them finally become solidified as a family unit.

What date did you get married on?

28th January 2021

How did you meet?

Our love story began back in 2012, when we were introduced by mutual friends at a café on a Saturday morning. Christel says of this time: “When we first met, we didn’t say much to each other. I was new to Melbourne and finding my feet. I could sense that Morgan was very intelligent, resilient, humorous and that he had a wonderful outlook about life.”

Morgan remembers his first encounter with Christel like this:

“I had heard all about Christel from the friends who introduced us. She was funny, laughing and joking a lot with everyone at the table. We quickly became friends. As I got to know her, I discovered we were very likeminded. Our relationship grew over time.”

How long have you been together for?

We have been together for 8.5 glorious years and in that time we have created a beautiful family with our dog and son.

How would you best describe your wedding in a few words?

It was one of the happiest day of our lives. It was beautiful, fun and we felt so loved by our family and friends. We smiled the whole 6 hours! Also, considering the Covid environment at the time, we still can’t believe that we managed to ‘sneak’ this wedding in between lockdowns and had the beautiful weather we had!

How and why did you choose your reception and ceremony location?

Morgan grew up at Yarra Valley so we knew that we wanted to get married there. Christel ‘dragged’ Morgan through 7 wineries one afternoon in early 2018. He fell in love with the Zonzo chapel straight away and knew that we wanted to be married there. Everything else fell into place after.

Was your wedding in your local area or did you have a destination wedding?

We had a destination wedding. Originally we had a lot of people travelling from New Zealand which is where Christel is from. Due to Covid, only her parents came over for the wedding.

What was the most important element for you to have in your wedding?

Definitely the ceremony was the most important aspect for us.

Did you have a large or a small wedding? What were the deciding factors in this?

Our wedding was rescheduled three times and we had a baby in between! We started with 120 people for initial wedding date 09.04.20. We ended with 60 people for our wedding on 28.01.21. Deciding factors were, our overseas guests were unable to travel. Majority of guests were Victorians, plus Christel’s mum and dad from New Zealand and her maid of honour from New South Wales, we have had people travel from South Australia and Queensland. SW.

How did you choose what to wear?

I was fortunate that my sister in law, Katie Yeung is currently the number one wedding dress maker in New Zealand with her two lines Hera Couture and Daisy. Choosing what to wear was easy because Katie had custom designed both of my dresses to suit my ever changing body. I initially picked my dress when I was 20 weeks pregnant during my trip to New Zealand. By the time I wore my dress, I was 11 months postpartum. Working with Katie was easy, she really understood the changes In my body which helped make me feel sexy, confident, and beautiful. Dress 1 – Assandra – looking for something that is extravagant yet elegant for the ceremony Dress 2 – Von Maria – I was seeking simplicity and comfort

Tell me all about the proposal?

Morgan asked Christel to be his wife while they were away on Waiheke Island in New Zealand. It was new year’s day in 2019, Morgan had previously organised everything from the picnic basket and food, to finding what he thought was a suitable location, to asking Christel’s father for her hand in marriage. Since Morgan wasn’t familiar with the area, he has asked the lady, who he bought the picnic basket from, where suitable locations to propose were. She gave him a location and presto Morgan thought everything was sorted. However, on the actual day, Christel decided that she wanted to swim at the beach first and didn’t meet Morgan until after 1:00. She came back from the beach and was starving. Morgan proceeded to drive to the ‘picnic’ spot and when they arrived, it was awful – dead grass without a view. Morgan insisted on climbing up the hill with the hope of finding a better spot. He asked Christel to help carry his beers and together they carried a massive picnic basket. At the top of the hill, there was nowhere to sit and the view was still non-existent. At this point, Christel was hangry as it is now 2.30 pm and she might have been a bit hungover from New Year’s Eve, the night before. Morgan then insisted on walking to 2-3 other spots all while carrying the heavy picnic basket. Long story short, in the end, in despair, Christel pulled up her phone, suggested that they drive somewhere else. They finally arrived to the beach and Morgan again insisted on walking around to find “a better spot.” They finally found a beautiful spot by the water. Morgan sat down and pulled out a ring from his pocket and proposed. Of course, when asked, Christel said “yes” and the rest is history.

What style helped to shape your reception and where did you get your inspiration?

We wanted to have a ‘warm’ feeling for our reception. Our guests referred to our wedding as a ‘big and intimate’ feeling. We got our inspirations by using things that we love: Choosing flowers which are reflective of sunsets which what we love. Using a lot of candles which is what we do each night. Personalisation by adding individual photos of each of our guests. Flower bombs from the ceiling to create a fairytale feel.

Did you write your own vows?

Yes we did. It was one of the best decision we made for our ceremony.

Did you include any special elements into your ceremony?

We included unity candles by involving both of our mothers to help us reflect on our family members who have passed and those who are unable to travel for the wedding. We included our child and fur baby by having them walk down the aisle (Lachlan George – was 12months old and Mika our 4 year Japanese Spitz fur baby).

How did you choose your suppliers? Who were the stand out suppliers on the day?

We choose our suppliers by interviewing them and through word of mouth. For photographers and florists – Morgan created a criteria chart and whenever we meet with them, we would allocate scores and picked the top 2 and went from there! Stand out suppliers were our photographer and celebrant.

Why did you decide to marry?

We knew that we were going to stay together for a long time. Our wedding was a celebration of love in front of our family and friends. Marriage is a lot more than the wedding. It is our commitment to each other. As we started to grow our family, it was important for us to provide a good supportive foundation for our children.

What was an absolute stand out on your wedding day?

Our ceremony, our flowers, our first dance – that was so much fun! We choreographed our dance ourselves, 4 days before the wedding. Morgan and I came up with different ideas, we watched a few videos and we nailed it! It was amazing!

What advice would you offer to future couples?

I was not stressed at all on the actual wedding day although the week leading up to the wedding was stressful. On the day, I enjoyed every single minute and took each moment in. I would recommend doing this no matter how busy everything feels. I wish I could relive each minute again and again. They say, expect 15% won’t go to plan on the day. For us, it felt like 99% perfection.

What supplier did you book first and why?

We booked our venue, Zonzo first. We thought venue was most important element, as it would dictate everything else ( eg. Feel of flowers, location of photographer etc).

Is there anything you would change about your wedding day?

I would consider a videographer. We have ran out of budget and they say that videographer is the last thing that couples would usually book. We have no recordings of our personal vows. Which I think is a lost moment, although it’s in our memories. Perhaps consider videographer earlier.

‍

What was the most stressful part of the wedding planning process?

My bridesmaids were all living interstate overseas. I had a young baby and with Covid it means that I had minimal help and had to do everything during baby nap times. It was very stressful.

Were there any funny moments in the day?

Lachlan cried during group photoshoot post ceremony, he was shocked when Rick Liston asked the group to shout YAY! Mika walking down the aisle was so adorable, we have so many great photos of her.

Did you both equally plan the wedding together or did one person have more input?

The wedding planning process as an equal effort. Morgan has particular style and Christel was the doer.

How did Covid affect your planning?

Our wedding was rescheduled 3 times. On the final reschedule, my brother and his family weren’t able to come. That really broke my heart as I’m very close with my nieces. My two bridesmaids weren’t able to come either as they were in New Zealand. Overall, the biggest impact from Covid is my family and closest friends being unable to travel.

What are your hopes for your married life?

That we will continue to be in love, trusting and loving each other with each passing year. We hope to continue to treat each other with respect and kindness. To continue to support each other during the ups and downs of life.

Is there anything else you would like to include?

Our celebrant and photographer were amazing. As mentioned above, for us, the ceremony is the most important part of the day. I feel at ease and had a lot of fun during our ceremony. It was my favourite part of the day and it was very special to us. We really loved the last 12 months, from giving birth, buying/renovating a house and getting married was the final piece to the puzzle.

VENDORS:

Photographer: Rick Liston

Venue: Zonzo Estate

Celebrant: Charis White

Wedding dress: Hera Couture – My sister in law!

Suits: Paul Smith

Flowers: Debbie O’Neill Flower Pot

Cake: Zonzo Estate Cheese barrel towers

Jewellery: Hera Couture

DJ: Chris Appleton - https://www.djmcapples.com.au/

Hair: Miss Aimmey

Make-up: Miss Aimmey

Rings: Simon West

Shoes: Hera Couture

‍