Nothing rained on Hayley & Tom's Parade

Think we can agree Hayley looked AMAZING and utterly unique in this Finn Skirt & bandeau from Australian brand Chosen by One day purchased at Through the White Door.

Hayley describes herself as an 'Anti bride' and said she freaked out every time she stepped in to a bridal store. She saw this dress online and it took 3 months to go and try it on. This was Hayley's way of doing bridal, 'No lace or beading, minimal vibe but classic and sexy'... We couldn't agree more! Hayley made her own veil and decided last minute to wear it.

Hayley's advice on The Dress, "Don’t ignore the first one that catches your eye!"

Hayley said about her accessories, "My earrings were a gift from 3 of my girlfriends, they picked them out for me and I only saw them a few days before before the wedding and fell in love instantly. My wedding/ engagement ring was also very special as it was hand carried from the US to Australia by one of my friends and I only tried it on for the first time on the morning of the wedding! I’ve never worn a diamond in my life so thankfully Tom proposed with a giant fake diamond ring that his niece won at a game arcade, and then we chose our rings together in the months following the engagement. My ring is by Melissa Kaye “Lola Ring” and it’s rose gold with neon yellow enamel and diamonds down one side. I love it and also how it symbolizes the beginning of our married life together'".

Hayley and Tom planned #TINFEST2020 in just shy of 6 months, Hayley said it "was hectic but all our dreams came to life and our day went exactly as planned (except it rained all day!). We later realized that was the least of our problems as we just got in there before all the COVID-19 wedding restrictions were put in place".

Hayley and Tom found an airbnb called “Incognito Escape”, an amazing house in Gracetown (3 hour drive south of Perth) with a huge lawn area overlooking the ocean. Hayley said, "it was the hardest part in the planning process as they "had to bring everything in ourselves (catering, equipment, staff) so that was quite hard to organize in a short space of time. 2 days before the wedding a huge storm was forecast so we had to add an additional giant tipi for shelter (as everything was meant to be outdoors) so that was a big last minute stress, but it worked out perfectly and just made the ceremony, speeches and dance floor a lot more intimate"

Hayley on the Theme:

We had a small bridal party (2 people each) and one of Tom’s groomsmen was actually a groomswoman who wanted to wear a suit. I wanted a lot of colour (as we are both very colourful people) so we planned for Tom and I to wear white and the bridal party to each wear a solid bright colour (blue, red, pink, green). I did the flowers myself (except the bouquets) and used dried leaves that I sprayed in the same colours as the bridal parties outfits. 

The wedding extravaganza was a 3 day fest of tins and love. Hayley said, "We booked in for 3 nights at Incognito Escape (where the bridal party stayed) and spent the day before the wedding setting up and taking in the view. We then hosted a small bbq that evening for close friends and family (especially overseas/ interstate guests so we got the chance to see them before the big day). The wedding was the following day and featured 5 of our friends DJ-ing into the wee hours of the morning. The day after we hosted a big recovery lunch at a local brewery close by and ended the day with a hot tub party back at Incognito! It was the perfect weekend spent with family and friends from all across the world before the new reality of COVID-19 kicked in".

Hayley let her bridesmaids choose their own dresses, she said, "the only clause was that it had to be a solid colour (which was pretty difficult for my print obsessed bestie Em, but she got there in the end). Emma wore a Willow dress in emerald green and my sister Chelsea wore a Sheike dress in candy pink".

The rain came...and they danced! Hayley said one of their most memorable moments was, "Dancing in the middle of the road in the rain with the bridal party with music blasting out of our car while we were trying to figure out where the hell we were going to take the photos. Then realizing that all 4 random umbrellas we picked up from the house before we left matched the colours that everyone was wearing exactly".

"Instead of doing a first dance, we got all our guests to do the limbo under a broom stick as the official “opening of the dancefloor”. We only decided on this idea a few days before so it was fun to plan something silly after all the serious planning we had been doing"

"Tom wore a white blazer, chinos and shirt from YD. (we spent all our money on my dress lol)"

Hayley and Tom each had their own entrances (which we love!) and walked down the aisle to songs that personally represented them as individuals.

Tom and the groomsparty had “Linger” by the Cranberries and Hayley and the bridesmaids had “Here comes the sun” by the Beetles. After the ceremony they walked back down the aisle to “Who am I (What’s my name)?” by Snoop Dogg and did their signing inside the house with just the mums present as the witnesses. 

Hayley added, "We have a dog called George Michael who is very special to us and wasn’t able to be there on the day because of Incognito’s pet policy so we had many dedications to him through out the day. Our wedding invite actually read “George Michael the dog request your presence at the wedding of Hayley & Tom”, our celebrant did a special reading from George Michael the dog during the ceremony and then at one stage all our guests surprised us by reading a dog poem to us!"... PRETTY DARN COOL!

FUN, LOVE, LAUGHTER, TEARS... Thank you for sharing your special day with us Hayley and Tom! If your wedding rocked and want it to be featured, please drop us an email at features@thedresstribe.com