Kat and Chris, from Australia, were married in New Zealand in 2019 and this year, on their anniversary, did a commemorative photo shoot and and vow renewal. We loved both sets of photos so much we’ve decided to share them both with you today. We think you’ll understand why when you see them!
“For the wedding we wanted a Nightmare Before Christmas theme with black, kooky details and for it to be cold”, Kat told us. “Think Disney if they made a horror movie! We turned the normal on it’s head. Fuck tradition. We wrote our own rules for the day. Our wedding day is most important to us not anyone else. We did what we want, how we want, when we want.”
“Every year we take a moment to bring it all back to why we are here”, she continued when we asked about the anniversary shoot. “I grab the camera and put together a cute outfit and we rewrite new vows into our vow books. For our vow books we chose books of our favourite movies and our vows are written over the pages. I believe weddings should be fun and unique.”
“The idea of a white wedding just makes me want to take a nap. It’s so sad that weddings have always been so routine. Get engaged. Go to dress shop. Choose a white dress. Choose a reception location. Invite everyone you know even if you kind of sorta don’t even really want them there to begin with. Spend all night socialising with your guests so no one feels left out and you don’t go home thinking ‘oh shit I didn’t talk to this person I better message them’. Then go to your hotel. Where in all of that did you have time to love and swoon and laugh and reminisce with your partner? Elopements all the way!”
“We laughed, kissed, cuddled and told each other we loved each other and how lucky we both were all day long then went home and had McDonalds and snuggles on the couch and watched The Shining. Every second of that day was for us and about us and that’s what it should be.”
For the wedding, Kat wore a sequinned black top which she found at a thrift store for for $18 with a tulle skirt from eBay which she dyed herself. She also spent months personalising her jacket with patches and pins including one of their cats which her tattoo artist designed for her! On their anniversary shoot she wanted a colourful look, so she found a pink dress with red hearts at Emmiol and made and added the puff sleeves herself!
Chris wanted to feel like himself with his attire too, and went for a casual combo for both events – jeans, Vans and shirts he already owned. For the wedding he also wore a jacket which Kat customised with patches and pins as well.
“Our jackets were my real one and only DIY project”, Kat explained. “I spent the most time collecting pins and patches than I did on any other aspect of our wedding. I did cut and dye my skirt as it was originally super long with a train and grey. My body is too short for a long skirt so I chopped it all off. I also make the cake toppers for our doughnuts from polymer clay.”
“Your wedding is yours”, Kat advises in conclusion. “No one else’s input is important. Do what you love. Wear what you want to wear. Elope if you want to elope. You only get to do it once so make sure you have no regrets. Don’t let others push you to change your mind. The best thing about planning our wedding was doing it our wedding our way without judgement from others.”
