Heather Menzies

January 14, 2022

My elopement story

My elopement story

The Blog

When plans for our big wedding in Canada came crashing down at the beginning of the year, I was devastated. All the dreams I had about my wedding day seemed impossible. It was the most anti-climactic moment of my entire life. I never thought that a world pandemic would veto getting married the way I always dreamed.

When It was confirmed that international travel wouldn’t be possible, a new plan started to develop. Covid-19 had ruined a lot, but it couldn’t take away our love for each other (as cheesy as that sounds). We decided, If we couldn’t have our dream wedding with everyone there, then we would create a new dream and it would just be us.

So, on 1 September 2020, Tom and I snuck off to Bells Rapids Park, Brigadoon WA. On the edge of a cliff overlooking the beautiful valley, we made our vows and became husband and wife! It was the most magical and intimate moment; witnessed by only Kirk Goodsell (the celebrant), Alex, and Ash aka Folktales (the photographer and the videographer).

It rained all morning, until the moment we were stepping out of the car for the ceremony. Rain on your wedding day is good luck right!? Immediately after finishing the ceremony, just about to pop the champagne, the rain starts again. We run to the car and drive to the photo spot. Then it was clear beautiful skies for the rest of the evening! If it had to rain that day, it couldn’t have been better timing.

It was such an adventure, climbing up and down rocks along the rapids in HEELS! I brought comfy shoes but I think all the excitement and adrenalin gave me some sort of super heel walking ability, so I never ended up changing into them. My wedding dress didn’t make things any easier! But Tom stepped up into his husbandly role and made sure I didn’t eat dirt while we were hiking through the bush during our photoshoot. I felt like Jane in the jungle. It was awesome!

We had our wedding dinner at Juniper and Bay in Como WA. I was absolutely thrilled with our experience. From entering the restaurant, until we left, we were treated like pure gold! I felt so special. The food was AMAZING and the atmosphere was exactly what we were looking for to finish our special day. (If you are in Perth you NEED to go there!)

At five am the next day we were off to Broome! Our honeymoon! We stayed for four nights at The Billi Resort, which was fantastic! It was so peaceful. We felt like we were in a tropical jungle. Sleeping in (kind of; we are early risers!) lounging by the pool, and going out for awesome dinners was the best start to our honeymoon. Then we went camping with my new brother and sister-in-law! It all went by way too fast, as holidays do.

Back in Perth, it was time to tell everyone we got hitched!! That was so much fun. We surprised everyone! I was a little nervous telling our parents, I was so relieved and happy we finally didn’t have to keep it a secret anymore!

I never thought I would elope, but here I am. And honestly, it was so special, I can’t imagine doing it another way!

If you’re ready to start YOUR elopement adventure, head over to my contact page and let’s do this!

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