Aaron and Pheobe’s goal for their Las Vegas elopement was to have all the Vegas cliches, and they weren’t at all sorry about it! They wanted to be married by Elvis and to drive out to the desert in a classic car for photos. They flew out from Australia for their wedding and did it entirely on their own terms.
“We were never going to have a traditional wedding”, Phoebe told us. “We already have two children together so getting married was never high on our priority list. We both hate being the centre of attention and so the thought of having a big wedding was terrifying to us and not our idea of fun so that’s why we chose to elope. Although it was sad to not have our immediate family and friends celebrate with us, we chose what would make us the happiest and most comfortable on our special day.”
The bride wore her mum’s wedding dress and headpiece from 1980, making it her own with gold boots and a leather jacket from ASOS which she had ‘only fools rush in’ embroidered on the back. “I think one thing that stands out the most about our wedding is the fact I wore my mum’s wedding dress”, she continued. “The dress was custom made and worn by mum her on her wedding day 38 years prior. It was definitely very special and made my mum very proud even though she wasn’t there to witness. After our photo session was over we were dropped back at the hotel and we had a quick outfit change and went and had burgers for dinner and then decided to get a’ Vegas’ tattoo each so we would always remember our special day.”
They chose Graceland Wedding Chapel for their ceremony which was everything they wanted and more! “The ceremony was so fun, very kitsch, very quick and just how we wanted it to be, just us… plus Elvis! Unfortunately, our photographer wasn’t allowed to photograph in the venue so we had their photographer take photos and we got a video too which is so cringe-worthy to look back on but so glad we got it. We went in and waited in the foyer until it was our turn to go in. It was all very surreal and we were both extremely nervous. Once Elvis was ready we went through to the chapel. He took one look at Aaron and said ‘What do we have here? An Amish punk rocker?’ It definitely wasn’t the style he was going for but now I can’t unsee it! It was a way to break the ice anyway!”
“Elvis picked up his mic and walked up to fetch me to walk me down the aisle as the music started playing. It was Can’t Help Falling in Love which made my heart skip a beat. Although I’d never wanted a traditional wedding, I did think if we were to ever have a first dance that would be our song. I’d even had my jacket I wore later in the day embroidered with lyrics from that song ‘only fools rush in’. I was so happy to be walking down the aisle to my soon to be husband to that song.”
They were so pleased they did their wedding their way, although they did agonise over whether to have their kids there with them or not. In the end they decided to leave them with their very generous parents and have a three week adventure around the States on their own. “We really wish we could have had them all come and enjoy our special day but logistically it was easier for us to go alone”, Phoebe concluded. “The thought of leaving them for so long definitely played on my mind the most while planning the wedding. However looking back now, there’s nothing we would have done differently. It’s was our special day and we’re glad we did it our own way.”
“We’re also so glad we invested in a good photographer as the photos are the memories we will have and share for life. When I found Amy‘s work there was no question about it she had to be the one to capture our day. If we weren’t going to have our loved ones with us on the day, having the day captured beautifully meant everything to us so we could show them how special it really was. Investing in a very talented photographer is the one thing I’m so glad we did. Aaron and I felt so awkward and shy in front of the camera but when we got the photos back we were absolutely blown away with how they turned out. I still look back on them regularly and so glad we have these special memories for life. Also all our friends and family commented on how they were the best wedding photos they’d ever seen!”
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