ANNE MARIE + JOHN – Home Sweet Home

ANNE MARIE + JOHN – Home Sweet Home 

March 28, 2020

By Julie Butt, Marriage Celebrant

In 1942 it was written that “Love does not consist of gazing at each other, but in looking outward together in the same direction.” 

( Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Airman's Odyssey )

I first met Ann-Maree and John overlooking the Gippsland Lakes at ‘Pier70’ in Paynesville in 2019.  Immediately we began to chat; they were a very relaxed and happy couple who outlined exactly what sort of waterfront wedding they were planning at that gorgeous venue.  Boats, water, friends and family staying waterside (sigh) - it was going to be perfect. For them and their guests.

However, 2020 was a year of ‘changing plans’ and the previous Paynesville Pier70 waterfront wedding plan had to be reimagined and translated into an intimate micro wedding at their country home in the bushland of Mt Taylor. Ann-Maree and John had the option to delay their wedding, but they rapidly decided to keep their March wedding date and ‘be married’. Waiting any longer to be married wasn’t on their radar at all. All of the extras involved in a wedding simply paled into insignificance and brought the focus back to the main event which was their actual wedding – two people in love exchanging vows and making promises for a shared life.

So that’s what we did on a balmy Autumn Saturday afternoon. Sheep calmly grazed, munching away, occasionally glancing across the home paddock to witness Ann-Maree and John promising their lives to one another in the garden of their home at Mt Taylor in East Gippsland.  Surrounding them were the bushland covered slopes and patchwork of farming paddocks of the local countryside. It was a beautiful, private and tranquil setting.

Ann-Maree looked stunning in a long cream gown and John was proud and handsome standing alongside her.  Their happiness was palpable, and their faces were wreathed in smiles.  Exchanging vows in such an intimate setting made it very emotional and personal; the simplicity of their wedding with only family as witnesses, made it especially memorable, everything important to them was included; each other and the promises they were making.

Following the ceremony, champagne bubbles appeared beginning a wonderfully heartfelt celebration. Anne-Maree and John’s wedding encapsulated simplicity, honesty,love and devotion.  It was the first ‘lockdown’ wedding of the year, however as a direct result, it was an incredibly personal and beautiful event which I will remember always.

Celebrant:  Julie Butt

Venue: Their country home at Mt Taylor