Byron Bay, Australia

Eloping at Fig Tree Villa - Elyse & Jonathan

Eloping in Byron Bay can feel like stepping into another world for a little while. For Elyse and Jonathan, that world was a green garden in Ewingsdale: palms overhead, a little villa to get ready in and a day spent together.

They had considered a European celebration and then a larger wedding closer to home before choosing an elopement. What they wanted was a break from Sydney and a celebration that felt relaxed and personal. Fig Tree Villa gave them that setting, with no invited guests and their collective team close by.

“Waking up and getting ready together we felt so relaxed and excited” — Elyse and Jonathan

A wedding morning together

The photographs begin with Jonathan fastening his boots, then helping Elyse with her shoes and the buttons of her dress. There are hands at cuffs, a veil catching the window light and a pink bouquet against white sleeves. Getting ready became part of the time they shared.

Britt Withers brought the plans together, with flowers by The Perfect Party Co. and hair and makeup by Ava Belle.

Personal vows beneath the palms

Josh Withers led their ceremony on the lawn. The garden supplied a little unscripted company too: hens wandered past while Elyse and Jonathan stood holding hands. Their vows, laughter and first kiss sit among some wonderfully ordinary details of a garden going about its day.

Bulb Creative photographed on digital and 35mm film, as well as making their elopement film. Both photo sets follow the soft window light into the garden, through portraits beneath the trees and back to the verandah for a toast. The gallery brings those different textures together, ending with the sky easing into dusk.

A Byron Bay elopement can be this simple: a place you love, a ceremony with meaning and time to be together. Talk to Britt about your own day.

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