Chat & Gerry’s Tasmanian MONA wedding

Chat and Gerry, Engineers and Formula 1 addicts who live together in Canberra and work together in Canberra, Both decided early on, that they wanted to have their wedding ELSEWHERE! There are so many places in the ACT to get hitched but they thought "why the heck not get married at one of the most beautiful art museums in Australia?!" ..Or something like that. Bye Canberra! 👋 Hello Tasmania!

These two legends actually went to primary school together but didn't take too much notice of each other until many years later. Their lives beautifully intertwined again when they studied the same degree at uni. They shared the same classes and as luck would have it, both ended up getting hired in the same workplace.

After developping a crush on Chat, it took Gerry 6 months to work up the courage to ask her out.
Over a decade later, Chat & Gerry got hitched in beautiful Tassie! Joined by their family and closest friends, they tied the knot inside the incredible and quirky Tasmanian icon, MONA. As luck would have it, the international borders opened up in time for Chat's brother and partner (who live in Canada) to be there! Tasmania even had the mask mandate lifted just as their ceremony started. It was such a special intimate wedding. So stoked to be a part of this one.

Venue - MONA (Museum of Old and New Art)
Celebrant - Kathleen the Celebrant
Hair - Rebel @ Heart
Makeup - Makeup by Yaz
Flowers - Lottie Phillips
Catering - MONA
Cake - MONA
Dress - Gather and Stich
Suit - Van Heusen

5 tips for getting married in Tasmania

4 minute read

 
 

Hey there! I'm Ed, an intimate wedding and elopement photographer based in Hobart, Tasmania.
After shooting weddings full-time for 4 years, I've become familiar with a few pain points that couples deal with or don't really think about when getting married in Tassie.
Here's 5 tips that immediately come to mind.

 

1) Have a wet weather plan

"Please don't say the r-word!"

No one really wants to talk about rain, but let's be honest, Tasmania is known for it's wild, unpredictable weather. It is rare in such a naturally beautiful state that people actually want to get married indoors and although sometimes the weather gods show up and give you a dry and warm day, this isn't always the case; so make sure you have a plan B!

The best advice I can give here is to choose a location or venue with an under cover ceremony option (big enough to host all your guests)! If your dream wedding venue doesn't have a covered option, invest in a marquee! As well as the venue shelter, don't forget to bring some nice umbrellas for yourself and your wedding party if you have one and are still planning on getting some outside photos. (Rain photos can be freaking awesome!).

A few nice brollies in the boot won't hurt anyone and will save you a lot of stress if you need them. Some dry towels also couldn't hurt!

If you plan to stay bone dry on your wedding day, It is always a good idea to have an under cover location in mind for your couple session and wedding party session (if you have one). The hotel or air bnb you are staying at on your wedding night might be perfect for this - think soft moody window light and some privacy if you want your session to be a bit hot and steamy.

2) Consider a late afternoon ceremony in summer!

Sunset can be as late as 9pm in Tassie in summer. This is because we are so far away from the equator. We have really long days in summer and really short days in winter.

Plan your wedding accordingly! In Queensland you might get away with a 2pm ceremony in the middle of summer, but in Tasmania the sun is right above your head at this time and sets at around 9pm in January. You will get harsh unflattering shadows on your face and you might not love this in your photos!

# For your own wedding, jump on google and search "Sunset time [ location ] [ date ] " consider your timeline and when you are getting photos.

3) Embrace the wild!

We are so lucky to have such a wild, diverse place right at our fingertips, with harsh rugged landscape, beautiful rolling green hills, snow capped mountains and beautiful white beaches. Decide to embrace whatever Tassie has for you. Whether it rains, hails, snows or is scorching hot, or windy as hell, embrace it, take a deep breath and be present with your lover and choose to enjoy yourself and the cards you are dealt on your special day!

Saying that, it is also so important to be prepared. I'm pretty sure it's actually a myth that Tasmania has no ozone layer, but anyone who has lived on the mainland will tell you that the sun seems like it burns you way quicker down here. I don't know the science behind it, but Make sure you wear sunscreen and drink lots of water too 😉.

4) View your wedding/elopement location one year before.

Do this not just to get some insight on the weather, but to see what flowers are in bloom and what colour the leaves are. A big part of getting hitched in Tassie is the beautiful untouched wilderness which includes our stunning flowers and rich foilage. This might not be important to some, but if you're getting married at a lavender farm, you probably want that lavender to be in full bloom and not just dull dead-looking sticks (late December/early January in Tassie if you were wondering 😉). Same goes for a vineyard, grape vines lose their leaves! If you were planning a vineyard wedding because you wanted some epic photos amongst the beautiful vines, it's probably worth checking. Most vineyards also put nets on their vines at certain times of the years, so make sure you check 👀.

5) Keep Tassie wild!!

Let's do our part to keep tassie wild and beautiful so we can always enjoy it how it is!
Here's a few tips to keep your wedding/elopement eco friendly -

  • Consider eco-confetti if you want it - dried native flowers are best!.

  • Avoid baloons! Especially if helium baloons are released, they're a threat to wildlife.

  • Bring your rubbish and bring your food. It can be harmful to native animals.

  • Find a venue/location with natural decor. This is not hard in Tassie with so many beautiful venues and landscapes to elope infront of/amongst.

  • If you are getting married somewhere rural consider organising local accomodation for guests or camping. Tasmania is known as the roadkill state of Australia. We have the highest animal deaths on road per capita, so make sure you do your part in bringing that number down. Avoid driving tassie roads at night, especially in rural/bush areas.

    Leave a comment below if you found any of these useful, if you have any questions or any more tips!
    I'd love to hear from you!