Evergreen Brickworks Wedding – Petra & Matt

When Matt and Petra first reached out to me back in March about their wedding at Evergreen Brickworks, Matt’s email included a few fun facts about them and their relationship.

I fell in love with them right away, before we had even met. I appreciated that they had taken the time to tell me a little bit about themselves as a huge part of my process circles around really connected with each couple.

Apart from the details of the wedding; which they wanted to have an outdoor wedding to include the natural beauty around Evergreen Brickworks, additionally Matt wrote:

Petra asked Matt out on a date (for tea) in the year 2000 when she was in 2nd year Kinesiology and he was her TA (in a course called “Love and its Myths,” no less). Matt agreed.
Petra and Matt were fortunate enough to be able to travel the world as graduate students (MA and PhD), presenting at conferences, living in the Netherlands and France, and filling their CVs in the hopes of landing academic careers. Matt found one (luckily), while Petra — always on the lookout for new challenges — decided on becoming a doctor of medicine as well.
Petra and Matt love skiing, swimming, mountain biking, photography, art-making, travelling, friends, and family.

Right off the bat…. The year 2000!?!? These two have been together for 18 years! I was intrigued. It was clear that they were two extremely accomplished and academic individuals; each with a multitude of degrees, diplomas and certificates.

Fast forward 6 months, and we’re only weeks away from the wedding. Petra asks if we can meet at the Evergreen Brickworks to go over a few things. After we caught up over tea in the cafe, she pulled out her laptop and my wedding planning guide which she had printed and made notes on throughout. She proceeded to tell me that they had been following it and taking into account what I had recommended in the guide to get the best photos. I was ecstatic that they were considering how things would be represented and captured through my camera. (I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised coming from 2 people with backgrounds in the arts!).

So why after 18 years together were they now getting married? They told me that they really just wanted to celebrate all the people in their lives that have helped them through their years together and throughout difficult career paths. They had been to many of their friend’s weddings as a couple years ago, and now they wanted to throw a big party to have everyone together again. (Ugh HOW ADORABLE?!)
I asked them what their favourite part of the planning was and also the scariest? “Our favourite part about planning the wedding was choosing the venue, Evergreen Brick Works, taste-testing the food and wine: meeting with the photographer, DJ, cellist, and other professionals who supported our vision for the wedding; and working to create an event that allowed all of our friends and communities to relax, celebrate, and have a great time together. The scariest part of the wedding planning was dealing with all the little details that surprise you along the way!”

Meet the couple

What were the top 3 most important things to you both when planning?

“We wanted a unique and ideally very natural setting for the wedding, we wanted to thank and celebrate everyone who has supported us along the way, and we wanted the mood, food, and tone of the wedding to reflect who we are and what we value (friends, nature, community, etc.)”

What did you find in my gallery that made you want to book with me?

“We wanted to work with Jennifer See Studios because they create photographs that look so natural, have gorgeous tones and luscious colours, and they focus on capturing moments and details from the event that are unique and special!”

Petra and Matt definitely achieved a day filled with personal touches. Their ceremony was definitely my favourite part! It was packed with meaning, the couple walked into together, they each chose a love poem for one another to be read by a close friend and their friends’ daughters beautifully sang and played guitar. The whole thing was officiated by another friend and nothing felt rushed. They weren’t going for the “short and sweet”. I appreciated that they really wanted to take in each moment of this part of the day. The ceremony really is the whole point a wedding isn’t it? There were happy tears from family members as they watched these celebrate their lives thus far together and celebrate the unknown future they are stepping into. The reception was a huge hit as well, Cafe Belong catered the event with the most amazing dinner, family members gave emotional speeches and they had their favourite gelato cart at the end of the evening! I think they pulled off a celebration that their guests won’t soon forget. Petra and Matt, thank you SO much for inviting me into your lives from the beginning and trusting in me to capture such an important day in your lives after all these years!

A huge shout out to the incredible Angie Choi for second shooting with me on this one, while being 6 months pregnant!