A tiny Friday elopement in Perth City

Friday 13th, despite its reputation, was a lucky day for this couple who married privately in a Perth park in the morning and celebrated with friends in the afternoon.

Bride and groom holding hands, crossing street in city. Bride in white dress with bouquet, groom in black suit. It's their Perth CBD elopement with Sally Bruce Celebrant and Red Eclectic photographer. — Crossing St Georges Terrace

We would love to elope – we don’t want a big fuss

In their initial enquiry this couple told me

“We would love to elope in the morning. Then in the afternoon we have organised a big after-party celebration. We don’t want a big fuss as we would like to keep it intimate that morning, for just us, and then celebrate later in the day. We were hoping to just walk from our hotel to do our vows in the nearby gardens and get some photos in the city.”

We were able to do all of this - and it all worked really well!

Here are some of the cool things they included in their elopement that made it fuss-free but still with a sense of occasion.

Five people smile in a lush garden, with a woman in white holding vibrant flowers. They're dressed formally, exuding a joyful mood. It's their Perth City elopement with Sally Bruce Celebrant. — The couple with Sally Bruce Celebrant and their mums as the only witnesses - and guests - at their tiny elopement.

Stay at a hotel the night before the elopement

The day before the elopement, they started the celebrations by checking into a hotel – DoubleTree by Hilton Waterfront at beautiful Elizabeth Quay, right next to the water in Perth City. A few of their close family and mates were there too, and they had dinner and drinks together.

In the morning they went off to get ready separate rooms. This let them start the elopement ceremony with a ‘first look’.

The bride got ready in her room helped by her mum and sisters while in another room, the groom got ready with his mate and his mum.

Photographer Kat from Red Eclectic and I went into the hotel to meet them. I signed the final pre-ceremony paperwork with each of them separately in their rooms.

Bride in a white gown with colorful bouquet smiles at groom in a black suit. They're on a modern staircase with silver and glass elements. It's their Perth City elopement with Sally Bruce Celebrant. — Elopement first look

Elopement First Look

If you’re not sure what a First Look is, it’s when the marrying couple gets ready separately and then have a private moment together, before the ceremony starts. It’s called a First Look because it’s the first time they see each other dressed in what they will be wearing as they get married.

Traditionally this happened as a bride walked down the aisle, but many couples now are choosing to do it privately, often with a photographer there to capture the expressions on the couple’s faces.

Sometimes people wonder if they can have a ‘first look’ wedding tradition as part of an elopement – and the answer is yes! It’s easy to do if it’s something you’d like. Basically you just get ready separately instead of getting ready together. Talk with your celebrant and photographer so we can work out a plan and include it into our runsheets for the day.

In this case we were able to use the hotel’s epic staircase for the First Look. The groom stayed on the lower level while the bride walked down the stairs to him and the photographer captured the moment.

A couple exits a hotel, "DoubleTree by Hilton," smiling. She holds bright flowers; he's in a black suit. Glass doors and modern facade visible. It's their elopement in Elizabeth Quay Perth Western Australia with Sally Bruce Celebrant. Photo by Red Eclectic

Walk to the elopement ceremony

After the first look, the couple, the two mums as witnesses, the celebrant (me) and Kat the photographer walked to nearby Stirling Gardens. Kat captured some great images on the way. No need to hire a fancy car – by staying locally we were able to walk to the ceremony spot and not worry about getting a carpark in the city.

To read about another Perth City elopement, see this blog post

Bride in white dress reads vows from a book, standing outdoors amid trees. Groom faces her, creating a romantic, heartfelt scene. It's a Perth City elopement with Sally Bruce Celebrant.

A simple and sweet elopement ceremony

They wrote their own vows and exchanged rings in a heartfelt and moving ceremony.

When it was time to sign the paperwork, we didn’t need a fancy signing table but used the nearby stone bench and my special folder.

Bride in white with bouquet, groom, and woman in floral dress sign a document on a garden bench. Greenery in the background. Joyful mood. It's an elopement in Perth with Sally Bruce Perth elopement celebrant

Mums as elopement witnesses

They decided to use both of their mums at the legally-required witnesses. This is a trend I’ve been loving lately.

Two women smiling outdoors, one signs a document. Lush greenery and trees in the background. Bright, sunny day. They are laughing. It's a Perth City elopement with Sally Bruce Celebrant

If you’d like to know more about marriage witnesses, see this blog post – Who can witness a wedding?

Bride and groom smiling in a garden setting, surrounded by cheering people. Bride holds colorful bouquet, greenery and building in background. — Just married celebrations

Post -elopement couple photos

After the ceremony they couple walked further up into the city with Kat for their couple portrait session.

Bride and groom smiling under white arches, bride holding colorful flowers, pose cheerfully in front of a brick wall. It's a Perth CBD elopement with Sally Bruce celebrant.

Bride in a white dress with colorful bouquet sits on a leather sofa with groom in a black tuxedo. Both smile warmly at each other. It's their Perth CBD Friday morning elopement with Sally Bruce Celebrant and Red Eclectic photographer

They said:

"A big thank you Sally for the help of our little elopement.

Stress free, great energy and your organisation to help guide us was just outstanding. We cannot thank you enough!"

Happily Ever After Party

A quick drink to celebrate and then they were off to set up the venue for that night’s ‘Happily Ever After Party’ to celebrate at Cleaver Street, which looked like a lot of fun!