LOVE STORY SERIES - Anna & Raine's headland hoorah.
Location: Depot Beach, NSW South Coast
Anna + Raine all smiles, captured beautifully by Nick Gascoine https://www.nickgascoine.com
I arrived at around 9am (I LOVE a morning wedding), to a beautiful house full of kids and family. The bride and groom to-be had ducked out for a pre-wedding dip in the ocean. This was my opportunity to meet the fam and drool over the thoughtfully and humbly dressed wedding cake by Em of Sweet Bones https://sweetbonescompany.com and be very impressed by the set-up of Dan of Slow Beans and Bones https://slowbeansandbones.com, if smoked meat/beans is your thing, this guy is legit.
I met with Anna and Raine together and answered any last questions, but this couple was radiating calm and ease. As we made our way to the headland where the ceremony would take place, the wholesome feels were in abundance.
In honour of their love for nature, Anna & Raine had always imagined a wedding either by the coast or in the mountains. They’d spent a lot of time on camping missions at various beaches along the NSW coast and Depot had always been a favourite. The spotted gums on the headland have witnessed the evolution of Raine and Anna’s lives together and will do for many years to come…
Anna + Raine close their eyes…
The ceremony began with an acknowledgement of country and paying our respects to the Traditional Owners and custodians of the lands and waterways. The guests were invited to close their eyes for a moment to connect with the history and the wisdom of the surrounds. This simple act was a really cool way of grounding everyone in the magical moment we were sharing…
For Anna & Raine, getting married was about celebrating their choice in human, the one they want to keep adventuring beside. Having had their gorgeous little boy, Crosby, 3 years ago now… they were already family, full of so much love and so much joy. Choosing marriage was a formality, sure, but it was also concreting their future as a team. A team that will grow, both in numbers and love. (Spoiler alert, Anna is pregnant with TWINS!!!)
Ohhhhh and I love the first time they met!!! King O’Malley’s (Canberra), back in 2011. Anna and her sister, Georgie were sitting at a tablewhen Raine and some of his mates sat down to talk to them. Raine thought the two sisters looked far too nice and normal to be getting hit on by his wild mates. Anna recalls Raine being mostly silent, true to form, but drawn to his nature and Raine recalls his first words to Anna being something along the lines of “I’m not trying to hit on you or anything...” but sure enough, soon after, these two love birds were pashing all night, bowling people over, in bars all over the city.
There was immediate chemistry between Anna and Raine. Raine didn’t get drunk on beers that night, he got drunk on Anna Murray. Her sense of humour and enthusiasm for life. Her desire to enjoy every aspect as much as possible, no half measures. Anna was captivated by Raine’s rock like energy; solid, quiet, slow, and gentle, yet bold.
From this point on there were many adventures that followed… camping, hiking, snowboarding, biking. Any time spent together was better than time spent alone. Raine had found the ying to his yang… a 0% arrogance, highly gullible and often naïve: Anna. For Anna she was wooed by Raine’s brain and his deeply thought-out perspective on things, his ways of seeing the world and his people.
Almost 4 years ago, Anna and Raine took a snowboarding trip to Japan. They were up in the mountains and Raine had decided he’d found the moment he wanted to propose, he made an excuse to quickly drop his bag off at their accommodation to get the ring… He sped down the hill at lightspeed and the subsequent 15 min gondola ride back up to meet Anna with the ring in his pocket, was the slowest ride of his life. He hadn’t been nervous until he jumped off the lift. He picked his moment in the back country at the foot of a tree, still clipped into his snowboard, mid run and popped the question. Anna thought “Yeah, this was more magical than I had ever imagined.”
These two have been on a long journey of personal growth together. They’ve worked hard and know what it is to be challenged in a relationship. They believe in each other and their commitment to the long haul. They want to continue their love story as a team, maybe with a few new recruits but really, their love story is already magical.
Sharing this day with Anna and Raine was super special. I was moved by their ease and comfort and how wide open they hold their arms. Embracing each other, their community, precious moments in time, and the natural world that surrounds them.
https://www.nickgascoine.com