Ekhidna Wines
If rain is good luck on your wedding day.. these two are the luckiest!
Rahnee and I first connected via Instagram over our shared love of Sausage dogs and sharing pictures of our respective long bellied fur babies! Not long after connecting we arranged to meet in person so I could hear all about Rahnee & Zac''s wedding plans. From the moment they walked into the cafe I was completely dazzled by their blonde hair and beaming smiles and we proceeded to easily pass nearly two hours in conversation, about the trials of being sausage parents, about their relationship and how they had grown, the way they’d worked extremely hard towards their goals together, Zac's beautiful proposal in Byron Bay and of course their dreams for what their wedding day would look like!
After hearing who their other vendors were and the location they wanted to marry at I was giddy with the potential of being part of such an incredible day. I trotted away from our meeting feeling like I’d just hung out with old friends and was over the moon when I received a txt by the time I got back to my car, saying they were stoked to go ahead and lock me in for their big day!
Since we first met many multiple sausage pictures were shared, all the while the world changed with the progression of covid, and the way it completely altered how weddings looked. Rahnee then got in touch a few months later, devastated about the fact that their wedding venue was being shut down and they would have to find somewhere else to get married, not an easy feat when their wedding date was in peak wedding season! Zac & Rahnee kept their chins up, and eventually found another venue, with a totally different vibe but one they were happy to lock in with sheer relief it was available.
We ticked closer to their big day, watching the ebb and flow of restrictions, realising that it really was pot luck as to what we’d be working around when their wedding date arrived. In the mean time we kept planning! I wrote their ceremony draft, loving the fact that despite her bleached blonde hair extensions and braces, Zac was head over heels for Rahnee the day he first set eyes on her at a music festival. Zac confessed his love for Rahnee a few short weeks after they met and after saying it once he absolutely revelled in saying it as often as he could, until finally a few weeks later Rahnee plucked up the courage to say it back, perhaps with the aid of some Dutch courage!
Rahnee & Zac’s work ethic is second to none, once they have a goal they go hammer and tong until they have achieved it, and sharing that drive has only made reaching goals together that much sweeter. As we neared their day it was evident that a handful of guests wouldn’t be able to make it, which was something they were prepared for in the current circumstances so Rahnee and Zac although disappointed, took that in their stride. Then, almost unbelievably, their second venue was no longer able to cater to their needs as originally thought, so with less than a fortnight before their big day they were yet again on the hunt for a venue.
I could not believe how calmly they managed this situation, as I would have been losing my mind and at this point and may have even considered throwing in the towel! With a massive stroke of a luck Ekhidna Wines in McLaren Vale was available to help out and so Rahnee and Zac locked them in, thinking that surely this would be third time was lucky, and this would be the last speed bump they would encounter. However as it would turn out, there was one more challenge left for the ever so sweet couple who had already copped more than their fair share of pre wedding stress.
Normally an outdoor wedding at the end of January is a pretty safe bet, but the weather is an unpredictable beast and on the day of the wedding it poured. I would love to say that it was just a manageable light shower, but that would be a long way from the truth, and by the time I got to Ekhidna Wines that afternoon the ground was soaked and the clouds were showing no sign of easing. Myself, Alex from APWP, and Maddy & Drew from Run Wild Photography all began setting up our gear, doing everything in our power to keep all the equipment dry and doing our best to juggle umbrellas in the process.
The time came for the ceremony to begin, and with the rain still coming down the bridal party stood under clear umbrellas, with the vines and cloud covered hills as our backdrop. I ducked out to check that Rahnee was ready to go and with tears in her eyes and her veil already wet my breathtaking bride was slightly dismayed at the turn the weather had taken, but determined to power on, after everything they had already been through, she just wanted to get to the end of that aisle and marry her man.
So we began, and what followed was one of the most romantic ceremonies I’ve been a part of. The rain somehow made the experience of our large group seem intimate, and it was impossible not to be present in the moment, as the rain dripped off our umbrellas. A touching reading was shared, we laughed through Rahnee and Zacs love story, then collectively caught our breath as Rahnee and Zac shared their vows. To everyone’s delight, Alfie the Sausage proudly delivered the wedding rings to his Mum and Dad, and they were exchanged along with their legal vows. Then the Bride and Groom, along with their witnesses and I ducked inside to sign their legal documents, which gave us a moment to let everything just sink in. Once that was done back out into the rain we went, joining everyone before a final reading was shared, and Rahnee and Zac were declared South Australia’s newest married couple!
Rahnee and Zacs walk back down the aisle as Husband and Wife was the most glorious exit I’ve seen, as they held their umbrellas high, and eco confetti joined the rain that fell around them. From the moment they saw each other that day, the grins never left either of their faces and the joy to finally be getting married after every tribulation they faced, was tangible. I couldn’t have been prouder of the way Rahnee and Zac took on everything side by side, in a true reflection of what a marriage should be. At the end of the day they had one of the most unforgettable wedding days you could imagine, and it’s one that none of us will forget any time soon!