Have You Considered A Wilderness Wedding?
Embrace the wilderness, embrace what matters, and embrace all the beauty Tasmania has to offer with a wedding by Wilderness Weddings Tasmania. Want to know more? We sat with Wilderness Weddings founder Kate Tuleja to find out just what makes this way of saying “I Do” so spectacular.
Interview By Alexander Ross - Theodore Magazine
“For us, we really do believe in creating sustainable (or eco) weddings - this isn’t just a hype word to make us look good. I would define an eco wedding as one that focuses much more on the experience of being together rather than the stuff you can surround yourself with.”
Tell us a little about Wilderness Weddings Tasmania and the unique service you offer.
Wilderness Weddings is a unique planning and photography service for couples looking to embrace nature, wonderful experiences and adventure into their wedding celebrations. Specialising in elopements and micro weddings up to 30 people, we provide all-inclusive packages that combine a beautiful ceremony and celebration with the best accommodation, food and locations that Tasmania has to offer. We focus on creating sustainable experiences by sourcing local florals and produce to enjoy on your day and have created a team of incredibly warm, joyful, inclusive wedding vendors who simply love, love.
We are unique in our approach and in how personal we are - there are no two celebrations that are ever the same (even if they take place in the same corner of the earth). We embrace our couples authenticity and individuality to create the perfect milestone of their love story.
What inspired you to start Wilderness Weddings Tasmania?
Coming from a community of people who loved the outdoors, hiking, travelling and experiencing the wonderful, down-to-earth moments in life - I knew that there was a place to combine all of that into a new approach to celebrate love stories. For my own wedding, I wasn’t interested in the performative aspect that has come to be a normal expectation with weddings - I just wanted to be myself, with the person I loved and celebrate in a way that was true to who we were.
I wanted to create a space where couples could swap all of the expectations and “stuff” that comes along with a big wedding and choose to have a wonderful experience instead, surrounded by the best things that Tasmania has to offer. Wilderness Weddings was definitely born straight from my heart, and I believe in it with every ounce of my being, which I think really shows when I work with couples - they can feel how natural and enjoyable this way of doing things is.
Tell us a little bit about the concept behind Wilderness Weddings and what couples can expect from one of your weddings?
Couples can expect to be totally relaxed, from the moment we get in touch with each other, all the way through to their wedding day. At first, they may even think, “should I be doing more? Am I missing something?” but that is the true beauty of the experience - it really is so simple and relaxed for the couple. Once we are together on their elopement day, we are sharing a beautiful Tasmania platter, maybe a glass of sparkling or a gin, listening to their favourite music and embracing the amazing space that they have chosen to celebrate in. So far, feedback from our couples has been so overwhelmingly positive - they are happy, relaxed, in love and they couldn’t imagine doing it any other way.
Do you only cater to Tasmanian couples? or couples from right across Australia?
We have couples join us from all over Australia, which is so exciting. Tasmania is high on everyone’s travel list at the moment, particularly with current international restrictions, so couples are loving the idea of combining their trips with an elopement or small weddings. Rather than spend incredible amounts of money on stylists or catering - they are choosing to invest in an adventure, either by themselves or with their favourite people. We take care of everything for the couple - so all they have to do is book their flights and car hire, and we will do the rest.
Let’s talk about Eco weddings because this is obviously something you pride yourself on… tell us, what actually is an Eco wedding?
For us, we really do believe in creating sustainable (or eco) weddings - this isn’t just a hype word to make us look good. I would define an eco wedding as one that focuses much more on the experience of being together rather than the stuff you can surround yourself with.
The way in which we have chosen to focus our efforts is by stripping back lots of the unnecessary ‘stuff’ that often comes with weddings and replacing those things with wonderful experiences - which don’t cost the earth. We source all of our florals locally, using micro flower farms and even foraging for bush blooms ourselves. We utilise the expertise of amazing local caterers who specialise in creating beautiful gastronomic experiences using local and seasonal produce. We have partnered with amazing accommodation options, who are focused on being earth-friendly in their waste management and sourcing of power - some are even entirely off-grid/solar powered. Our hair and makeup artists fill their kits with great earth-friendly and vegan products and only use single-use items when they really have to (for hygiene purposes). Our couples would notice by the end of their day that very little goes to waste that cannot be composted or reused in some way, which is absolutely the end goal for us as a team.
If a couple didn’t use you for their wedding but wanted to ensure their wedding was eco friendly, what are some small things all couples could implement into their planning and into the day itself?
Less Stuff, More Meaning is a resource that speaks exactly to this topic, and they have just created a ‘Wedding Footprint Calculator’ - so I would definitely suggest accessing that and seeing where your wedding may be unnecessarily adding to your carbon footprint. Four of the major ways in which people’s wedding footprints increase is by using imported flowers, serving meat, travelling by air and inviting large numbers of guests. By keeping numbers small, sourcing local, ethically produced meat (if you love to eat it), using local florals and minimising your air travel (or carbon offsetting it), you are taking amazing steps in the right direction. Sandra at Less Stuff More Meaning has heaps of resources to check out on this topic. This would also apply to any vendors that are reading this post.
Back to your weddings, give us a little run down of what one of your weddings looks like?
They are always in a beautiful, tranquil nature setting - so think quiet breeze, birds chirping and relaxed vibes. Our vendors arrive on-site to help the couple prepare for the day, that may be hair and makeup, some pre-ceremony photos, or simply to have a glass of sparkling before we get you hitched. We want to allow our couples to get to know us in person and warm up to us before we dive straight into a ceremony - there is no need to rush (although we will always meet beforehand, either in person or on zoom!). Our celebrant will then host their ceremony - it may be filled with their favourite music and fun anecdotes about their lives, or just simple and quiet under a tree. Their photographer (usually me!) will be there to capture their day as it unfolds, very organically and unobtrusively. There are no set rules with this; we just do whatever makes the couple comfortable. We then celebrate with some amazing Tasmanian drinks and food, and they can continue their stay in style, including their own private chef if they like. All in all, the days are incredibly unique, and we work with the couple to create an experience that is incredibly meaningful and fun for them.
And finally, how far in advance do you require a couple to confirm a booking with you?
We are so fortunate to be working with lots of couples in 2021 and 2022, so we are finding that couples are wanting to book further and further out to get exactly what they want. For a simple ceremony in a beautiful location, without many of the extra elements, we can bring that to life within 3-4 months. For couples who are looking for the full experience, including a beautiful stay, most locations are needing to book 6-12 months in advance. My advice would be to get in touch as soon as you’re feeling ready and to be open-minded to location suggestions, if somewhere is booked out we often have another beautiful alternative. We are currently booking 2022 elopements and micro weddings, and they are filling fast, so we would love to hear from you if you are hoping to be married early next year.
For more information about Wilderness Wedding Tasmania, and to enquire, click to button below.
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