Love on top – with a view to happily ever after!

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Leah and Atim were married on top of a mountain, with a view stretching far into the distance. Up on Mt Coot-tha – their wedding was filled with love, and some emotional tears and went far too quickly for the couple’s liking.

We chatted to the beautiful bride Leah who answered all our curious questions about their special day… 

Describe your day in one sentence. Absolutely beautiful but wished we had more time to enjoy the day.

What was your favourite moment from the day? We both shed a tear reading our vows to each other.  Neither had anticipated this, so it was a sweet moment.

The first thing you thought when you woke up was? I had left a notebook for Atim with messages I had written to him over the last year hidden under my pillow.  I wondered whether he had discovered it yet.

The most surprising part was?  The number of impromptu speeches! 

Would you change anything about the day? Would have liked the reception to be longer to spend more time our guests.

Your advice to other brides-to-be and grooms-to-be is?  Be organised!  Even for a low-key wedding there is a lot of planning involved. Everyone says this, but the wedding day just flies by, so you really need to appreciate each moment, because the big day is over before you realise.

Tell us about your day. Was it everything you imagined it would be? Yes and no. All the cliché moments are there – walking down the aisle, cutting the cake, first dance etc. Our wedding went off without any major hiccups so I think that’s all we could really ask for. In the end we just wanted the evening to feel like a big dinner party with our closest family and friends – not like a wedding per se.

What were you feeling when you walked down the aisle? Extremely happy but very nervous!  Everything that we had been planning and working towards was now in motion and all eyes were on us. It was nice to know that it was our friends and family watching us, but still it’s a lot of sets of eyes to be fixed on you.

Your dress was stunning – where did you find it? I had this dress made, I always wanted an hourglass shape to the dress and I loved the delicate beading at the top. I was set against having a long train until my dressmaker showed me the dress with one at a fitting. It looked so beautiful so I kept it!

Andrew was there capturing moments at your wedding so can you share what you thought about the photos? Andrew was great at taking opportunistic photos throughout the day.  Looking back through the photos now is just like reliving the day.

Why did you pick Andrew as your wedding photographerWe saw Andrew’s photos all throughout various wedding magazines and really loved them straight away. He is really friendly and made us feel comfortable in front of the camera.

Could you pick out a favourite? Our favourite photo is of us standing in the gardens at the bottom of Mt Coot-tha. There is a soft light and we are looking into each other’s eyes and it really shows just how happy we were at that moment.

Why did you choose My Coot-tha? Was there a special attachment to that place?  We wanted a venue that would allow us an outdoor wedding but with a decent wet-weather option. Mt Coot-tha topped that off with an amazing view.

Would you share you love story with us? We met whilst working at a health centre about six years ago. We lost touch whilst I moved away for study and then reunited when I moved back and joined my mum’s Pilates class, hosted by Atim. We only dated for about two months before I had to move away again for study and I think we both knew at that time we were falling in love.

How do you work as a couple? Overall we are similar.  We obviously have lots of little differences, but accept these between ourselves. Atim is the more organised of us, but I am the more laidback one. I think that helps to balance each other out.

Best advice about love you’ve ever received and from whom? Atim’s grandparents have always told us to never go to sleep angry at each other. We have (so far) managed to do this, as Atim’s grandparents have for the last 70 years of their married life.

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