One week before Rhiannen and Matthew's wedding I received a phone call from Rhiannen advising that their wedding plans had changed as The Willows, their ceremony and reception venue, had gone into liquidation.  They had received a generic email from The Willows at 5pm the previous day and with the doors locked on the venue and no one answering phone calls or emails they were left with no option but to find another venue.  The couple had fully paid the venue for their wedding and had started a bar tab leaving them $8k out of pocket - no small amount when you are saving for your first home.

From our first call after receiving this devastating news it was apparent that Rhiannen wasn't going to let anything spoil her dream wedding. After thinking the wedding plans had been finalised Rhiannen found herself planning a whole new wedding in the space of a week and appearing on various media outlets to tell their story.  The choice to go public was no doubt a difficult one for Rhiannen but in doing so it allowed the 64 couples affected to share their experiences and to be put in contact with wedding suppliers who generously offered their services at significantly reduce price or at no charge.

But Matt and Rhiannen's story is not about The Willows but about two young people very much in love. Originally from NSW Matt followed his career choice down to Melbourne and Rhiannen followed leaving family and friends to re establish her career in a new state. 

I first met Matthew and Rhiannen at their engagement photo session which was held way back in January 2016 in the Carlton Gardens.