Real Wedding // Milli & Josh’s Fig Tree Wedding

Milli & Josh’s spring wedding at the Fig Tree Restaurant was a celebration bursting with love and colour! Instantly captivated by the venue’s natural beauty, we helped this gorgeous couple transform the space into a vibrant garden party. Their vision of soft pastels, accented with subtle touches of gold and oak, was woven through every detail – from the pastel blue dress worn by Milli’s bridesmaid to the stunning floral arrangements in shades of lavender, lemon, and peach.

In search of the perfect destination for their special day, Milli and Josh chose Byron Bay for its warmth and scenic charm, uniting their loved ones in one magical spot. The day unfolded beautifully, beginning with a heartfelt ceremony under the iconic fig tree, followed by poolside and garden cocktails, and culminating in a reception that glowed with the spirit of spring.

This unforgettable celebration was made possible by an incredible team of dedicated vendors, and we’re so grateful to everyone who helped us bring Milli & Josh’s dream vision to life! Read on to experience the beauty of this magical day!

Tell us about your story, how did you meet and where did the proposal happen?

Like any good love story, we met online. We were drawn to each other’s dating profiles because of our mutual love of travel. I (Milli) had recently returned from a trip to Mexico to celebrate my best friend and bridesmaid, Emma’s 30th birthday, and Josh was about to leave for a trip with some of his friends, so we chatted for a while and made plans to meet before his departure. Our first date was at a Mexican restaurant, where we shared margaritas and got to know each other.

When Josh returned from his trip, a second date turned into another, and soon we were starting our lives together. We moved in together after a year and added our fur baby, Wilde, to our family. 

Our first overseas holiday together was planned for the end of 2021 as the world started to reopen post COVID. I had jokingly mentioned to Josh that he had until the end of the year to propose. Josh played it down but took this comment seriously, while I quickly forgot about my throwaway remark. Josh always had it in his mind that he was going to propose on a holiday, and as international travel resumed, new destinations became available. Originally we were looking at Queenstown, then Fiji but due to my work commitments, the dates kept being delayed. If only I knew what Josh had planned! But then the Maldives opened up and we quickly booked a long overdue holiday to this beautiful country.

By this stage, the ring had been hiding in Josh’s cupboard for four months. Josh talked me into a five minute ocean swim to a secluded sandbar that he had scoped out the day before. With the ring on his little finger and both of their phones in his hand, he skillfully executed a one-handed dog-paddle through the water. Once we got to the sandbar, Josh got down on one knee and the rest is history!

What were the reasons for choosing The Fig Tree as the venue for your special day?

We had always wanted a destination wedding and when we decided on the time of year being winter/early spring, so we started looking at destinations north from Sydney in the hope of warmer weather. Josh grew up in Northern NSW so we started looking at Byron and Southern Qld wedding venues. We also wanted to make our wedding a destination, bringing our family and friends together in a scenic location for a memorable weekend. The Fig Tree Restaurant was actually the first venue we saw and we were immediately blown away. Every venue we saw after that was hard to compare, so we realised pretty early that we had found our dream wedding location! It literally ticked every box we were hoping for on our special day. We loved that the whole day could be at the one venue. From the stunning wedding ceremony spot under the giant fig tree, to champagne tower in the garden’s grove, followed by cocktails around the pool, then of course the indoor reception area. The venue ticked every box, and having the option to stay onsite the day before and night of our wedding made it that much more special. 

What style were you striving for with your table settings, florals and reception? Was there a certain look or vibe that you wanted to create?

Given it was the first day of spring, we couldn’t go past the theme of hosting a spring garden party. Fans of colour, we wanted guests to embrace a vibrant colour palette, leaning into pastel tones. From our bridesmaid’s dress in pastel blue, through to our grounded arbour and table floral arrangements that featured a mix of lavender, lemon, peach with soft shades of green, we wanted the colour theme and styling to complement the beautiful grounds and overall aesthetic of the Fig Tree Restaurant.  

Were there any vendors that you particularly loved working with and why?

We were so incredibly fortunate to have connected with so many amazingly talented and friendly vendors who each took the time to understand our vision and helped us create our wedding in our own unique way. With less than six months to plan our big day, we needed to move quickly with our supplier enquiries and booked with suppliers who we immediately connected with and got a good gut feeling about. It also helped that many of these came highly recommended by Byron Bay Weddings and other vendors within the region. 

From Miss Renee Simone and the Byron Bay Experience who brought their music prowess to our wedding day setting the tone from the guests entrance right through to the dancefloor, to our striking floral arrangements by Nikau Flora, and our beautiful table and personalised styling details by The Sea Salter. Having our fur baby, Wilde, join us in the celebrations made the day even more special thanks to the amazing dog handlers, Fuzzy Buddy. Our wedding was made even more special by having the phenomenal photographer, Nina Claire, and digital content creator, Georgia, from Socially Wed on hand to capture all the special moments from our day. We were blown away by all our pictures and vision, and are so thankful we get to relive these memories for the rest of our lives!

A huge thank you to each and everyone of our vendors – what an incredible dream team! 

• Wedding planner – Sophie from Byron Bay Weddings
• Celebrants – Katrina Holt of Wonder Love Weddings and Cara Gallagher of Modern Love Ceremonies
• Photographer – Nina Claire 
• Content creator – Socially Wed
• Musicians – Miss Renee Simone of Byron Bay Experience and Gabriel
• Florist – Nikki of Nikau Flora
• Sigange & Stationery – Zoe of The Sea Salter
• Hair and make-up – Reanin Glah and The Future Mrs
• Dog handler – Fuzzy Buddy

What were your favourite parts of the wedding planning process with Byron Bay Weddings?

Although it initially felt like an overwhelming task, having Sophie on hand to guide us through the planning process with clear agendas, summary emails and helpful planning docs and resources, we were able to break down each task into achievable actions that were made more realistic (and enjoyable) to accomplish. 

Tell us what were the most important aspects of your wedding day and which moments really stood out to you?

Our ultimate desire with finding a venue was the location of the wedding ceremony itself. We couldn’t go past Fig Tree restaurant and were immediately taken by the fig tree and the surrounding garden, with views looking out to Byron’s headland. We’d chosen to celebrate our special day with a smaller wedding party of 50 guests made up of immediate family and close friends, and particularly liked that we could host every element of our wedding day on-site at the one location. From the ceremony in the gardens, to cocktails and canapés by the pool, to dinner, dessert and dancing in the beautiful homestead. To add to the intimacy of the day and the beautiful setting, we incorporated personal touches like having a grounded floral arch for the bride and groom during the ceremony, surrounded by a curved seating for our guests.  

Much thought had gone into our wedding entrance and it was the one part of the day that was hard to imagine how it was going to turn out but it surpassed our expectations. With help from the amazing Miss Renee Simone and African Musician Gabriel, we were able to incorporate Milli’s Zimbabwean heritage and create this beautiful unique entrance for our wedding party and guests to enjoy! 

Post wedding we have also had the most positive feedback about the amazing food and the cocktails on offer throughout the day. We’re foodies and so we were thrilled to hear that our guests loved the selection of canapes and main courses. Another reason why we chose this venue is that it gave us the flexibility to order and serve our preferred wine and cocktails, which really added to the day. 

What would be your biggest advice to other couples currently planning their wedding?

Whatever way you choose to celebrate your wedding, it’s truly worth it and you will have the best day of your life! There is so much that goes into the months leading up to your wedding and it can feel overwhelming at times, but with Byron Bay Weddings, you truly are in the best hands and they help make the process exciting. 

Sophie, our Wedding Coordinator from Byron Bay Weddings, was there with us every step of the way, and helped guide us through the planning process. With our regular catch ups, we were able to move forward and make the tough decisions with ease and somehow pull off the wedding of our dreams in less than six months from booking the venue and up until the big day. 

Milli & Josh xo

Suppliers
Venue: Fig Tree Restaurant // Hair & Makeup: Reanin Glah and The Future Mrs // Celebrant: Wonder Love Weddings & Modern Love Ceremonies // Photographer: Nina Claire  // Florals: Byron Bay Experience // Musician: Byron Bay Experience // DJ: Byron Bay Experience // Sigange & Stationery: The Sea Salter // Content Creator: Socially Wed // Dog Handler – Fuzzy Buddy // Transport: Byron Bay Coaches // Catering: Fig Tree Catering // Furniture & Styling: The Wedding Shed // Planning & Coordination: Byron Bay Weddings