A young newlyweds have revealed the heartwarming reason why they took their wedding photos in the cereal aisle of a Coles supermarket.
Elisabeth Pel, 28, and Harley Liebelt, 24, got married on December 8 in front of 45 guests. And after exchanging vows, they got into a car and drove straight to the supermarket.
The Adelaide couple met at the Mount Barker store seven years ago and both worked on the night filling team. Since then they have been 'inseparable'.
Elisabeth told FEMAIL that they did a photo shoot in the same cereal aisle where they first met.
“The photos we have seen so far are ones we will cherish forever,” she said.
Elisabeth Pel, 28, and Harley Liebelt, 24, went to Coles on their wedding day to take photos in the cereal aisle
The newlyweds met in the same aisle seven years ago when they worked at the supermarket
“It took Harley a few shifts to build up the confidence to talk to me, but he did it,” Elisabeth said.
“He laughed at me because I was too short to reach the cereal on the top shelf.”
She asked photographer Jacob Jennings to take the memorable photos and he 'seized the opportunity with both hands'.
'I'm so happy with how the photos turned out. They are absolutely beautiful,” she said.
Initially Harley was reluctant to take photos at Coles because he 'didn't want people looking at him', but it didn't take long for the idea to come around to him.
Elisabeth asked photographer Jacob Jennings to take the memorable photos and he 'seized the opportunity with both hands'
However, it wasn't all plain sailing, with the couple describing the run-up to their wedding day as 'stressful' and 'shaky'.
The couple had originally planned to get married at the Mount Lofty Botanical Gardens, but at 4.40pm the day before, Elisabeth received a call from the event planners.
There was a warning that day of serious fire danger, which meant that the gardens had to be closed.
“The event planner sent me locations for the Adelaide Botanic Gardens with a few photos and we chose the Sunken Garden,” Elisabeth explained.
The couple also hosted the reception on their property and had four large tents set up with a laid table inside.
But just as the groom and groomsmen were about to leave, the wind picked up and they had to run outside to pack everything up.
'The marquees almost blew away, so that caused a lot of stress on the day. But other than those minor hiccups, everything went perfectly,” she added.
'The ceremony itself was beautiful and went smoothly. Everyone found the new location easily and the garden staff provided umbrellas to keep everyone shaded from the heat.
'The overall atmosphere of the day was relaxed with a little bit of stress. When we finished our photos in the botanical gardens, our photographer took us to the location where we first met.”
“The photos we've seen so far are photos we will cherish forever,” she said (pictured with their child Parker, two)
While weddings in Australia cost an average of $36,000, the couple spent just $17,000
The couple also hosted the reception on their property and had four marquees set up with a table inside
While weddings in Australia cost an average of $36,000, the couple spent just $17,000; they decided they didn't want any “extravagance” on their big day.
At the reception, guests were welcomed with a large grazing board and cocktail hour, followed by burgers for dinner. There were also three dessert plates that they made themselves.
There were also two wedding cakes: one for the bridal party, which was professionally made, and a second cake for all the guests.
They bought vases and candlesticks secondhand and on Facebook Marketplace, along with Christmas lights for the reception, saving them money.
'Money was an obvious concern. We had to move back in with Harley's parents due to the increase in the cost of living. So we didn't save as much money as we had hoped leading up to the wedding,” Elisabeth said.
“I did all the signage, invitations, paper stuff and created a gallery wall for the wedding. That saves us a LOT of money, but certainly took a lot of time.
“I think what I've learned in all my wedding planning is that it's about being extremely smart and making sure I had the patience to do all the DIY and wait for something secondhand to come along.”