From the first moment they laid eyes on one another, it was obvious that a big love was about to blossom between Matt ‘Matty J’ Johnson and Laura Byrne.
Five years on from the 2017 season of The Bachelor and two adorable daughters later, Matty and Laura have finally tied the knot.
“This wedding is just the bow on top of the present for us,” Laura, 36, tells WHO in an exclusive chat. “It’s taken us a long time to get here,” she adds with a laugh.
Matt, 35, proposed during a Fijian holiday in April 2019, then that June their daughter Marlie-Mae was born, followed by Lola in February 2021. The pandemic also put their wedding on hold – until now!
And the excited couple say that their fun and family filled wedding day was even better than anything they’d dreamed of. “We’re still buzzing right now,” Laura laughs. “It was the perfect day…”
Firstly, congratulations! Where and when did you get married?
LAURA: We got married on Friday, November 11 at Cupitts Estate winery just outside Mollymook, NSW. We went down there a few years ago, before the fires went through, and we spent New Year’s Day at Cupitts, and it was honestly just the best, most beautiful day. We looked at one another and went, “Gosh, this would be such a good place to get married.” So we enquired about booking it and that was that, we didn’t look at any other venues. We wanted somewhere that’s big enough for all the kids – our girls, and our nieces and nephews – to have a great day as well. Kids kind of took over our wedding!
Was the wedding delayed by the pandemic?
MATTY: We were meant to get married this time last year and I think in NSW we were just out of lockdown? But my family, who are in Queensland, couldn’t have made it because they weren’t able to travel, so we postponed.
L: As it turned out, we ended up spending what would’ve been our wedding weekend last year in Gerringong and it was pouring, there was flooding, so it was a good thing it got postponed.
Your girls, Marlie and Lola, were flower girls. Were they excited?
L: Yes, we had a procession of children in the wedding party. We had our girls, Lola and Marlie, and also our nephews, Archer and George, as page boys, and our nieces, Millie, Charlotte and Tasman, as flower girls, too. Buster, our dog, was in the wedding party as well, so my walk down the aisle was just a chaotic procession of kids and animals.
M: Marlie was so excited. Before the wedding, the flower girls were all at our house to try on their dresses, they’re like three and four, and they were all talking together about how they’re going to walk down the aisle. They were like, “Are you going to skip?” Someone else was like, “Yeah, I’ll skip for a bit!” It was so cute!
What did the girls wear?
L: I found this awesome Australian label, Princess Boutique, on Instagram and they made the flower girl dresses. Their dresses were boujier than my wedding dress! They looked like they’re wearing mini wedding dresses.
Speaking of dresses, tell us about your stunning gown, Laura…
L: I got my dress from Kyha Studios in Melbourne. The whole experience was so awesome and beautiful. I had my ‘yes to the dress’ moment. I went to look at the designer’s dresses in Melbourne with my mum, my girlfriend and my sister, and we had the most beautiful time at the fittings. I tried on a whole heap of dresses and then a dress with a skirt over the top of it, and so we made my dress out of two different dresses. It’s kind of like a Frankenstein dress, but it was perfect. For the reception, I changed into gold sequinned pants! They were very fun and like me. I wanted to wear something traditional for the ceremony, but something fun for the reception.
Did you cry at the ceremony?
L: I’m a baby – I cried while I was saying my vows that I’d written.
M: At my cousin’s wedding recently, they have a little girl who was part of the ceremony and just before she walked down the aisle, Laura said to me, “Do you think you’ll cry at our wedding?” I was like, “Probably not, to be honest,” then literally as soon as I saw my cousin’s little girl walk down the aisle, I just burst out crying! Even when I was writing my speech before the wedding, there were multiple times when I was welling up, so I was like, “S–t, I’m in trouble.” I was an emotional wreck.
L: Seeing Marlie and Lola as flower girls set us both off…
Were there any friends from your time on The Bachelor at the wedding, or any other Bachelor references?
L: Brittany Hockley signed our marriage certificate as our witness. I had roses in the flower arrangements – but not red roses!
Did you have any special music?
L: I walked down the aisle to a song I used to sing to Marlie when she was a baby – I Only Want to Be With You. The original is by Dusty Springfield, but an acoustic version.
M: We also had dance lessons with Aric Yegudkin, who I met when I did Dancing With The Stars in 2021. He choreographed our first dance, which was an Ed Sheeran ballad that then merged into Whitney Houston’s I Want to Dance With Somebody. It was fun.
What was the most special part of the day?
M: I think it was when the girls walked down the aisle. Seeing Marlie and Lola, their dresses were so beautiful. I’ve never seen both girls look so angelic before. Then to see Laura … I was so excited to see her dress and it was just so beautiful.
L: For me, the ceremony itself was a huge highlight. It was so fun, we laughed and cried our way through it. My best friend Kiah Van Hoeke was our celebrant and that was really special, too.
Does your relationship feel different now you’re wed?
L: No, not really. It’s lovely to be married, but we didn’t get married to officially start our life together. We’ve already jumped right in there, had our girls and bought a house – this is just the bow on top!
M: It is lovely to have finally sealed the deal, though.
L: Falling in love on TV is so crazy, but it worked for us. I got to marry my best friend and we couldn’t be happier.
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