The last few months sure have been an interesting time for all of us, but one group of people have had what could have been their biggest day in their lives completely turned upside down. I’m talking about you lovers, the ones with the big weddings planned for this year!

Well, with Newcastle being the creative forward-thinking city it is, it’s no surprise to hear that one group of creative individuals have come up with a way to make their big day still as big as ever.

Meet Underground Lovers, an Urban Elopement ceremony created by Dearne Penman of Little Black Bow Photography, Jerome O’Connor from Uptowns Bar Newcastle, Monty King of Monty King Celebrations and Kez from Wed By Kez; some of Newcastle’s wedding industry legends!

Knowing one another from the local wedding industry, the small tribe of creatives started sharing ideas about how they’d all been affected by COVID-19 and how they could make it out of this weird time alive.

With all the restrictions in place, Jerome was forced to close Uptowns’ doors. Celebrants Kez and Monty have been performing small wedding ceremonies whilst Dea has been lucky to have her workload move back into full swing.

“People are getting bolder and more confident about making the choices that are right for them when it comes to wedding planning, and not just doing whatever a magazine or their parents say. Now, more than ever, weddings are becoming more unique and personal. So, Underground Lovers was born from the idea of small really freaking cool weddings!”

The whole idea behind Underground Lovers is for couples looking to still tie the knot; but with a hell load of style.

“Anyone can be down for an Underground Elopement. Couples who are on a budget, to couples who want something amazing but not with a 1,000 people in tow. The great thing about Underground Lovers is that a lot of the heavy lifting is included -the couple can finesse the rest as they want without worrying about a venue, photographer or celebrant.

Made for the no-fuss couple, the team behind Underground Lovers handle it all. All the couples need to do is figure out what to wear and who to invite.

“The logistics of the day are done and you can just step into marriage in a really cool way with zero stress.

“Experience tells us that often people do things at weddings because they feel they should or they are pressured to do it by external influences. Couples who elope don't tend to carry that stress and they know what they want and how they want to do it. They've made the decision to get married how they want and when they want.”

The group plan to keep Underground Lovers going well after Covid-19, and with many couples opting away from the big white wedding we’re not at all surprised!

“This is totally a long-term thing. For every couple having a wedding list of 100+ guests, there is the couple that hates that idea. Weddings are no longer a set formula so something like Underground Lovers provides the opportunity for a couple to really do things their way.

“We're really just giving people an option to have their moment, in their way. It's no longer white dress, suit and 100 guests. It can be boardshorts and tacos, or in this case air jordans, a kick-ass photographer, amazing venue and two of Newy's best celebrants.”

To learn more about the team and their plans for Underground Lovers, head to the website here.