First they said ‘I do’, then they said ‘I’m lovin it’.
Charlotte and James Maddock turned heads on their wedding day when they walked into a McDonald’s and ordered cheeseburgers and chicken nuggets after a gorgeous ceremony in Busselton, Western Australia.
‘You guys are awfully under-dressed,’ Charlotte joked as the entire restaurant turned to stare at the bride and groom.
While it was definitely out of the ordinary, the couple told Daily Mail Australia that their McDonald’s pit stop was the perfect way to honour their laid-back personalities.
Newlyweds Charlotte, 25, and James Maddock, 27, shared their first meal as husband and wife at McDonald’s after their wedding ceremony in Busselton, Western Australia
While it was definitely out of the ordinary, the couple told Daily Mail Australia that their McDonald’s pit stop was the perfect way to honour their personalities
Charlotte, from Christchurch, and James, from Perth, actually both met in the US, where the first McDonald’s burger was flipped.
The pair were both on a university exchange program at Purdue University in Indiana when they crossed paths in August 2011.
‘I thought James was good fun, but a bit too cocky for my liking,’ Charlotte recalled. ‘Seriously there is only so much accent teasing us Kiwis can take!’
But after Charlotte got to know James better, she realised he was the ‘most caring, generous person’ she’d ever met.
Charlotte, from Christchurch, and James, from Perth, actually both met in the US – where the first McDonald’s burger was flipped – while they were both on university exchange
While Charlotte found the Aussie boy who made fun of her Kiwi accent cocky at first, she said she soon realised he was the ‘most caring, generous person’ she’d ever met
After a year of long-distance dating, Charlotte moved to Perth to be with James. Two years later, he got down on one knee
And James was completely taken by Charlotte’s ‘bubbly personality and sense of humour’.
‘She was also easy on the eyes, and a lot of fun to tease,’ he added.
The couple both flew back to their respective homes after the semester finished and a couple of months later James officially asked Charlotte to be his girlfriend.
They dated long-distance for a year before Charlotte moved to Perth in 2013. Two years later James proposed in her hometown.
‘We were visiting Charlotte’s family for Christmas so I pretended a day out in Christchurch was an early present for her,’ James said.
‘I hired a convertible Mercedes and we began the day as a tour through the life of young Charlotte.’
The couple wed at Old Broadwater Farm in Busselton, Western Australia, one of the first places they had visited together after Charlotte moved to Perth
They got married under a Poplar tree as 110 guests from all over the world looked on, exchanging vows and taking part in a sand ceremony to symbolise the joining of their families
Following the ceremony the couple made their entrance surrounded by family, friends, and plenty of sparklers
The couple visited everything from Charlotte’s primary school to her first job, along with numerous other special places she had mentioned to James in the past.
They then took a hike up Bridle Path, sweating buckets in 36-degree weather as James tried to keep Charlotte walking to the perfect secluded spot he had picked out a day earlier.
‘I played the “let me go get a photo” trick to grab the ring, get down on one knee, and ask her to marry me,’ he recalled. ‘She cried. A lot.’
The happy couple then walked down the track, enjoyed a champagne toast with her family, and a night at a boutique hotel.
‘I was absolutely blown away,’ Charlotte said. ‘The amount of thought and effort James put into the day was incredible.’
‘I just remember feeling overwhelmingly happy,’ Charlotte said as she recalled the ceremony. ‘The kind of joy you can’t use a dictionary to describe’
The couple also turned their beloved 1975 VW Kombi Van, which they spent the year of 2016 road-tripping in, into a photo booth for the reception
‘All the little things I’d told him over the years, I couldn’t believe he remembered. The day was just perfect.’
The couple wed at Old Broadwater Farm in Busselton, Western Australia, one of the first places they had visited together after Charlotte moved to Perth.
They got married under a poplar tree as 110 guests who had flown in from all over the world looked on, exchanging vows and taking part in a sand ceremony to symbolise the joining of their families.
‘I just remember feeling overwhelmingly happy,’ Charlotte said. ‘The kind of joy you can’t use a dictionary to describe.’
And before they headed to the reception, the couple made sure to grab some food – and adorable photos – at McDonald’s.
‘I wish I could come up with some cute story about how McDonald’s has underpinned our relationship, but we’re just suckers for their food!’ Charlotte said.
The couple wanted to ensure that their wedding reflected their personalities, and worked to make it a mix of romance, elegance, and fun
They also had three types of bars at the reception (cheese, spirits, and Kiwi lollies) and plenty of games for the guests
‘Because we said the food would be in our wedding photos, the staff made the burgers perfectly. Seriously, they looked like the burgers in the ads!’
‘But truly, the pit stop was James and me to a tee. We wanted our wedding to be elegant, romantic, and fun. McDonald’s was just one part of the fun.’
As was the moment Charlotte was able to gleefully tell her mother they had taken wedding photos at McDonald’s.
‘Her face was just pure mortification,’ Charlotte recalled.
And the couple made sure to keep the fun going at their reception, with three different types of bars (cheese, spirits, and Kiwi lollies), plenty of games, and a photo booth in a 1975 VW Kombi Van that the couple had spent all of 2016 road-tripping in.
‘When we began the joys of wedding planning, we knew straight away we wanted our wedding to reflect us as a couple and the amazing journey we’d been on together,’ Charlotte said.
‘We wanted our day to truly be our wedding.’
Cheeseburgers and all.
‘When we began the joys of wedding planning, we knew straight away we wanted our wedding to reflect us as a couple and the amazing journey we’d been on together,’ Charlotte said. ‘We wanted our day to truly be our wedding’