3000 roses, three gowns: Inside Erin Holland’s glamorous wedding

Erin Holland and Ben Cutting finally tied the knot following two postponements. We go inside their dreamy, extravagant Byron Bay wedding.

Erin Holland and Ben Cutting finally tied the knot in a dreamy Byron Bay wedding following two postponements.

It was a lavish affair for the former Miss World Australia and Aussie cricketer who celebrated their wedding on February 13 overlooking the beach at Elements of Byron in front of 125 guests, including cricketers Usman Khawaja and Joe Burns and Survivor star Lee Carseldine.
But it was all in the details for this former Brisbane couple, with more than 3000 roses, a ceremony set on a white stage and three designer J’Aton gowns for the bride that were paired with three different sets of designer shoes.

Erin’s intricate ceremony dress took more than 600 hours to make, with the gown covered in Swarovski crystals and glass pearls, and four French laces including lace sourced from the oldest mill in Lyon, France.

She says it’s the same mill that provided lace for the royal family.

Her second gown featured a sheer bodice studded in crystals, with J’Aton designers explaining their inspiration: “Like Erin had emerged from the water dripping in the jewels of the sea.”

It was a laid-back look for the third dress, which she wore to the recovery celebration. Designers were after a “relaxed and effortless” look.

“Like a newly married Erin just picked up her husband’s shirt off the floor, put it on with her little couture tennis skirt, belted in her matching custom silk belt and went out with her husband to thank her guests and continue celebrations,” the designers said.

The pair originally planned to wed on June 13, 2020, and postponed to December 5 because of COVID-19 restrictions, only to postpone again because of cricket commitments.

Ben Cutting and Erin Holland's full bridal party featuring cricketer Usman Kawaja

They saw a small window of opportunity in Cutting’s cricketing schedule in February and made it happen.

Cutting, a former Brisbane Heat player, came out of a two-month Big Bash League bubble, in which he now plays for the Sydney Thunder, not long before the wedding and left three days after their big day to play cricket in Pakistan and India for four months.

Whenever international travel returns, the couple plans to honeymoon in
the Maldives.

Celeb guests included Amber and Jeremy Laidlaw, Keiren and Charlotte Jack, Ryan and Cheree Harris. Erin Holland and Ben Cutting's wedding at Elements of Byron, February 13, 2021. Picture: Bayleigh Vedelago

What was the standout moment of the day? Erin: I can’t go past the moment I walked down the aisle, among all the family and friends we had been trying to have in the same place since our May 2019 engagement to finally seeing Ben’s face grinning at me at the end of the aisle. It was such a long time coming, it was all I could not to leg it down the aisle in joy!

What would you do differently? I would’ve had an engagement party, if I had somehow known it would be such a long and arduous journey to eventually get married. As we had originally planned to get married within the year, plus Ben and I were overseas with cricket tournaments for a fair whack of 2019, we thought it would be too much to expect our guests to attend an engagement followed by a wedding only a few months later. Boy, were we wrong!

Erin Holland in her third J'Aton designer gown. Picture: Bayleigh Vedalago

One thing you wish people told you about planning a wedding? Corona threw us curve balls right up until the night before (Melbourne five-day lockdown) but honestly none of it mattered once the day arrived and I finally got to marry my person, and that truly ended up being all that mattered.

When did you decide to change plans? Back in the end of March 2020, Ben and I had just returned from a tournament in Pakistan and were in quarantine, and I was having many sleepless nights as we grappled with the reality of COVID-19 being the serious, life-altering event it was, and whether or not a wedding in June was feasible. As the weeks drew on, it became obvious that life was going to look very different for the foreseeable future. It was so incredibly emotionally tough to make the decision, as not only were we stuck as to when a new date would work in with the uncertainty of our work, but struggling with the realisation of a global pandemic. Eventually we decided we wanted as many of our family and friends as were originally invited to be able to safely attend, so we pushed back to December 5, 2020.

Changing again because of the cricket scheduled was not fun.

How did you feel third time lucky? It wasn’t ideal in that Ben has had to leave immediately after for the best part of four months but I am so relieved it happened and it was everything I could’ve hoped for.

What helped you cope with the stress? The wonderful people in my life. Ben was incredibly supportive (the eternal optimist), my wonderful vendors who somehow made the date transitions work time after time, or managed to find me just as wonderful replacements if they couldn’t, and our super accommodating guests who had to book three lots of accommodation and flights — we are so grateful!

Advice for other couples? I know it’s easier said than done but try not to fight too much. It’s such a financially and emotionally difficult time to navigate, let alone throwing in trying to plan one of the most important days of your life. I was a bit of a terror in bits and pieces, so I really owe my friends and family and, of course, Ben for keeping me sane. It will happen and it will be beautiful, I promise.