Newlyweds shock with surprise name change

Instead of taking her husband’s last name - or the bride keeping her own - this Brisbane couple made a surprising decision about their married name.

4 min read

July 30, 2021 - 9:00AM

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When this lovely pair decided to tie the knot, they came up with a unique plan for their new married name.

Cassandra Lee Hall and Jason Lee Weidner before their nuptials, they made the decision to swap their shared middle names and their surnames and call themselves Mr and Mrs Lee.

“This means we can share a last name, whilst both still keeping our family names as a middle name, and both making the change together as equal partners,’’ Cassandra says.

Mr and Mrs Lee married on Friday May 14 at The Refinery in Newstead, in front of 40 guests.

The couple – who have been together for four years – shared the day with their “fur baby”, Mila, a three-year-old boston terrier.

The couple danced their first dance to You Make It Easy by Jason Aldean, and honeymooned in the Barossa and McLaren Vale in South Australia.

Wedding of Jason Lee Weidner and Cassandra Lee Hall. Picture: Bird and Boy Photography

How did you meet?

We met at the Crossfit Torian gym. After weeks of watching me in the class before his, Jason struck up a conversation.

He started small talk about me sneaking into an alternative entrance to get changed in an office space before entering the gym. I found him instantly handsome and charismatic – and along with Zoe, my best woman, we did a wee Facebook stalk to see photos with his ex, who I thought was a current girlfriend and immediately wrote him off as a love interest, just a nice fellow gym goer. Luckily he didn’t let me off that easy.

Wedding of Jason Lee Weidner and Cassandra Lee Hall. Picture: Bird and Boy Photography

He started messaging me and after I cleared up that he was in fact single, we chatted constantly for a few weeks.

We even had a three-hour phone call while he was in Sydney for a work trip. Now Jason’s a talker but me not so much. So having a three-hour phone call that I enjoyed was a unique and pleasant surprise!

Jason may tell you that I swooned for his cowboy poetry but, in reality, it was not that. I just loved his enthusiasm for life, his laugh and ability to make me laugh and that we seemed so aligned with our values and views.

I felt instantly comfortable with Jason, and that was an entirely new experience for me. We went on our first date soon after, and just didn’t really stop seeing each other.

Wedding of Jason Lee Weidner and Cassandra Lee Hall. Picture: Bird and Boy Photography

How did he propose?

Jason and I went for a long weekend away to Noosa. We did some of our favourite things – brunch on Noosa Main Beach, and walked along the Noosa National Park Coastal Walk. We decided to drive to Peregian Beach for the afternoon, reminiscing on how we had told each other we love one another there for the first time, about three years prior.

We were walking along the beach when Jason pulled out the ring, but he didn’t even get anything out before I tackled him.

When I finally let go, and the laughter subsided, he had his moment. There was not a second of hesitation. And for us that was just perfect.

Hen’s Night?

House party.

Buck’s Night?

Day trip to Noosa for surfing, barbecue and beers.

Wedding of Jason Lee Weidner and Cassandra Lee Hall. Picture: Bird and Boy Photography

What was the standout moment of the day?

The ceremony. Anna Russell from Celebrant Lady Love wrote up our love story following extensive questions from the both of us. It was so wonderful to have us relive our relationship and share it with everyone there on the day.

And the dance floor!

What would you do differently?

I can’t really think of anything, all the important things were there, and it was just wonderful.

Wedding of Jason Lee Weidner and Cassandra Lee Hall. Picture: Bird and Boy Photography

What would you spend more or less on?

It was a luxury with a small wedding to be able to afford to focus on quality. We are so thankful we spent the money on quality vendors – it truly made all the difference!

One thing you wish people had told you about planning a wedding?

I found that planning a wedding brought on lots of advice from those who had been through the process.

The best advice we received was to not get too caught up in the finer details, or let anything derail the day.

We were encouraged and managed to not lose sight of the real focus, which was the relationships, both Jason and mine, and ours with everyone who attended.

Wedding of Jason Lee Weidner and Cassandra Lee Hall. Picture: Bird and Boy Photography

Best advice for other couples planning a wedding?

It is about your relationship, not about the “perfect day”. If you can keep focus on what matters (and it’s not having every detail perfect), the day will, in fact, be perfect.

In short, don’t sweat the small stuff, don’t put more time or stress into the planning than you have to, pick good vendors and then leave them to work their magic.

And mentally prepare that it may all fall apart last minute. This means you need to really reflect and speak openly together about if you would be OK should a lockdown or other restriction occur the day of your wedding.

Think about what’s most important to you, and what contingency you may have if the worst happens. If this idea or these options upset you too much, consider an advanced postponement so you’re not going to be stressing for months. Make your decision about whether you can take the gamble or not and then stick to it.