An outdoor DIY wedding in Queensland

An outdoor DIY wedding in Queensland

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J e s s i c a & N a t h a n

{ALL IMAGES SARAH FOUNTAIN WEDDINGS}

F R O M T H E B R I D E ...

The Meeting...

I was working for Flight Centre and Nathan had just started with Driveaway Holidays, a company we frequently work with. Nathan was meeting with my office over breakfast at a café to go over a product but I had forgotten about the meeting and came in late (with a Redbull in hand, trying to pretend like I wasn't late). Nathan jokingly told me that I couldn't order as the orders were already taken.

Back in the office after the meeting I said to my colleagues "well he's a bit of a spunk, you think he's married?" It wasn't until a couple of months later at our Flight Centre End of Financial Year meeting at Jupiter's Casino that I saw him again. I approached him to say hello and apologise for being so late on our first meeting. We had a great night and continued to hangout together and the rest is really history!

The Engagement...

We got engaged at Tallebudgera Creek while taking our dogs for a run. I was completely oblivious to the fact that he had a little jewellery box on him! We walked over the rock walkway where he pulled out the jewellery box, got down on his knee and asked me to marry him. However, because he is such a joker the jewellery box had a necklace not a ring in it and I started laughing and asked what's going on! Turns out he bought this necklace for me during an overseas trip and thought we would rather design my ring together so I can get exactly what I want. I designed a vintage looking, princess cut ring with fine detail.

The Wedding Theme...

We wanted something small and casual so we could spend time with the special people in our lives. I love the "old school vintage look" and thought it would be perfect for our wedding. We decided to have a picnic, where people could relax in a bush setting on rugs, enjoy delicious food and mingle-all while wearing vintage outfits. We have two young boys and a lot of our friends have kids so it was important for us to have a kid friendly wedding and involve everyone. Both our ceremony and reception were at Currumbin Valley in Queensland and our colour scheme was natural tones with burnt orange and olive green.

Pre-wedding celebrations...

We didn't get a chance for any pre-wedding celebrations! We were madly trying to set everything up the day and night before because we did it all ourselves. Thank goodness for my mum since I couldn't have done it without her and she kept me sane.

The Bridal Party...

I had two bridesmaids, my older sister Melanie and my best friend Miranda. Nathan also had two groomsmen, his best mates from his childhood. My bridesmaids wore olive green pleated maxi dresses with brown woven belts. My sister wore tan boots and my friend wore tan wedge high heels. Nathan's groomsmen wore orange and blue tartan tailored shirts, beige skinny jeans with black shoes and vintage looking hats.

The Gown...

I wanted a vintage look for my dress and something that was unique. I simply used Google to search for dresses and eventually found one that I loved. I showed the picture to a work friend's mum as she runs Svetlana Dressmaking and asked if she could make it for me. She was amazing to work with and the end product was even better than I imagined!

The Flowers...

I did a lot of the flowers myself as I wanted a more earthy and natural look to add to the vintage theme. I collected reeds and put it all together. I wanted to make my bouquets since I wanted it to look like I simply picked a bunch of flowers from a garden. I contacted a florist, House of Holland on Chevron Island, on the Tuesday before the wedding to help me with the finishing touches. The end product was burnt orange and yellow roses with elements of green and yellow.

Wedding Décor...

We had a white marque with trestle tables set up that were decorated with old cake stands, plates, cups, teacups and vases. We added vintage suitcases, rabbit traps from my farm, vintage knitting needles and lots of old looking things like jam jars and milk jugs with paper straws.

We had wooden signs and we placed jam jars wrapped with lace at the bottom that we lit at night. We also had rope lights that hung in the surrounding trees. For our guests we placed picnic rugs around the venue on the grass along with the Mr & Mrs pillows, where guests could sit back and relax.

The Photographer...

We worked with Sarah Fountain Weddings and found her by using a website quoting site. I looked at her website and really liked her style. She was so great to work with and I highly recommend her. She managed to capture all shots plus all the details of our special day. We really love how she captured everything from our décor to the venue, our portraits and our guests having a good time.

The Menu...

We had a picnic theme so we served finger food that can be shared. I love to cook so I made a lot of food for the picnic. I decided to serve:

  • Mini Sausage rolls
  • Tomato, roasted capsicum fetta fritters
  • Mini creamy chicken asparagus pies
  • Cut sandwiches - Chicken mayo fresh herbs, Gherkin spread and cheese, ham and pickle, beef and horseradish,
  • French onion dip
  • Balsamic/oil with dukkah dip
  • Hummus and sundried tomato hummus
  • An assortment of cheeses, dips & antipasto
  • Carrot and banana cake
  • Corn fritters

We supplied our guests with mini cutting boards so that they could enjoy their food. We organised Paces Paella for later in the evening, who made amazing paella for everyone on site.

I pretty much decorated the entire venue and did a lot of DIY for the décor, from the wedding arch, wooden signs to the picnic rugs and cushions. I searched second hand shops for vintage looking plates and doilies and made our seating from hessian covered milk crates and sleepers. I made the cake stands from old teacups and vintage plates. I also built vintage lawn games like corn bag toss, Quoits and I had my niece do face painting at the reception.

I made our cake, a singled tiered cake, which we placed on a bird cage stand and with lots of cup cakes from Cakebiz in Bundall around it.

Wedding Favours...

We wanted to give all of our guests something that they could take home and love long after the wedding. We decided to grow Jade plants in small tins (I again asked Google for direction as I'm no gardener!). We decorated the small plants with a vintage knitting needle and a "love grows" tag. We liked the plant idea since Jade symbolises friendship, good luck and prosperity.

Memorable Moments...

Riding in on my vintage looking cruiser bike with my 1 year old son Nixon and my bouquet in the basket was unforgettable! It was such a beautiful moment with him laughing while I was riding towards the crowd in my wedding gown and meeting Nathan at the end. I became a bit emotional because it became really surreal and overwhelming seeing everyone waiting for us.

Nathan and Sarah honeymooned in Hawaii with their kids and are now living in Mermaid Beach in Queensland.

Suppliers: Flowers House of Holland Cake Cake Bitz Photographer Sarah Fountain Weddings Wedding gown Svetlana Dressmaking

MW x

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