Kristy and Adam Brandt,
Married Friday, 11 November 2011

I opened my eyes on the morning of 11/11/11. My beautiful Nan walked into the room singing 'Chapel of love' to me, followed by my mum and bridesmaids wishing me a Happy Wedding day. I had so many butterflies of excitement I was bouncing. Today I will be marrying my best friend of 13 years and I couldn't wait.

The morning of your wedding is the most incredible feeling, I wanted to make sure I enjoyed every second of the day, and that I did!! I had my hair and makeup done in a beautiful salon with my mum, bridesmaids and mother in-law, we had the salon to ourselves. It was a lot of fun and excitement to start the day. We enjoyed a few champagnes whilst being pampered.  

I decided to get room at the Crown Plaza located on the foreshore in Newcastle. I wanted a wondrous backdrop for photos and for getting dressed for my big day, along with my mum, dad, bridesmaids and flower girl. I felt it made the day more special for Adam and I to return as husband and wife and spend our Wedding night there.

My dress was an exquisite Maggie Sottero design; it was strapless with a sweetheart neckline, Swarovski crystals above the waist and had ruching that enveloped the bodice down to below the waist where it fell into a balloon hem. My Bridesmaids wore an A-line dress that had a ruched bodice with one shoulder ruffle, in a light teal colour.  

My husband, Adam spent the night before our wedding at our house. He spent some of the wedding morning completing final details for the reception, but mostly relaxing, having a few games of pool and a few beers with his groomsmen prior to leaving for the ceremony. Adam and his groomsmen wore light grey suits with white pinstripe. The Groomsmen wore ties to match the bridesmaid dresses, Adam wore a white tie.

Our ceremony, lo cated in a 'Rotunda', overlooked the waters off beautiful Dudley beach in Newcastle; it is very popular spot for weddings. A black Dodge Nitro Limousine escorted my mum, dad, bridesmaids, flower girl and I to the ceremony where we stepped onto a long red carpet leading up to the Rotunda.

I walked down the aisle to the song 'Everything I do'- by Bryan Adams, this is a very special song to both of us. This moment holds one of the most memorable experiences of the day for me personally, seeing my soon to be husband's face as I walked towards him....I felt my heart melt.

After our ceremony we had photos taken on the beach at Red Head, we then left for our reception at Fort Scratchley where we had family photos taken.

There was never any question, where we would hold our reception. Fort Scratchley has magnificent views over the ocean and Newcastle city. It has a timber deck that our guests were able to enjoy canapÈs and pre-dinner drinks before we arrived. This location also holds a very special meaning to us in that it is not far from the exact place Adam proposed to me on Christmas Day 2010.

A few months prior to the wedding Adam and I decided for the bridal party to enter the reception in a unique way. We chose a different song for each groomsman to suit their personality. As this was a surprise for the bridal party, we chose to tell them just before we were about to enter the reception. We didn't reveal what song would be played for them, only that to have fun with it and play it up the best you can. It went down a scream, everyone was clapping and laughing.

Our reception was exceptional and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We spent most of the night dancing with friends and family. My Husband dedicated the most beautiful speech that made me feel so special and brought tears to my eyes; I feel so blessed to have him and can't wait to embrace our future together.

I have absolutely no regrets, and wouldn't change one thing about our 'special' day. The weather was perfect, the venue was perfect, and most of all sharing this day with our friends and family was the most important thing to us. All our hard work in planning had paid off, I was relieved and thrilled at the same time.

On reflection, my wedding day surpassed all my expectations; it was everything I could have dreamed of, and more.