The Romance
Mitch and I have known each other since we were kids, when our families would make annual trips to Elanda Point; a camping ground on the Sunshine Coast. Alongside his younger sisters, we spent most of our days adventuring through the forests, swimming and buying lollies from the canteen together.
Many years later we met up at a mutual friend’s party, we talked for hours and our love for each other began to grow. Since then we have been inseparable, I never knew it could be possible to love someone this much. Over the past 5 years Mitchell has enriched my life with his humility, kindness and witty humour and I couldn’t ask for anyone better to live life with.
The Proposal
From early on in our relationship, Mitch and I talked of marriage and kids and were living together after a year of dating. So, as we had already planned to spend the rest of our lives together, a proposal was no surprise, but just very exciting. In the early hours of a Saturday morning on November 26th, 2016 Mitch woke me telling me that we were going on an adventure. I had no idea what we were doing, but Mitch drove us to the Gold Coast, where we boarded a hot air balloon. As the sun was rising at 3,000 feet above the beautiful Gold Coast hinterlands, nervous as anything, Mitch asked me to be his wife and of course I said yes!
The Planning
Planning your wedding day is hard work, but completely worth it in the end. We had about seven months to plan our wedding, it was stressful at times but Mitch was a great support and we really enjoyed doing it together. Almost everything at our wedding was handmade, as we had a lot of time and helpers, but not much money. We really enjoyed making our DIY decorations because it made the wedding day so much more special and unique for everyone. We spent many days and late nights with my bridesmaids decorating second-hand jars, making signs out of wood palates and just spending time together, which I will cherish forever.
The Wedding Day
Our wedding day was Saturday 24th of June, 2017, which was also Mitch’s 25th birthday! We honestly couldn’t have asked for a better day, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, the beautiful country sunshine was beaming and the winter air was fresh and crisp.
We had booked out some cottages for our whole wedding party to thank them for all their hard work. The comfortable cottage we stayed in allowed me to spend some quality time with my bridesmaids and family, creating memories to remember. The morning was so lovely, we spent the time relaxing, drinking wine and nibbling on cheeses and chocolate whilst we got our hair, makeup and photos done. The morning of the wedding, Mitch and his groomsmen went to set up the ceremony and then went back to their loft in Montville to enjoy a few beers together, suit up and get some photos by an old rustic barn.
That day, Mitch and I both felt very nervous and excited to get married. We didn’t see each other prior to the ceremony but had agreed to write letters to each other to ease anxiety. It was such an intimate experience to read his letter on the day of our wedding, he always knows exactly what to say to calm my nerves and fill me with love.
The Ceremony
Our ceremony was held outdoors in a grassy gully surrounded by hills and cattle just outside Obi Obi Hall in the Sunshine Coast hinterlands. The ceremony setup was rustic vintage with stacks of old suitcases and wood cut-offs topped with jars of baby’s breath flowers. There were old wooden chairs bowed with hessian and lace, and an aisle runner with drooped chiffon leading to a flower and lace covered wooden arbour.
Some of our talented musical friends played us some live acoustic music for the ceremony, it was beautiful. My mum walked me down the aisle to an acoustic rendition of ‘Married Life’ from the movie UP as my flower girls threw some petals. I adored our vows, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house, the atmosphere was so relaxed and emotional and I just didn’t want it to end.
The Reception
We had our reception inside a rustic barn called Obi Obi Hall, it was decorated with fairy lights, vintage bunting, wine barrels and a rustic wooden backdrop. Thanks to the help of our wedding party, each table was pedantically set out with wood rounds, jars of assorted flowers and handmade menu’s pegged to neatly folded napkins. We had such a fun night celebrating our marriage with our closest family and friends, dancing the night away to some tunes by our talented musical friends.
It all went so quickly, but we are glad to have some beautiful wedding shots by Ben and Hope photography to remember the moments and Storyteller Films did an excellent job capturing all the hilarious and heartfelt speeches. The sparkler send-off left us both on an emotional high, we couldn’t have asked for a better day to spend with family and friends and couldn’t believe it was all over.
As a whole, our wedding was such a lovely day to remember and went almost exactly to plan, so I wouldn’t change a thing. If anything I wish I could’ve just stressed less, it may have made the moments a little more enjoyable. But overall it was a beautiful day to celebrate with family and friends, which we will cherish for the rest of our lives.
The Honeymoon
After our wedding, we were able to go on a short honeymoon in Maleny with the money gratefully gifted to us in our wishing well. It was a calm and relaxing holiday, everything we’d hoped it would be after months of stress and lack of sleep. We spent most of our time in Maleny going on bushwalks, visiting waterfalls, browsing through boutique shops and sitting by the fire of an evening roasting marshmallows. Whilst it was low budget, and nothing too exciting, we wouldn’t trade it for the world, it was exactly what we needed.
Wedding Advice ...
Number one priorities for us were good photographers and videographers, unfortunately with these vendors you very much get what you pay for. Years down the road you won’t remember the food or wear the dress again but you will look at the photos and re-watch videos. So you can relive those beautiful, untouched memories all over again, it was one of the best decisions we made.
Also, remember it’s your wedding, do it exactly how you and your partner want it done, don’t let other people monopolize the decisions made. When you look back on your day, you want to be proud that you made the best decisions for each other and you had the day you’d both dreamed of and more. But most of all have some fun, wedding planning can be stressful, but every now and then be sure to just spend some quality time with each other, because that’s what matters most.
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