It was an unexpected meeting between two souls which sparked a relationship that will last a lifetime.
The chemistry between James and
Christina was undeniable when their paths crossed. Christina was first drawn to
James’ eyes; however, it was Christina’s personality that captured her future husband’s
attention.
Their love of outdoors and
spending time adventuring together, created for the perfect set up James needed
for the proposal!
“Christina had no idea it was
about to happen! We were just walking along a quiet beach, talking and laughing
together before we stopped to cuddle to take in the moment.
“I asked her to close her eyes as I got on one knee to pop the big question. When she opened her eyes, she said YES with tears of happiness in her eyes”
Our bride and groom were surrounded by their family and loved ones on Wednesday 25 September, a date that marked Christina’s late grandmother’s birthday. The family spirit together with memories of those lost were dearly cherished, as they celebrated the beginning of a new love.
Tell us about your
favourite detail from your wedding day!
“We kept with tradition and decided not to see one another leading into the wedding (from the night before). It was really special to have a little kiss when I [Christina] arrived at the ceremony before we started the formalities!
“We wrote our own vows for the ceremony as well which was another favourite part. My [Christina] favourite vow of James’ was “Christina I join my life to yours, not merely as your husband, but as your best friend”.
“All of the vows were my
favourite” [James].
James managed to hold back the tears as his gorgeous bride walked towards him for the ceremony. Though, for his proud Mum and best mate they were unable to contain their tears!
Christina was absolutely glowing as she walked down the aisle, holding onto her dads’ arm. And finding a wedding dress was easy for our bride! It was the second dress that Christina saw and when she tried it on, she just knew it was the one!
Wedding planning was stress free, as both Christina and James knew exactly what it was that they wanted for their wedding day. With easy going wedding planning, came easy going and incredibly helpful vendors; helping to make the day so memorable.
The couple made special mention
of Kellie, their photographer, who captured the many special moments of the day.
“We loved that Kel was so easy
to deal with, and so professional for our wedding day. Among all of the
emotions and excitement of the day she was also great to have a laugh with as
well!”
So, what did Kellie have to say about Christina & James’ wedding day?
“James and Christina were so
relaxed and easy going during both the planning phase and on their wedding day.
“They completely trusted in me to take them on an adventure to some amazing locations for beautiful portraits. Christina told me what she had her heart set on for their photographs, one being a dirt road with a tree canopy. I spent time scouting the perfect location for her, which happened to be exactly eight minutes from their ceremony.
“We then travelled another eight minutes to the last location for the last of the golden light for their sunsets.
“With a few beers in hand it was the perfect way to end the day and start the party before heading back to the reception.”
Christina and James wanted to convey a special thanks to their Celebrant Roxanne too!
“Rox is easy going and very helpful,
making our wedding ceremony extra special.”
Wishing Christina and James all the very best for their lives together as husband and wife.
They
say rain on your wedding day is good luck, so without a doubt these two love
birds are going to be swimming in luck for the rest of their marriage. While
their wedding plans went out the window, Sarah and John clearly had the time of
their lives surrounded by the love of their family and friends.
I have been fortunate to have looked through multiple photos from Sarah and John’s engagement shoot, to wedding, also sitting at my screen in tears watching their incredibly emotional wedding video. From what I have learned about Sarah and John is that they love having a great time.
They
started their lives together with a crazy adventure and often get caught up in
the moment.
Tell
us all about the proposal!
We were at a
friend’s wedding having the time of our lives on the dance floor when John
quite unexpectedly turned to me and asked me to marry him. It was a shock to us
both.
Completely
unplanned, but it was so perfect and completely us. There was no fuss, no ring,
no down on one knee just two people so incredibly happy in that moment.
We had to keep the whole thing a secret from everyone for over a month so we could coordinate a trip home so John could ask for Dad’s permission. Luckily, Dad was more than happy; it would have a been a little awkward if he wasn’t!
John designed a custom-made ring with Starfire Diamond Jewellery. Before meeting with Jeni from Starfire, the experience of creating a one of a kind rings wasn’t very enjoyable, as other vendors were more difficult to deal with. However, his mind was instantly put at ease when he and Jeni started laying out stones and looking through his inspiration images, creating drawings of what John had pictured.
John then ‘proposed’
to me one afternoon as we were marking out our reception layout. We were
standing under the trees on my parents’ property when he asked! I was so
distracted by my stunning ring that our dog ate a whole bag of treats that John
had left on the chair to try get a photo of the three of us.
As I mentioned, a few tears have been shed while watching Sarah and John’s wedding video, with their wedding vows hitting me right in the feels – every time! If there is one thing that possibly means the most, yet is the biggest challenge of a wedding, it is capturing and delivering the words that genuinely bring about the feelings you have for your significant other.
Sarah and John chose
to write their own vows.
Our vows to one
another were extremely personal and heartfelt. I think we would have been more
comfortable doing a private vow reading rather than doing it in front of all
our guests. It is so hard to put into words the feelings you have when you’re
lucky enough to have a love like ours. We don’t really have just one favourite
verse or line.
John’s mum read a verse about friendship, which was perfectly fitting for us as a couple because people always describe us more as best mates.
What was the biggest
obstacle you had to overcome in planning your wedding?
Toilets!! Hiring
toilets and showers in Central Queensland is so hard. We ended up using CQ
Septic, but even being the best of anyone we found, these guys were still
difficult to work with.
And accommodation
for a private property… We were keen on the glamping wed-fest vibe for our
wedding. Being held on a property, we figured most of our families would camp.
But for our older guests, and some of our ’fancy’ friends we wanted to organize
accommodation in luxury.
We were determined
to not have a party ending bus back to town or to have people driving back to
town that night.
After looking into
glamping it became apparent that there was a real hole in the market for
anywhere north of the Sunshine Coast. Most of the quotes, including travel,
where ridiculous! We’re talking almost $1000 per tent for a couple of nights
after travel was added in.
So, we started a
business… Glamping is now in CQ! #PITCHNTENTS.
If anyone has a
toilet and shower company that wants to join forces give us a yell. Seriously,
do!
While
the rain tried to dampen their spirits, it didn’t manage to win the battle! Of
course, their venue held a lot of sentimental value, and many plans were made
around the memories and beauty of the property. Sarah and John knew long before
they were engaged that they wanted to celebrate their wedding amongst the
Bauhinia trees at the farm, with the bold bottle tree beside their ceremony.
While
some of the beauty felt lost, the memories created from the adventure of wet
weather will be remembered (and talked about) for a long time to come!
What was your
favourite moment from your wedding?
There were so many
moments that really make us smile when we think about our day!
As we went to sign
our marriage certificate our dog jumped onto the couch, muddy paws and all, just
to ensure he was the center of attention.
As were about the
enter our reception area we saw most of the boys climbing trees in their suits,
hanging tarps before moving tables and chairs! Thank goodness we have so many
campers in our group of friends!
What advice do you
have for couples currently planning a wedding?
You do you. This
became one of our favourite sayings when planning the wedding. It was almost a
‘I have no idea what you’re talking about, but you seem happy so do it’. Also,
the perfect way to diffuse any silly arguments when planning.
In all honesty, do what
makes you happy. It was so great for us coming out of one wedding (Sarah was a
bridesmaid) and straight into planning our own. We knew instantly some of the
things that we didn’t want. When we had an idea or found something we liked, we
just locked it in and rolled with it. No over thinking, and no going back to
redo things.
No schedules
anywhere! I mean we even had two MC’s no script or structure just them
drunkenly thinking things and being entertaining.
Also, no matter what
goes wrong on the day you won’t really care! Our whole wedding was completely
turned on its head and is the most magical day of our lives; even though it was
nothing like what we had planned.
Of
course, there are always those special vendors, or extra helpers, that go out
of their way to make a couple’s wedding extra special.
Are there any vendors
or loved ones that you would like to thank for playing a major role in your
wedding?
The
whole setup crew (our bridal party and friends) and generally our guests for
being such good sports about the rain with no shelter. Cue the dance movie
inspired spraying of water across the dance floor!
Odes
Studios and Star Fire! These girls felt like my other bridesmaids and fantastic
girlfriends. You know when you meet some people and you just click, well that
is Ash (Ode studios) and Jeni (Starfire). Thank you so much.
Tahem
studios and Golden Child! These guys were the real heroes of the day. The
ladies from Tahem, stayed in the rain filming our day with a smile on their
faces, laughing through the rain with us. The guys from Golden Child started
the night with an unplanned rain themed set that got everyone in the most
amazing vibe. Thank you!
Vendors / Suppliers:
Venue: Private property in Alton Downs where Sarah grew up, this is also where Sarah’s parents were married Photographer:Ode studios Videographer:TAHEM Productions and Sundown Film Photography Dress: Jennifer Gifford Designs Bridesmaid Dressed by: Jarlo London and Nine West Groom and Best Man dressed by: Oxford and Tommy Hilfiger Jewellery, Earrings and Wedding rings: Starfire diamond Jewellery Styling: Us! We spent 18 months of collecting and utilizing items we already had Glamping Village:Pitch’N Tents Stationery:Fielding Milligan Celebrant:Sandra Drake – Sandra’s Ceremonies Entertainment:Golden Child Entertainment Catering:Tall Poppy Catering Cake: Sprinkle Me Hair: NG Hair Makeup:Bloom Makeup Artistry Car hire: Used the grooms and bride’s brother’s car for the bridal party and John’s family friend/Uncle Peter also trailered his restored model A ford up for a bridal car from Toowoomba! Drinks: Selected from our favourite vineyards from our whirlwind holidays Flowers: purchased from Rocklea flower markets. Our incredible bridesmaid and her boyfriend drove them up the day before the wedding. Florals were assembled by Sarah and her maids the night before the wedding. Tans:RNA and The Wax Shack Nails:Amelia’s salon Bathrooms and Showers:CQ Septic
Whenever I have viewed photos of weddings at the iconic and beautiful Catholic Cathedral I have hoped to be lucky enough to write about such an occasion.
Needless to say, it was a great joy to have Anna and Corey’s wedding sent through from the very talented Madelyn Holmes Photographics.
You may have seen a gorgeous sneak peak of Anna and Corey’s Wedding from Madelyn’s Facebook page (they currently feature as her cover photo), so here is a little perspective from her side of the camera to kick off our blog!
From the photographer:
The more weddings I photograph, the more I have come to appreciate the small touches and traditions couples tie in to really make the day their own. No doubt, Anna and Corey’s marriage was rich with such details.
Anna wears her great grandmother’s ring as her engagement ring, gifted accessories and her preparation images feature her grandmother’s beautiful antique chair placed in the front garden of her childhood home.
The pair were married in the same church as the bride’s parents years before (and we also recreated an image of her father putting on her veil from their wedding), which happened to be the groom’s school grounds as well.
The classic styling mixed tastefully with a little pop of colour made Anna and Corey’s wedding a truly elegant affair and an absolute pleasure to capture; even a sprinkling of rain couldn’t dampen their day.
Anna and Corey’s story of love…
Social media plays a large role in our everyday lives, and just when you think you have seen all the ‘suggested friends’ on the never-ending carousel, a complete stranger catches your eye.
Anna popped up on Corey’s ‘suggested friends’ list, and he decided to throw caution to the wind and click the add button.
After a few screenshots and various conversations with girlfriends, Anna accepted Corey’s request and they began planning their first few dates.
While the dates started out a little awkward, Anna knew that the quiet guy she met on their first date was going to be a significant part of her life.
Corey’s first impression is one all of us girls love, stating that he first thought of how gorgeous she was (queue the ‘nawwwws’).
Proposal stories always surprise me, and I have to admit I love the intimate and somewhat nervous proposals.
Proposal stories don’t always go as planned with nerves sometimes taking away from the element of surprise. As such, this was the case with Corey’s proposal. Anna tells us why…
The morning of the proposal Corey became very indecisive, so I knew something was up. We did a trip up to Stockyard Point – Five Rocks, Byfield. He asked if I wanted to go to the cliff edge and I said no because I had already seen the cliff face, then I started tucking into some burger rings. He gave me a look that told me I should get up.
We got to the cliff face and there were sea turtles and a big ship cruising past, we had been mucking around laughing until Corey settled the moment by saying “Ok, ok, time for a serious chat.”
He popped the question and I went into hysterics laughing and eventually blurted out YES. Even now I’m not a hundred percent sure what the exact wording was but I’m pretty sure there was something about being an adventure buddy for life.
Anna and Corey set to organising their wedding, between shifts and not-so-great phone service, as Corey worked out of town Monday to Friday.
The intimate details of Anna and Corey’s wedding have been highlighted throughout their wedding, and all of the little moments throughout the day captured the nature of both bride and groom.
Anna wanted to wear her mother’s wedding dress; which had originally been her grandmother’s dress and made by her great grandmother. Unfortunately, due to time and age, the fabric had discoloured and was unable to be saved.
Anna made the decision to book an appointment with the ladies at Gladstone Bridal Boutique and found a perfect dress for her big day!
Thanks to the dedicated team at the Rockhampton Heritage Village, Anna and Corey were able to relax and settle into their reception with almost one hundred of their family, friends and loved ones. They danced the night away under the fairy lights and enjoyed the stories from loved ones during speeches.
Anna and Corey would like to say a massive thanks to Julie (Bride’s Mum), as their wedding would not have happened if it weren’t for her help and support.
Vendors / Suppliers:
Photographer:Madelyn Holmes Photographics
Florist: Simplicity Market Fresh Flowers
Hair Stylist: Downtown Diva
Makeup Artist:Jessica Bielenberg
Wedding Dress: Gladstone Bridal Boutique
Bridesmaid’s Dresses: Gladstone Bridal Boutique
Suits: Swarv Menswear
Ceremony: St. Joseph’s Cathedral
Priest: Monsignor / Father Grace
Reception: The Shearing Shed, Rockhampton’s Heritage Village
