Amanda and Brett

Basking in the sunshine of Hamilton Island with today’s gorgeous wedding feels like the perfect treat!

Amanda explains why the couple chose the picturesque spot for their wedding inviting only 50 of their family and friends. “After almost 9 years together, Brett & I decided on Hamilton Island in the beautiful Whitsundays.  Hamilton Island is close to home and one of our favourite places to holiday. We really wanted our friends and family to relax (the island has that effect on you from the moment you stop off the jetty), enjoy the island and share a couple of days together.”

Photos today are by Lisa Michele Burns. Lisa, based in one of the most beautiful parts of the world never fails to gobsmack me with her beautiful wedding captures of landscapes that seem out of a movie and then, with a newlywed couple against it! Lisa knows how to make the most of her surroundings and I love stepping into her dream.

Amanda wore a gown from Hills In Hollywood, Mackay where the bridesmaids gowns were also purchased. Amanda recalls “My dress was the first thing I found and definitely not what I had imagined.  I wore a white strapless, slim fitted gown which had satin ruches asymmetrically throughout the entire gown and a soft, caught-up skirt with swirling details which was the feature of the gown.  It had just arrived and the store owner asked if I would mind trying it on for her, I fell in love with it before I even put it on!

My dress had no beading apart from a couple of crystals on the buttons down the back so I really wanted my jewellery to sparkle.  I found it hard to locate good quality, reasonably priced bridal jewellery in Australia so I ended up purchasing crystal teardrop earrings with a matching solid crystal bangle online from US bridal jewellery stockist TEJANI.  When they arrived I was so happy with the quality that I decided to spend a little extra on my bridesmaids jewellery and ordered them each a set of crystal teardrop stud earrings that matched mine as a gift.  My sister still hasn’t taken hers out!

The bridesmaids wore strapless, full length turquoise blue gowns which tied in nicely with the gorgeous turquoise ocean that the Whitsundays is renowned for.”

The girls used Hamilton Island Hair & Beauty for their wedding day look. Amanda explains “My sister (who was also my Maid of Honour) is a hairdresser and offered to do our hair but I didn’t want her spending the whole day “working” so I used the island’s salon.  My hair is long so I wanted it down & loosely curled.  My sister did a quick hair trial for me and the girls a couple of weeks before the wedding and we decided that the girls hair would be nice swept loosely and pinned to the side but we left the styling to the girls at the salon and they did a wonderful job.”

My favourite part of Amanda and Brett’s wedding day? (apart from the scenery, the marriage and all the good stuff?) The transport! Amanda tells, “Golf buggies!!!  The island is quite hilly so the main method of transport (and half the fun!) is golf buggies.   My good friend Gayle and her mother decorated the three buggies with some white & turquoise tulle that I bought and a custom order sticker that Gayle had specially made which said “Brett ❤Amanda”.  We drove so slow and beeped the horns all the way to the chapel.  Everyone was cheering as we crept through town and my dad kept yelling out “my daughter’s getting married”.”

Amanda and Brett were married at All Saints Chapel, Hamilton Island and used Floral Collections for their floral arrangements. Amanda says “Our florist was AMAZING!  All I wanted was white roses and plenty of rose petals & tealights.  After months of emails back and forth, I walked into her store on the island and felt totally at ease.  She asked me if I wanted her to run through everything and I only said yes because I felt obliged!  I remember thinking to myself “I trust you, do whatever you like”!  She basically styled our whole wedding from the chapel to the reception.”

Lisa remarks, “I am not the girl that spent her childhood daydreaming about what my wedding would be like.  In fact, I hadn’t had a single thought about it until we got engaged.  I spent many, many, many hours trawling through wedding websites and buying every single bridal magazine that came out putting pressure on myself to find a “theme” until one day I realised that I had seen a million weddings and not one was identical to the other.  Finally I realised that I just wanted it to look and feel romantic, intimate & magical which is reflective of our relationship.”

Amanda and Brett held their reception at the Hamilton Island Yacht Club. Amanda remarks, “We hired the Ketch Room at the new Hamilton Island Yacht Club which has roof to floor glass windows overlooking the ocean.  The entire room was overfilled with rose petals, tealights and beautiful scented candles which were set up by our florist.  I will never forget the beautiful smell and feeling I had when we stepped into that room as husband and wife in front of all our closest friends and family.”

The reception was full of lovely moments. Amanda recalls “Brett organised dance lessons 2 WEEKS before the wedding.  Our first dance was to “At Last” by Beyonce and was a little bit sexy!  None of our family or guests had any idea that we had taken lessons and cheered us on throughout our little routine!   Even though it was a little stressful 2 weeks before the wedding I am so grateful that Brett organised it as it was something fun that we could do together before the wedding and he took it very seriously (well, serious for Brett!) which meant a lot to me.  We can’t wait for our DVD to arrive so we can actually watch it!

Our best man also provided some “surprise” entertainment during his wedding speech when he decided that words weren’t enough and played “Thing’s you don’t say to your wife” by Tim Hawkins.  The whole room burst into fits of laughter as they related each verse to their own relationship!”

The food was a focal point of the reception. Amanda explains “We had a 3 course alternate drop menu and the food and service was absolutely amazing!  It was very important to me that everyone was well fed and had plenty to drink so when our family & friends kept visiting our table between meals to tell us how delicious every meal was and saying how great the service was from the staff it was a very proud and gratifying moment after all the hard work that I had put in to making our day perfect.

We had a 3 tiered mud cake which was turquoise blue (to match in with the girls dresses), white & silver which had custom made Swarovski crystal monogram A&B toppers from Crystal Couture.  The bottom layer was chocolate, middle layer caramel and the top layer was choc cherry which is our favourite so we have kept it for our first wedding anniversary or our first child’s christening…whichever comes first ;)”

Congratulations Amanda and Brett! Thank you for allowing us to share your wedding day on Polka Dot Bride! Thank you also to by Lisa Michele Burns for sharing today’s photographs!