Belinda and Joel

Vintage inspired and Noosa are not normally two words I place together, but today’s wedding is such a delightful one, such a mix of vintage and new, heartfelt and joyous and a beautiful wedding to envelope yourself in. It’s full of vintage touches, the couple’s own modern style and unique loves.

Belinda recalls how she met her husband and how they ultimately decided to tie the knot. “We met at school (high-school sweethearts) –  I had been at Sutherland Shire Christian School from K-12 and Belinda came during year 10. We didn’t really talk much until the end of year 12 – we started chatting and one thing led to another. We were perfect match from the start – both spending heaps of time together before and after the HSC. We decided to go out afterwards and we never looked back – best 5 years of our lives!

We were up in Noosa, QLD in Dec 2009/Jan 2010 for a family holiday with Belinda’s sister Rachel and her boyfriend Adam and Robert and Lucy (B’s parents) and Rob’s grandparents. I proposed in the Noosa National Park at Tea Tree Bay, overlooking the beautiful Noosa beach and headlands. We walked through the national park for a while until I found a good place to get down on one knee, trying to hide the box in my pocket. I couldn’t say much apart from ‘Be with me for the rest of my life’ ‘will you marry me’ or something like that, shaking she hugged me said yes and I slipped the ring on!”

Photos today are by Marcus Bell of Studio Impressions. Marcus always uses his magic touch to capture the mood of the wedding time and time again – the stolen glances, the deep stomach churning emotion and the stunning backdrops.


Belinda wore a Johanna Johnson gown and veil and paired it with shoes from Verali. Belinda’s bridesmaids wore different gowns in shades of off white from Witchery, Kachel and Sportsgirl. Belinda and her bridesmaids carried a bouquet styled by Green & Bloom flowers.

Belinda’s hair was styled by Vicki Neilis of Silk Hair & Make-up, while her  cousin did the girls’ makeup for the day.

The groom and groomsmen wore suits from Politix.

Belinda and Joel chose the (now closed) venue The Plantation for their wedding. Belinda explains “We wanted our wedding to portray ourselves in a unique way. We wanted to get out of Sydney and do something different – not the traditional wedding. We wanted to celebrate our love outside surrounded by nature with the beautiful backdrop of The Plantation, with our close friends and family.” Belinda walked down the aisle to ‘You & Me’ by Lifehouse.

Matthew Murray married the couple. Belinda says “”During the vows and when Matt Murray said ‘you are now husband and wife’ it felt like we were actually married but there is so much going on during the whole day that you don’t think about it till the next day or the week after!”

Belinda and Joel planned the wedding together, an important part for them. Belinda says “All I can say is that it makes such a big difference when your partner helps with the planning so if they want to be involved plan together as it makes it much more special knowing that you were both involved.”

The photographs by the dam are some of Belinda’s favourites. She remarks, “We couldn’t have asked for a better photographer on the day. Marcus was unbelievable – he is so professional in the way he does things on the day but also is so friendly and talkative to Joel and Belinda. We enjoyed his company on the day as well as his eye for detail – and when the photos came back to us a month after the wedding we were absolutely loved all the images – they were stunning!

All the images were spectacular, especially the ones during the night that captured the emotions on peoples faces. We loved the shots down near the dam and behind the trees.”

Ideas In Icing created the two tier wedding cake. Family and friends provided the white blooms for the reception while the couple bought hanging glass votives from Ebay and glass vases from Ikea. The reception was catered by Noosa Catering.

When asked about her favourite moments of the day, Belinda says “Everything… it went quickly but it was all so special – I loved seeing the emotion and tears on the faces of people when we were doing the speeches. I loved sitting during the night and watching it all unfold and thinking about how much effort you put in the last year just for this one day! The most special part was probably the vows and the ceremony knowing how much it means giving your life to your soul mate. The vows were really special! I loved the food it was amazing – The Plantation was a beautiful setting and we got some awesome photos from our amazing photographer Marcus Bell! The dancing at the end of the night was also so much fun!”

The couple danced their romantic first dance to  ‘Lovely Tonight’ by Joshua Radin.

Congratulations Belinda and Joel! Thank you for sharing your wedding with us today in Polka Dot Bride! Thank you also to Marcus Bell of Studio Impressions. for sharing today’s photographs!