Austin and Jilly

Austin and I met over nine years ago. Our wedding was planned quite quickly (six months!) as my father was diagnosed with cancer in late 2010 and we didn’t know what the future held for him. Austin proposed three days before Dad underwent major surgery. The timing was so thoughtful and helped bring some sunshine to my family in a rather bleak and uncertain time. Dad came through well (cancer free now!) and having him walk me down the aisle was very emotional and so special.

My dress was designed and made by the wonderful Leonard Derecourt, who was a delight to work with. I’d travelled far and wide looking for the perfect dress, and ended up finding his boutique two blocks from the hospital I work at. My cute pink bow tow shoes came from BHLDN.

We were married on September the 17th, 2011, at the beautiful Mudgeeraba Showgrounds on the Gold Coast. Our celebrant was the beautiful and warm, Julie Rossouw (07 5547 5256) who was a mother of one of our friends. We were married under the branches of a beautiful old fig tree in a natural grotto down by the creek, and then moved over to the Show Hall for our reception.

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The boys all bought their own suits in different shades of grey, and tied them in with the same white shirts and thin black ties.  The girls wore the fabulous and versatile infinity dress by Coralie Beatrix which allowed them to wear their dress in a style that suited them best. One of my dear friends and bridesmaids, Erin, is a very talented hair and makeup artist and helped us get ready on the day.

We couldn’t have picked a better venue for the style of wedding we wanted.  From the outset I said that I wanted good food, good wine and one hell of a party surrounded by our nearest and dearest! All objectives were achieved with gusto. The hall was a a beautiful rustic canvas that we were able to decorate to complete our theme.

As a lover of all things old, cute and quirky I wanted this to show in our wedding. We collected vintage crockery and various decorations in the six month lead up. My in-laws, parents and friends all helped out and we managed to collect well over 130 dinner and side plates. To help set the scene, we borrowed some antique furniture. I’m fortunate to have a creative sister who was able to help me achieve my vision. Whilst it was a lot of work, I look at our photos and know that it was well worth the effort. My treasured friend and bridesmaid Ashlea is talented with flower decorations and made our beautiful arrangements and bouquets. The abundance of fresh flowers  added such a beautiful element to our day.

I’m crazy about food, so a lot of time was spent selecting the right caterer and menu. We chose Eat Drink Catering from Byron Bay  and our expectations were exceeded. Simon was most accommodating and was able to provide valuable advice not only on food, but styling and order of events. There are so many things to be considered when working with such a venue, that Simon’s service proved invaluable. We chose to have a mezze table served whilst guests mingled on the lawn, followed by canapes and then a feasting main menu that was served to guests at the table from platters. Some of the many dishes we chose were tempura zucchini flowers stuffed with chevre, pine nuts and pesto, mini beef wellingtons, half day baked Greek lamb and Italian vegetable open-top tart. A month on, and our friends are still talking about the food!

For dessert I styled a cake buffet. The cakes were out of this world and guests looked liked kids at a candy shop as they approached the table. We purchased our cakes from Boutique Bites. Liz gave us fantastic advice about styling the buffet, and couldn’t have been more helpful. A special family friend made our beautiful traditional wedding cake. We purchased our cute cake topper from ceramic artist Melabo. I was lucky to have my cousin as our funky DJ.

We chose one of Polka Dot Bride’s previously featured photographers to capture our day, Sayher Heffernan. I first saw his work on your site and fell in love with the raw emotion that he manages to capture in his images. He didn’t disappoint us and I found myself tearing up as I first looked through the shots of our day. The one that got me the most was a photo he took of me having a big hug with my Grandad. I had no idea he took it. Sayher was so professional, and my friends keep saying how much fun he was on the day.

Photography by Sayher Heffernan

Ms Gingham says: When photography captures such emotion it’s worth every penny and more. I love the quirkiness and personal touches of this wedding so much!

Jilly describes herself: “28 year old nurse turned medical student who has just married the love of her life. Parent to a naughty Devon Rex.”