Jessica & Joel

I love the colourful, festive nature of today’s rustic wedding! The couple DIY’d their own decor, collecting vintage crystal glassware, making decorations and making the space their own, turning it into a beautiful wedding day.

The couple held their wedding day at Kenilworth Homestead in the heart of the Mary Valley in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland.

The photos of the wedding were taken by Elleni Toumpas  who captured the lightness, fun and festival feeling to the wedding through her photographs.

Jessica chose the Melanie dress by Ann Bertossi from Bertossi Brides at Paddington Weddings. Joel wore clothes he already owned, by added a vest from RetroStar Vintage Clothing.

The bridesmaids wore gowns they already owned.

Jessica remembers “As I started walking towards the ceremony I caught a glimpse of Joel waiting for me and I started crying and walking too fast. Having my mum and dad there by my side, making sure I didn’t sprint towards him, and supporting me right until the end was really special. ”

Of their photographer, Jessica says,  “The wonderful Elleni! Found her through a Google search and am so glad we did. We clicked with her from the get go and her relaxed and professional approach was perfect on the day. She seemed to always be in the right place at the right time without it ever seeming forced our taking away from the natural pace of things. The photos we have received back have literally taken our breath away – she is amazingly talented and was able to really capture the essence of the day. ”

Jessica remarks “The best (and if I’m honest: the scariest) part about the wedding planning process was the DIY projects. We wanted to make sure the whole day was very personal and true to who we are; and having a DIY wedding let us stretch our creative flair, was friendly on the budget, and lets our nearest and dearest get involved….whether they liked it or not!

I loved shopping in fabric stores and sewing with my mum. I’ve always watched mum sew, and have loved looking through the fabric she’s collected over the years, but it now feels like something we can share and rummaging through op shops for bits and bobs with my now husband Joel. There is something very soothing about spending a lazy Sunday poking through old books and dusty bric a brac – it was a great antidote to the sometimes stressful wedding planning process.”

Tables were decorated with vintage crystal wear old tea pots and vintage crockery. Jessica recalls “Travels with my Aunt” run out of the Paddington Antique Centre in Brisbane and were able to source nearly all the vintage finery that we could not make ourselves.  This included plates for all guests, vintage crystal glasses (wedding favours), the lawn games, and many of the items used to set the mood.  They are also associated with “Aladdins Antique Fairs” which operate a few times a year where we were able to source a few more items.  We could not have done it without them.”

Jessica remarks “Sitting in the barn next to each-other and with all our guests laughing and having a great time, we both felt proud and immensely happy on how it’d all come together. I’m starting to tear up just thinking about it now!”

An Oreo cupcake wedding cake tower (or three!) was made by My Little Cupcake Empire. The couple made S’Mores packages for guests to enjoy as the dancing started. Jessica explains “The S’Mores were such a hit. We packaged up marshmallows, freddos and some biscuits with a skewer so people could roast them together on the fire. Everyone seemed to love it. Standing around the barn fire with our friends and family eating our wedding dessert, was a lot of fun.”

Jessica remembers “We didn’t have an official first dance, but there was a moment, later in the night when everyone was up on the dancefloor or around the bar, and I saw Joel on the outside of the barn looking in and soaking it all up. I went and joined him and we danced out there by ourselves, swaying to the music while we listened to the sounds of the party inside the barn. It was a really special moment, one that I’ll never forget.”

Congratulations Jessica and Joel! Thank you for sharing your wedding day with us! Thank you also to Elleni Toumpas  for sharing today’s images!