Carl and Megan

They say that your wedding day is one of the most memorable days of your life, and honestly… how can anyone disagree? You have this one day where every person who means something to you and your husband have come to support your decision to marry one another. You are surrounded by only happiness, love, food, laughter, cake and music. I don’t think I have laughed and cried in one day as much as I did on our wedding day.

My bridal party and I checked into Oaks Aurora Apartments the day before the wedding. We had our nails done and relaxed in our hotel room with a few champagnes before a bit of pampering. We started the morning of the wedding rather relaxed and really just watching the clock until hair and make-up arrived. My beautiful girlfriend Vanessa Rotolone who is an extremely talented hairdresser was responsible for the hair styles of the day. Having my original make-up artist pull out one week before the big day, we were so grateful for Elle and Rachel from The Makeup Room to offer their services.

My Pronovias Alcanar gown was purchased about ten months prior to the wedding from Tara at White Lily Couture. It was the second or third dress that I had tried on, and Tara was so lovely in letting me come back into the store another four or so times to re-try the dress on to ensure it was the one I wanted to wear on my wedding day. The veil was my “something borrowed” and my accessories were Samantha Wills “Moonlight Moment” earrings. My shoes were purchased on an overseas holiday in Vegas last December and were Christian Louboutins. Our wedding ceremony was held at Cathedral of St Stephen’s in Brisbane City. Carl had told me several times not to be late to the Church… and it turns out… I was! We left our hotel so early that we were seeing guests on their way to the Church so we had the driver do a few blocks of the city. Just before walking down the aisle, I took a moment to breathe and appreciate how much love was there for us on that day.

Seeing Carl at the end of the aisle is an image I will never forget. He was so nervous, which was surprising as I had been the emotional one in the lead up to the wedding and he had been the emotional stabiliser.

We decided to go to Brisbane Grammar School with our bridal party for photos as we are both private people and didn’t want to be walking amongst people in the city or along the river to get our photos. We wanted to be somewhere we could all relax, have some drinks and enjoy one another. It was also sentimental as this was the place where we met.

Apparently it is good luck for it to rain on your wedding day (although I’m sure people just say that to make bride’s feel better) and turns out… it rained on our day! Thankfully it was only for a short ten minutes, but we were able to get shots that we probably wouldn’t have been able to had it not of rained. There is always a silver lining!

The reception was held at Customs House, somewhere we both fell in love with when choosing a wedding venue. The service was impeccable, and the venue can best be described as classically elegant and romantic. This fit perfectly with our vision for our wedding day. Being able to spread ourselves around to the 140 guests was probably the most challenging aspect of the day.

The Candy Buffet Company provided the Lolly Buffet which also acted as the bonbonniere. The Candy Buffet was a beautiful addition to our wedding. It looked spectacular, tasted delicious and really brought out the inner child in everyone.

Our wedding day was certainly what dreams are made of, there was so much love and happiness in the room that it made us both appreciate how lucky we are to have found each other and share the relationship that we do. We were so humbled by those who travelled from all corners of the world and will hold on to the happy memories of the day for the rest of our lives.

Images by Chris Hall Photography

Ms Gingham says: Megan your gown is divine and the wedding looks like it has come together perfectly! Love the Samantha Wills earrings too! Congratulations.

Megan says: “I am a 24 year old high school teacher in Brisbane. Married in April to a man that makes me laugh every single day.”

Planning our Fiji wedding was something I genuinely enjoyed. Yes, there were some stressful moments, and I did have one or two near mental breakdowns, but overall, I loved it. I was very lucky to join a group on Facebook called I Was Married in Fiji that was filled with brides like me who were planning their own destination wedding, brides that had been there done that and were more than happy to share their experiences and tips, as well as vendors who were happy to openly answer questions about their services in the forum. It was fantastic! For anyone who has visited Fiji before, you’ll know all about “Fiji Time” and can imagine that as a bride, playing the waiting game is not conducive to stress-free planning. Social media was my sanity.

One of the vendors on the page was a photographer named Leezett from Finau Photography, who also happened to photograph my friend’s wedding at Wananavu. She wrote a post on her own blog about the increasingly popular phenomenon known as “The First Look”. Basically the idea is that you break tradition, and prior to the ceremony you and your loved one share a private moment together. The photographer(s) will be there to capture the first time you see each other, but otherwise, it’s just you and him. You can express your excitement together and your nerves, you can laugh and cry but otherwise there’s none of the other hype of the day to distract you. It’s a beautiful moment, and the best part is that it really can calm your nerves for (yet doesn’t take away from) the other big moment, when you walk down the aisle.

Ben and I did a a “first look” and wouldn’t have it any other way.  It was so sweet, and we both giggled and cried the whole way through. We kept saying to each other, “how silly is it that we feel so nervous about seeing someone I was with just yesterday!”  It was the first time that he saw me in my dress, and my shoes, and with my hair and make-up done. It was the first time I’d seen him in his outfit, looking all dapper. And then just like that, the moment was over. We kissed each other goodbye and prepared for the ceremony, which followed shortly after. To us, it was the perfect prelude to an amazing night.

Photography by the very talented duo at Tamiz Photography

Ms Gingham says: Definitely a fan of the new trend of first looks. It gives the couple time to banish those butterflies and get excited!

Katie aka MsProcrastin8: Sydney, Australia, Blogger @ Ultimate Katie Blog; procrastinator; list writer; dreamer; planner; student; wife.

Read Katie’s previous posts here!

The gorgeous thing about advice from real brides is that they have the hindsight to share! At Celeste and Alten’s Australian Winter Wedding, not even the freezing cold could dampen Celeste’s spirits!

Her advice? “Relax. Don’t try to imitate other weddings, just represent the two of you genuinely and honestly. You are marrying your one true love and your best friend, and that is all that matters. Oh and, if you can, have live music at the reception it adds that something special!”

Photos by Solas Wedding Photography

Ben and Katie

Our wedding was held on the beach at Wananavu Beach Resort in Fiji, but it was so much more than just one day. We wanted to make sure that our guests, who had travelled from all over Australia, Canada and USA, could enjoy a week away from the rat race, and experience a slice of Fijian paradise. We chose Wananavu because it was away from the usual tourist haunts, located a two and a half hour shuttle ride from the airport. The resort made life easy too by coordinating the accommodation bookings direct and offering exclusive use of the resort based on the numbers we had attend. The isolation was truly magical!

I’ve always been obsessed with the 1920′s and 30′s and a part of me has always believed I was born in the wrong era. Luckily, my fiancé Ben had always been a fan of themed parties, so the idea of having a themed wedding was a match made in heaven for us. Convincing our guests was easy too, with the majority of them really making an effort. We set up a Facebook group so that people could ask questions about the trip, and started a Pinterest board for costume ideas. I styled the wedding myself, but was helped by all my girlfriends and family members. We made the fabric bouquets, my Mum made the bridesmaid dresses and bow ties and I even painted and “glitterfied” my shoes myself!

Our ceremony was fun, light-hearted and filled with moments of pure joy. One of the many great surprises of the day was when my Dad was walking me down the aisle. He stopped before we reached my fiancé, clicked his fingers and suddenly my uncle, cousin and my Dad’s best friends rose from their seats, dressed as mobsters (complete with inflatable Tommy guns) to escort us the rest of the way. It was hilarious and took both Ben and I by complete surprise! We wrote our own vows, and every time we said “husband” or “wife” we chuckled to each other. I loved seeing the look on his face, and knowing that all our closest friends and family were there to share in the moment.

Our reception was all about the party. I really wanted our guests to feel like they were in another time and another place – totally removed from their normal lives, like a Great Gatsby lawn party. There were chinese lanterns draped between palm trees, with the stars peeking through above us and the sand under our feet. We had sourced tunes from the 1920′s and showed black and white videos of Charleston dancing flappers on a screen in the background. There was a DIY photo booth background with plenty of props, and even a beer pong table to share our love of US culture with our guests. We learned a 20′s swing dance and kept it a secret from everyone, had fireworks explode as we cut our cake, and fire dancers to entertain our guests during the night! It was an absolute ball!

Ms Gingham says: Oh what amazing fun! We’ve been following Katie’s preparations for some months now and it’s fantastic to finally see the wedding! Stay tuned for more of this amazing wedding over the coming weeks.

Katie aka MsProcrastin8: Sydney, Australia, Blogger @ Ultimate Katie Blog; procrastinator; list writer; dreamer; planner; student; wife.

Read Katie’s previous posts here!

Welcome to Desperately Seeking May! The time of the month when we share those weird and wonderful things we’ve stumbled across that are so hard to find!

Mother Of The Bride #1 is looking for a choir or singing group on the Gold Coast to surprise her daughter at her wedding with the scene from her favourite movie, singing “All You Need Is Love” The wedding is on New Years Eve in the afternoon.

Bride #1 is seeking ivory elbow length gloves that aren’t made from satin! She’s based in Sydney.

Bride #2 is looking for a venue close to Deception Bay for a country style wedding.

Bride #3 is seeking a Melbourne acoustic guitarist/ soloist to perform at her garden ceremony and throughout our canapés and drinks. She is after a Ben Harper/ Angus and Julia Stone kind of style.

Can you help our seekers?