Edwina and Daniel

Edwina and Daniel

Oh I’ve loved today’s wedding for the longest time and I was so thrilled when bride Edwina (author of the blog The Weekend Island) sent it in! Simple, beautiful and elegant!

Edwina tells the story of how the newlyweds met. “We met four years ago on my last night of work at a bar in Brisbane. Dan came in to see Mark, who was the DJ at the bar and a friend of his. A few months later, Dan and I moved in to a newly-bought house and Mark moved into the granny flat downstairs. Mark was the DJ at the wedding.”

Edwina and Daniel married at Maleny Manor in Queensland. They chose the venue as it allowed for the ceremony and reception in one space- meaning guests didn’t have to move around. Edwina says “Maleny Manor is in such a beautiful spot on the side of a mountain in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland. Having it out of Brisbane was the perfect excuse to get everyone out of the city for a weekend too. Plus, my family all live either interstate or overseas so it was a good chance to show off a really beautiful area of Queensland.”

Today’s photos are by Jonas Peterson.

Edwina wore a gown from Fiorenza and a headpeice and earrings from EMbridal.

Edwina says “A friend, Briohny, is a cellist and played Bach’s Cello Suite #1 Prelude. It is a beautifully moving piece, maybe part of the reason the groom burst into tears at the start of the ceremony – which of course won all the women over!” The bridesmaids wore gowns from Alfred Angelo– each lived far away so buying online was Edwina’s way of saving stress! Matching boleros were made by Etsy seller maryandangelika. The flowers were by friend, Leighanne Pooler.

Edwina and Daniel were married by Lizzy Cox. Edwina says “Our celebrant, did an excellent job in providing a ceremony that was short and to the point – we were pretty certain we didn’t want too much ‘waffle’” One of Edwina’s special memories of her wedding day was the involvement of family and friends “The contribution of our family and friends in every aspect, from cakes to jewellery to flowers, photos, music and even performing the ceremony. What a talented and useful bunch!”

Of their first dance, Edwina says “It was to Love Me or Leave Me by Nina Simone, a song we both love. We’d done a few rehearsals months before, but on the night the champagne and lack of practice definitely showed! Luckily, our bridal party came out and joined in and one of my bridesmaids pulled off quite a spectacular fall – taking the attention off us somewhat. (She was fine!).”

Edwina and Daniel hired a photobooth to get some special shots of the night from The Photobooth People. Edwina says “When we went through the pictures the next day we had lots of compromising photos of people taken late in the evening to keep for future blackmail purposes.”

Another talented friend Elissa Burtnett made the cupcake wedding cake to tie in with the wedding bouquets. Edwina and Dnaiel made sure to put their own touch on the wedding day by making their invitations and wedding favors. Edwina says “We did the invites and bonbonniere ourselves. We made hundreds of gingerbread men and women. They were a bit deformed looking, particularly those made late in the process, but tasted pretty good anyway.”

Edwina particularly loved the special telegram the best man read out. “A real highlight for us was when Dan’s best man, Dave, read a telegram from someone special to us who couldn’t be there… our dog. It was a lovely letter…who knew border collies could be so articulate?”

Congratulations Edwina and Daniel on your beautiful wedding day and your marriage! Thank you for sharing your wedding day with us! Thank you also to Jonas Peterson for allowing us to share the photos today!