Margaret & Piotr

Two Queensland weddings in two days! I love showing off one State in a week because you get to see how beautiful each wedding can be – no matter where the location! Today’s wedding is filled with such heart warming stories, I do hope you’ll read along as I share with you the wedding of Margaret & Piotr.

Margaret and Piotr met at work and fell in love over the plastic divider that separated their desks. Piotr and Margaret printed their story in their ceremony programs.

“By the strangest of circumstances, Margaret and I found ourselves working alongside each other in late 2004. Completely different backgrounds, career choices and expectations.

However they say opposites attract… And whadaya know? Next there was an incredibly attractive woman who was able to be convinced that drinking white wine at lunch time, in between her meetings and media events, was not such a bad idea. And lucky she didn’t have a car to get to and from work, while I did!

Before I blinked people began giving us “their blessings” and calling us a couple. Not least of which was a particularly big boss who decided to send us both to work in the great metropolis of Rockhampton for a few months, staying in the same “family accommodation,” with exactly zero attractive options for spending quality time, except with one another (perhaps it is not a coincidence that the lit-up streets of Rockhampton spell the word HELL from a bird’s eye view).

The crunch time came when I finally worked out that it was Margaret (and not ghosts) that did not put her toothbrush away in the right place in the evening. But I got over it. We broke our bed (it collapsed!) and damaged the company car getting up to mischief. It was difficult telling the hospital staff what happened!

And soon we both realized it was a really good time to promptly depart and disappear again in the crowds of Brisbane. The rest is history… a very sweet one.

The best in my life.”

Margaret and Piotr gave each of their guests a wedding welcome guide with the following message printed inside “After over 5 years together, 2 children, 8 cities, 2 cars, 14 jobs, international travel, study, too many dead pet fish we care to mention and various home renovations, we have finally got around to tying the knot! Thanks for being here to join in”.

Today’s photos are by Calli B Photography. Calli is the biggest sweetheart and is always sending through amazing submissions full of crisp, clean captures of beautiful weddings and shoots. She has a sense of elegance to her pictures that is just beautiful. Margaret agrees, “Calli B was a dream to work with; she was relaxed, unobtrusive and very, very talented”.

Video was by Wild Bunch Weddings

Weddings & Events Of Maleny were the wedding planners behind today’s event. Margaret says, “She helped us assemble a dream team of vendors – we were happy with each and every one of them.”

Margaret says “We have so many wonderful stories to share from our day, it would be impossible to mention them all! One thing that really surprised me, though, was how enjoyable and relaxed it was getting ready. It was not hurried or frantic at all. I was actually ready early and had to hide away in my room so that my groom-to-be would not see me (he was having a lovely time roaming around the estate!). So my sisters would come to visit me, and in the end we set up a hair and make-up station in my bridal suite. My bridesmaid and I did all their makeup and straightened their hair… it was bizarre but brilliant that I ended up helping them get ready, rather than the other way around! I stood at the window watching my groom drive away to the church and all my guests pile onto the bus. I was itching to go myself… Peter and the priest were definitely surprised when they announced the bride had arrived at the church… 10 minutes early!”

Margaret wore the “Heidi” gown from Karen Willis Holmes with her own brooch. She carried a bouquet from Mondo Floral Designs. As her “something blue”, Margaret attached a pendant her maternal grandfather John Whelan made for his bride, (her grandmother Ivy), featuring a blue flower.

Peter’s Polish heritage was not lost throughout the wedding day. Margaret says “Peter is originally from Poland and I wanted to embrace his heritage. So as a surprise gift for Peter and his best man (his brother), I organised a custom-made set of cufflinks for both of them in the design of the Polish flag. These were given to Peter before the wedding when he was getting ready. He loved them, and was very touched by the gesture.”

One of Margaret’s favourite moments was walking down the aisle to Pachelbel’s Canon In D “As I looked around I could see all the smiling faces of those I love most in the world. And standing at the top of the aisle was my best friend and the man I love most in the world- Peter. I am a very emotional person and thought I would get teary, but I couldn’t stop smiling. My chest was heaving it felt so full of joy, I have never been happier than during that few seconds of walking down the aisle.” Margaret and Piotr married in St Patricks Catholic Church, Pomona and hired a bus to transport their guests.

Musical contributions were a special part of Margaret and Piotr’s wedding. “Many family members were involved in the music for the wedding. My brother, Ross, organised karaoke for the rehearsal dinner the evening before and played the guitar while singing a hymn during the wedding ceremony. My mum, Shirley, also sung a song at the church after we said our vows and my father, Jim, played the guitar and sung while we signed the registry.”

Children were a focal point of the celebrations. Margaret recounts “Peter and I love kids, and family is very important to us, so we wanted a very intimate, family-oriented wedding. Being from a large family, I was lucky to have 10 nephews and nieces in my bridal party (6 groom’s boys, 2 flower girls, our son as pageboy and our daughter, who we called a flower ‘angel’).

It came about because they all very much wanted to be involved in our wedding, and we couldn’t say no to them! We were so pleased to include them in the bridal party, all the children were incredibly excited leading up to the wedding, it certainly rubbed off on us and made sure we enjoyed the lead-up to our festivities. And they all looked absolutely gorgeous!

I was secretly glad that they also took a little of the focus off me, as I was a little nervous about being the sole focus of the limelight…. They proceeded down the aisle in order of age; oldest to youngest. Each carried a long stem ivory Vendella rose with a cream lace bow down the aisle and placed it in a vase on the altar. The roses were in memory of loved ones lost, particularly my maternal grandmother who loved roses and used to grow them in her garden.”

Margaret and Piotr held their reception at The Plantation. Margaret says “We wanted an elegant event with a delicate vintage touch, a relaxed atmosphere and a focus on family. Our colour palette was neutral tones of cream, white and ivory. It worked beautifully! All the bridal party wore designs of their own choosing in neutral tones, creating a gorgeous eclectic mix that complemented each other, whilst still remaining reflective of the personality of the individual wearing the clothes.”

A wishing tree was a feature of the reception. “We placed natural willow branch in a large glass vase to make our ‘tree’. We threaded twine onto blank cards and invited guests to write personal wishes to us on the cards, and then hang them on the tree. This was in place of the traditional guest book and was a much-loved idea by our guests. The wishes were very sweet and ranged from sweet words of good luck and fortune, through to marital advice, and even one which simply said “$1,000,000”. We are hoping that one comes true!!!”

Margaret and Piotr provided each guest with a vodka shot. Margaret says “It was important to us that we incorporated some elements of Peter’s Polish heritage into our wedding. With this in mind we purchased small 50mL glass bottles and filled them with authentic Polish vodka. We painted the lids ivory, wrapped the lids in ribbon and glued a flat glass bead on top. We wrapped the bottles themselves in ivory lace and placed at the place setting of each guest. They were used to toast Peter and I during the best-mans’ speech and definitely got the evening going!” The children weren’t left out either. Colouring-in pages and coloured pencils were provided to the children for their entertainment during the reception. The pictures were all wedding-oriented and we put them in a little tin bucket that I had painted ivory and decorated with ribbon.”

Margaret and Piotr wanted their guests to feel comfortable. “We wanted a sense of familiarity and an instant recognition among our guests that they were at the wedding of Margaret and Peter, not just anybody! So we took a couple of decor items from our home to use at the reception.”

This included a ‘Couple Tree Tile,’ which is a custom-made, hand-crafted tile that hangs in our home. An image of a tree is etched onto the tile and features our initials carved in the trunk. Another was a Heart Shaped Blackboard, which is a small blackboard in the shape of a love heart which hangs in our home. We use it to write sweet little notes or messages to one another. We hung it on a wall of the marquee and wrote on it in chalk ‘hugs and kisses’.”

Margaret and Piotr chose to keep their wedding small and very personal to them. It was important to Margaret to have everyone involved. “Pretty much every single one of our guests were involved in our day in some way, whether that was helping to make the programs, organising our various DIY details, preparing food, organising karaoke, singing at the ceremony, making a speech at the reception or a multitude of other activities!

It meant everyone felt special and included, and that not one of us was overwhelmed by the big event that a wedding is. The relatively small guest list meant that every single person at our wedding was very special to us and holds a piece of our heart; we only invited those people who have been in our lives for some time, who play an important role in our lives, and who we know will be in our lives for years to come. It meant everyone knew everyone else and that we were surrounded with nothing but love and smiles on a day that was truly a fairytale come true”

A lolly buffet filled with sweet treats all in white helped guests party through the night. “We bulk ordered a range of our favourite sweets, as well as cooking some ourselves, including traditional Polish pastries. We purchased some small paper bags and decorated each with various wedding words or images. Each sweets bag was therefore unique. Guests were invited to enjoy the sweets as the evening wore on, as well as fill a bag with a selection of sweets to take home. Although we served dessert AND had wedding cake, we wanted to do this because this because we knew all the kids would LOVE it and because we wanted our wedding day to be a day of absolute decadence and celebration. To our surprise the sweets bar was just a big a hit with the adults as it was with the children! Who knew my brother-in-law had an obsession with milk-bottle lollies?!!!”

Margaret and Piotr filled their reception with memories “We hung some thick twine from the patio area beside the marquee and used small wooden pegs to hang various photos of us and our wedding guests along the line, as well as blank cards. We selected poignant and funny photos, which had our guests laughing and reminiscing as they looked through them. Guests were invited to write down one of their favourite memories of Peter and I on the blank cards and peg onto the line among the photos. The aim was to make each guest feel loved, special and included in our event, as well as to gather the lovely memories our loved ones hold of us. It was so much fun reading all the memories everyone had written down after we got home the next day! Some made us laugh, others made us cry, and others we had simply just forgotten. Now we have them written down to remember forever”.

A unique way to record guest’s attendance was the thumbprint guest book. “As an alternative to the traditional guest book, each guest was asked to place their thumb print on the branch of a tree (to mimic a leaf) using green ink, then sign their name underneath. It was a hit with our guests and looks great! We used it instead of a guest book (along with the wishing tree) because we knew a traditional guest book would just sit unopened and forgotten on a shelf in our house getting dusty. We have since framed our wedding tree and have it on display in our home.”

Margaret & Piotr were able to accommodate most of their guests at The Plantation, while others stayed at a nearby bed & breakfast. The Plantation allowed Margaret and Piotr to celebrate all weekend- starting with a rehearsal dinner on the Friday night, a breakfast on Saturday morning, the wedding reception Saturday night and on Sunday morning? Margaret recounts, “The Sunday morning after our wedding all guests accumulated at The Plantation again for a large hot breakfast (a great hang-over cure!) to celebrate our first day as husband and wife, before we all checked out and concluded our wedding celebrations. It was great to stretch out our celebrations and time with our much-loved guests over the 3 days…. although it still went too quickly!

We purchased 375mL glass bottles with an attractive cork lid and filled them with purified water. We then designed a personalised label and glued them around the outside of the bottle. The original intent was to provide them to guests for refreshment during the reception; however we forgot to put them out! So the following day we placed them at the front door of our accommodation, along with boxed slices of our wedding cake and bags of sweets. As we farewelled each guest after breakfast, we gave each guest a water bottle and bag of sweets to enjoy on the journey home, and the wedding cake to have with a cuppa upon their arrival.”

A big thank you to Margaret and Piotr for sharing their absolutely gorgeous wedding day with us! Congratulations! Thank you also to Calli of Calli B Photography for submitting today’s photographs!

Photos by Calli B Photography