Shannon & Adam

A destination wedding is somewhat risky, you leave everything up to the people you have entrusted to make it happen, and you cross your fingers and hope Mother Nature gives you all the holiday vibes you dreamt of.

For Shannon and Adam, who live in NSW and QLD, the beachside Noosa wedding didn’t quite go to plan. A rain-soaked day led them to abandon their beachside ceremony, but as we learn time and time again around these parts – the best-laid plans going awry can often lead to even better outcomes.

Lindy Yewen Photography capturing it all as the beachside vows became an indoor ceremony that was beautifully intimate. A celebration full of family, of coming together and celebration. And after all, what could be better for a destination “I do”?

It was a strong friendship that led these two to something more, Shannon tells their story. “There is no ‘special story’ to how we met; our special story began after years of friendship. We have been close friends for a very long time and have supported each other through some significant life events; there is no one else who understands me more and no one else I can imagine beside me for whatever lays ahead. This is the second marriage for both of us and after being together for seven years we finally tied the knot after being engaged for three. Our situation has been a little unique in that I live in NSW and Adam lives in QLD and we have done the long-distance thing all of this time, and continue to do so after our wedding so that each of our children can finish school and have remained our priority and focus. We do a LOT of flying!”

The bride first saw her Made With Love gown online, she shares “Being a beach wedding in Noosa and most likely to be hot and humid, I wanted something that was not only amazing but easy to wear and comfortable. After looking online for quite some time I had seen the Harlie by Made With Love on Instagram and it ticked all of the boxes. It was full length with a train, a front split and low back in the most divine lace. It was so figure-hugging in all the right places and easy to wear. I attended the Made With Love studio in North Sydney and the entire process of trying on dresses was made effortless by Kelly; despite trying on several gowns I was still set on the Harlie.” The couple’s daughters, both bridesmaids, wore blue dresses from White Runway.

Despite planning a beach ceremony, rain meant the team at Splash Events had to move the ceremony inside to Sofitel Noosa Pacific Resort.  Shannon remembers “We chose Little Cove beach for our ceremony as we wanted an outdoor ceremony to take advantage of beautiful Noosa and had always talked about a beach wedding – it was the perfect place! However torrential rain on Friday and early Saturday morning persisted despite Adam’s mantra of it never rains for more than a couple of hours in QLD, and we had to revert to our wet weather option at the Sofitel in the Lilypond room. It was set up just as our beach ceremony was supposed to be and the crew at Splash did an amazing job in bringing it all together.”

The blooms took on a tropical vibe.  “All of the flowers at the ceremony and reception were fresh flowers in white, with sprays of greenery. We had long garlands on the tables at the reception and all of the flowers were a surprise! The team at Splash organised all of our flowers, bouquets and buttonholes, as I live in NSW – and they were simply gorgeous. We had so many comments on how beautiful the flowers were.”

Shannon walked down the aisle with her father to a version of the traditional bridal march played acoustically on guitar.

Shannon and Adam chose family friend Lorraine Lehman-Jones to officiate their ceremony, a celebration which was filled with family. Shannon explains “Despite the last-minute change in the venue it still had the intimate and relaxed feeling that we wanted by having our ceremony at the beach – the only difference was no sand and we wore shoes! Splash did an amazing job of keeping our guests comfortable in the soaring humidity, providing them with fans and bottled water while they waited for me to arrive. Our celebrant was a close family friend of ours who travelled up from NSW, making our ceremony that much more personal, as she knew what we have been through over the years to be together. As well as having our children as the bridal party, both of our mothers played a part also in blessing our wedding rings so every aspect of our ceremony had a special meaning and included both our families which were important.”

Adam popped the question on a special trip to Noosa, which turns out is the same place these two celebrated their wedding! Shannon reminisces “I was under the impression that we were going camping on Moreton Island, however on the drive (to what I thought was the ferry over) we took a different direction and headed towards the Sunshine Coast. At this point, Adam advised me that he had arranged a surprise weekend getaway in Noosa and not on Moreton. We arrived at the Noosa Blue Resort and upon check-in, reception advised that everything was ready, and commented on ‘how excited I must be’…… This went straight over my head. We had a beautiful Premium Penthouse Suite with a rooftop spa, and I recall thinking this was a bit special and not like the camping trip I had expected – or packed for!
Given that we both love great food it was no surprise that Adam had booked us a table at Sails Restaurant for dinner later that night and we had one of the best tables with an amazing few of the beach. Dinner passed and was divine. After much food and wine, we strolled back along the beach – in the wrong direction. I later learned that this was so we were heading towards adequate lighting! At the end of main beach just near the start of the boardwalk, Adam dropped to one knee and proposed finishing off an amazing evening and the start of a weekend I will never forget.”

The couple were thrilled with their choice of a photographer. “Lindy was amazing. Nothing was too much trouble for her and she took photos without you even knowing she was there. She made everything simple, relaxed and beautiful despite the weather which in the end we didn’t even notice and she captured some incredible photos on the beach as a result.”

For a day that was about family Shannon and Adam made sure to include their children in their day. “Between us we have 4 children – 2 boys & 2 girls – ranging in age from 14 to 20. My daughter Maddison (14) was my Maid of Honour and Adam’s daughter Zara (17) was my Bridesmaid. Max who is 20, was Adam’s best man and unfortunately, my son Connor was unable to attend. Having the three of them play a part in our wedding day, made it that much more special.”

“We made sure to include our children” remarks the bride. “Bringing two families always comes with its ups and downs and a lot of challenges, which is why having our children as a major part of our day was very important to both of us.”

It’s so apt, that the scene of the proposal, Sails Restaurant Noosa was where the couple celebrated their nuptials. “Our reception was at Sails – there was no other option for us” notes Shannon. “It featured in our engagement and has been one of our favourite places to eat whenever we are in Noosa. We had a lunchtime reception and the food was amazing – we had a Moet Champagne bar along with a prawn and oyster bar! The rain set in again and our family and friends ate and then danced the afternoon away to Thee Famos before we moved on to Rumba Wine Bar.”

Shannon and Adam were thrilled with their decision to hire wedding planner Splash Events, noting “Because I live in NSW and Adam in QLD, the best part of planning the wedding was seeing it all come together on the day after leaving it in the extremely capable hands of Rachelle at Splash and Stephanie at Sails. Rachelle could do this with her eyes closed. She knew exactly how to bring our vision to life – everything looked exactly as I imagined it would be. We had so many comments on how exquisite the reception looked and it was all thanks to her and her team.” Guests were gifted favours made by Shannon, handmade candles.

“Stephanie and her team at Sails could not be faulted; the food was naturally amazing and the service was impeccable. Our guests certainly didn’t go hungry and there was never an empty glass. She also kept our MC, Adam’s brother Marc, in line much to our amusement throughout the entire evening!”

The heartfelt speeches one of Shannon’s favourite memories of the day. “Both my daughter Maddison and Adam’s son Max made a speech on the day. Both of them spoke from the heart and were so eloquent in expressing their beautiful words and best wishes for us; there wasn’t a dry eye among us. This was definitely my favourite moment of the day and something Adam and I will both remember and cherish forever.”

The couple paid homage to a special memory with their first dance to Coldplay’s “SK FUll of Stars”. Shannon tells “Coldplay was the first concert we went to together and we both love their music. We didn’t want to do a traditional waltz – as neither of us are great dancers! We just wanted it to be relaxed, upbeat and fun and a song that meant something to us. It was also a song that all of our guests could come and join in dancing to as well – and they did!”

And that live music? All brought to life by The Famos, Shannon remembering “The Famo’s are an awesome duo and they had everyone bopping along all day. My parents didn’t even wait for Adam and I to do our first Bridal dance and they were up spinning around on the dance floor! We had so many people compliment the music; we wanted live music and not a DJ as it was lunchtime and we wanted to create that relaxed vibe and atmosphere – my dad even tipped them $100 he was so impressed. When talking to them at the end of the day Kristen and Chelsea said they had never been tipped at a wedding before.”

A big congratulations to you both Shannon and Adam! Thank you for sharing your beautiful day with us! Thank you also to Lindy Yewen Photography for today’s beautiful images!