Lauren wanted to feel relaxed and prepared on the day she married her sweetheart of eight years, Brendan. Everyone remarked at how at peace Lauren was in the lead up to their special day. Lauren attributes her carefree demeanor to being completely organised and to surrounding herself with her friends in the days leading up to the wedding.
Read what the bride had to say about her special day in her own words…
Making the most of the experience
Leading up to the day all I had in my mind was everyone’s comments on how quick the day goes, so we made a promise to each other to really take in every moment and have the most fun of our lives and we did exactly that! The whole day was magical, also the fact we made it into a three day event having our whole bridal party and their partners stay in the holiday house with us made it so much more special as everyone got to really catch up and get excited about it!
Family Involvement
We had our mums be the signing witnesses for our marriage certificates, we had special mentions in the ceremony expressing our appreciation for family that came from overseas and we had a special photo taken of us on our wedding day each holding a photo of our parents on their wedding day
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Perfect Weather
Someone was looking after us, the sun shined as i walked down the aisle and it held off all day and night, continuing to have lightening in the evening but no rain! We were so lucky as it was all outdoors!
Buffet Dinner
We had a BBQ buffet, it had great variety of hot and cold (foods) and I liked that guests who were big eaters could help themself to more and guests that were not big eater enjoyed the amount they wanted, we also had a desert bar.
On the day gifts
Brendan and I decided to exchange a card only the morning of the wedding to say what we wanted to before meeting at the aisle, that was really cool! For the Bridesmaids and Groomsmen we paid for all accessories, hair and makeup, and the three nights stay for them and their partners in the holiday house.
It’s the Groom’s day, too!
Involve your partner as much as possible, Brendan is very relaxed and was happy to go along with all my ideas but I still always ran everything past him first to make him feel more a part of the final decisions and he appreciated that.
Wedding Secrets
Biggest splurge: Videography, but worth every cent!
Best bargain: The groomsmen’s suits were hired for just $40 each!
Bridal gown: Online at Raining Blossoms, $500
Accessories: My heeadband was bought on sale for $5!
Shoes: Lipstick $60
Bridesmaid dresses: Raining Blossoms, $100 each
Groom’s suit and shoes: Mensland suit and shirt $500, shoes a Melbourne outlet store $50
Groomsmens’ suits and shoes: Mensland suit hire $40 each
Rings: My wedding band was made locally and Brendan’s wedding band was from Prouds the Jewellers
DIY: My mum and sister made our seating plan display at the last minute as i forgot to get one, it turned out great.
Number of guests: 74
Wedding budget: $45,000
A- List Vendors
Photographer: Tara Lee Photography
Videographer: Sunshine Coast Videography
Makeup Artist: Pru Edwards Makeup Artist
Florist: Cloud Nine Weddings
Cake: Cloud Nine Weddings
Decorators: Cloud Nine Weddings
Venue: Coolum Palmer Resort / Bombonnieres: personalized stubby coolers from Ebay / Hair Stylist: Brittany Townsend, Hervey Bay / Entertainment: Moove It DJs / Celebrant: Dee Hamson / Wedding Night Accommodation: Palmer Coolum Resort / Photo Booth: In The Booth
