Real Wedding: Michaela + Daniel in Maleny

A destination wedding was the destiny for this lovely couple from Mount Isa. Bride, Michaela, took her time finding their perfect wedding venue. It’s not at all a surprise she landed on Maleny Manor, which has consistently been named Australia’s most popular wedding venue in the ABIA Awards. 

Once that very important detail was in place, the rest of the wedding planning was put in the very capable hands of the team from Rustique Wedding Designs  to actualize Michaela and Daniel’s dream garden wedding. 

Enjoy a little oggle at these images by the always inspiring White Images

Daniel understands my love of shopping and I understand his love for his car and making it faster. It doesn’t mean we necessarily like that part about the other but it means we accept it and love each other no matter what.

“It took me seven months to decide on a venue and once I did, it was full steam ahead. I didn’t have a specific theme, I just wanted our wedding to have a elegant country garden feel to it.”

Our main concern was that all of our guests enjoyed the experience and had fun so music was a big part of that. We worked closely with our DJ to tailor a playlist that would make sure every guest, of every age was dancing. I wanted everyone to at some point in the night hear their favourite song so we asked every guest to write down their favourite song on the back of the RSVP card – such an amazing idea! A DJ was the way to go; he was AMAZING! Everyone was on the dance floor .

We chose a celebrant who was really fun and involved the guests in the ceremony. She would get them to cheer and whistle, while never taking away from the sweet moments that were just for Daniel and I. We wanted our gusts to feel they were just as much a part of it as we were.”

We chose a celebrant who was really fun and involved the guests in the ceremony. She would get them to cheer and whistle, while never taking away from the sweet moments that were just for Daniel and I. We wanted our gusts to feel they were just as much a part of it as we were.

During our vows Daniel surprised me with adding in the Celtic Tie The Knot. I had no idea. But the most special part was that he used one of my late nannas winning ribbons from when she used to compete on her horse in gymkhanas. He used the ribbon to tie us together and to include my nanna, which absolutely meant the world and still brings a tear to my eye.

Maleny Manor had an amazing selection of food and it didn’t stop coming. We had canapés and cocktails constantly flowing out to our guests during cocktail hour, canapés on our tables throughout the night, an alternate drop for the entre and main, cheese boards for each table, a candy bar, cup cakes with our initials on them and then our cake.

The weather was perfect! Blue skies all day. Im not a superstitious person but I kept thinking all day about the saying that if it rains on your wedding day it means you will live a long and happy life together and well, the moment we were all walking out the doors to head home, it poured down. I breathed a little sigh of relief.”

Wedding Secrets 

Biggest splurge: Probably our rings. After all, they are what you will have for the rest of your lives.

Best bargain: Definitely the bridesmaid dresses. I wanted the Twobird bridesmaids dress but they retailed for about $400. One of my bridesmaids found the exact dress on Light In The Box for about $160 and they were on sale – bargain! Also, the flowers. I was really lucky that the venue included the flowers in their package so that was one less thing I had to worry about. 

Bridal gown: Veronica Al Khoury Couture, $4000 including the veil

Accessories: Samantha Wills teardrop shaped stud earrings and headpiece by Bo & Luca

Bridesmaid dresses: Light in the Box version of the Twobird bridesmaids dress. $160

Bridesmaids’ accessories: Samantha Wills ring and customised charmed necklace and matching earrings from Etsy 

Groom & Groomsman’s suit: Suits Direct in Mooloolaba 

DIY: Strawberry jam in little jars for the wedding favours.

Honeymoon: Thailand

Number of guests: 80

Wedding budget: Approx $50,000

A-list Vendors 

Photographer: White Images 

Wedding Planner: Rustique Wedding Designs 

Florist: Mondo Floral Design

Makeup & Hair: The Beauty Case

Decorators: Rustique Wedding Designs 

Entertainment: Cut a Rug DJ

Celebrant/Other Officiary: Lynette Maguire 

Caterer: Maleny Manor / Cake: Sunny Girl Cakes / Transport: Mystic Mountain Tours

View Michaela + Daniel’s full wedding album

Hi, I’m Sally, Founder and Editor of The Bride’s Tree. Over the past 13 years I’ve written thousands of articles about all things wedding from tips and trends to etiquette and ideas. On this blog I bring you the best of Sunshine Coast and Brisbane weddings.