We don’t mind saying, we put together The Best bridal photo shoots for our free online bridal magazine. Capital ‘T’, capital ‘B’.

Today I wanted to show you a little sneaky look at what goes on behind the scenes at one of our shoots. Namely, this one that took place in a mansion private estate in Buderim for our most recent volume of The Bride’s Tree Magazine.

Vendors

The Location

Malumba Estate is breathtaking 10-acre retreat, is as glamorous and opulent as it is relaxing – think ocean views, lavender, wisteria, Verve Cliquot, and lawn games. The house itself is a sprawling Hampton’s haven with all the mod cons alongside its modern classic decor. A truly luxe setting for an ultimately private wedding.

Ceremony and Reception Styling

Our styling and floristry teams worked hard all day to install an epic reception table setting, complete with lighting tunnel. If you can have one big impact styling element like this one by Splash Events at your wedding, it will never be forgotten! Meanwhile, we can tell you that what might seem like a super glam job, being a florist involves a lot of climbing ladders and hard work along with the pretty designing side. Branch & Blossom definitely make it look effortless, though, and the result is nothing short of superb. 

The Beauty Team

Our hand-picked team worked together to come up with a romantic, natural hair and makeup style. Evalyn Parsons created voluminous curls in our model, Maddyson’s, long locks, while Melita from Boudoir Blush Makeup Artistry applied a gorgeous warm smokey-eye makeup design. Our celebrant, Beth, of I Heart Ceremonies  was also given the royal treatment – she looks right at home in  hair and makeup! 

Recreating a Pampering Morning

For this shoot, we really wanted to showcase the experience of having a wedding day morning in a luxury estate. Aside from the gorgeous location, it’s all about the little moments and special details, like putting on those pretty Pjs, and receiving a thoughtful gift. We dressed our model in the Hydrangea Blue Maggie Set by Piyama, and her gift box came from The Wholesome Gift Box.

The Cake

If you thought we were all tucking into this three-tier cake at the end of the day, I’m sorry to report that’s not the case. Cakes for styled shoots are typically made on foam blocks! However, the ever-lovely Jessie & Co. kept us all sustained with some extra treats she brought along to share. If I close my eyes, I can still taste her brownies… mm-hmm…!

Mock Ceremony

Our models, Tino and Maddyson, are a real life couple, who recently became engaged for reals! So it was very sweet to watch on as they experienced a mock wedding for the first time with Beth Stevenson fromI Heart Ceremonies. Then The Famos. Duo serenaded us all, putting everyone in the mood for romance!

Signature Cocktails

A luxe addition to any style of wedding is a signature cocktail… or several! We invited The Cellar Van by Vanteen Catering to come along and create their most aesthetically pleasing cocktails for us. Gosh, they didn’t disappoint, just look at these delightful drinkies!

The post Behind the Scenes on our Bridal Magazine Shoot in a Mansion appeared first on The Bride's Tree.

When planning their beautiful Buderim wedding, bride Kirstie and her betrothed, Jared, really made the most of the experience and savoured the time being engaged to one another. Kirstie has some wise advice for future brides. 

“Make planning the wedding fun, talk about it over getting a coffee or on a picnic, make it a special time to look forward to. This means it’s not a constant topic of conversation but focused quality time to enjoy as an engaged couple.”

Kirstie and Jared also took the advice of others, who had come before them and looked ahead to what is most important in the long run, putting the wedding day into perspective. 

“Your wedding day is the craziest, most emotional, special days of your life as a married couple. Yet we were told that it’s one of the least important because it’s the shortest day you’ll be married. We believe that the most important thing is not that we have a perfect wedding day but that we start a marriage with a willingness to forgive each other our mistakes, and love each other through growth both as individuals and as a couple. ” 

The couple were married at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Buderim, followed by a reception with their 150 guests at Buderim Tavern. Swirltography was there to capture the day. 

 “We gifted our bridesmaids perfume to wear on the day as well as their accessories and we gave the boys a scotch glass with their names engraved on them, and each an individual pair of socks.”   “We met as teenagers through our local church and youth group, where we became friends and enjoyed stargazing together. Eventually we started dating.”
“  “As Christians our main priority was to have a Christ-centered wedding. For us this included the Church, Tom our mentor and friend who married us with the help of our Pastor Matt Thiele, and being surrounded by our closest family and friends.”  “We have the same set of values, which keeps us always supporting one another.”

 “We signed our marriage certificate in a separate room during the ceremony with only our bridal party and officiants, it was such an intimate moment with the closest people in our lives and gave us a chance to relax and absorb the joy of the moment together.” 
“

Wedding Secrets

Biggest splurge: My wedding gown, which the amazing Tammy from Elizabeth De Varga brought to life from my specific ideas after many hours of discussions and fittings.

Best money-saver: Our guest’s favours’ miniature succulents, which we grew in our very own garden, with help from our bridal planted into individual pots.

Bridal gown: Elizabeth De Varga

Accessories: Bride’s own

Shoes: Forever New

Bridesmaids’ dresses: twobirds Bridesmaid

Bridesmaids’ accessories: JURI Garden City

Groom’s and groomsmen’s suits and shoes: Connor + Roger David

Rings: Tiffany & Co.

DIY: I arranged all the flowers for the ceremony, and we made our own place tags together with the favours.

Honeymoon: Central America: Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala

Gift Registry: Thankful Registry

Number of guests: 110

Wedding budget: $25,000

Who paid: We did with generous contributions from our parents

 “My advice to future brides is to make clear timelines for when you want to achieve planning goals. Delegate tasks to friends and family on the day, including phone numbers for vendors in case something was to go wrong.” 

Photographer: Swirltography | Videographer: Silvertail Studios | Florist: Ginger Lily & Rose Floral Studio | Venue + Catering: Buderim Tavern | Cake: TOME | Hair + makeup: Lawdy Miss Claudy | Stationery Supplier: Katie Miller | Officiant: Pastor Matt Thiele, Immanuel Luthern Church | Wedding Night Accommodation: Kondalilla Eco Resort

Thank you for supporting our A-list Vendors, who helped make Kirstie + Jared’s Buderim Wedding happen.

Learn more about… Ginger Lily & Rose Floral Studio + Swirltography 

The post Kirstie loves Jared | Buderim Wedding appeared first on The Bride's Tree.

Emily and Zach met at a friend’s gig. One year later they were engaged, and after seven short months of careful planning, they kicked off forever in a ceremony at Buderim’s Wirreanda Park. Their idea was to have their wedding feel like an enchanted garden setting, which this particular park in the southern end of the Sunshine Coast lends itself to just perfectly. 

After their heartfelt vows, the couple took their large bridal party of ten for a sweet photo shoot on a friend’s private property with views of rolling hills and ultimate seclusion. Their 60 guests then joined them for a catered reception with homey satisfying meal of roast lamb and baked veges to add to the family backyard wedding atmosphere of the large white farm house. 

Take a gander at these magical images, taken by lovefromluff of Emily and Zach’s truly lovely Sunshine Coast Backyard Wedding. 

  The bridesmaids and the bride enjoyed the makeup stylings of the team from Sally Townsend Makeup Artistry    Emily and her bridesmaids put their wedding hair styling in the expert hands of Sunshine Coast weddding hair specialist, bySARAHJANE “Our flower girl and ring-bearer were Zach’s younger brother and sister. We have a close relationship with them and wanted them involved in our special day.”  “Our bridal party were so attentive, thoughtful, and considerate on our wedding day. They were focused on making our day special. They were the first point of call if someone had a question or if there was a complication so we did not hear about any of the problems until the day afterwards!”  “Our desire for the theme of our wedding was to create an atmosphere that felt like an enchanted forest. We achieved this by incorporating lots of greenery, timber, natural lighting and pops of gold.”“Our favourite part of the day was being able to declare not just our love for each other but our intentions for our marriage through our own vows that were written in honesty and vulnerability.”“We allowed the natural environment to do most of the work for us and added simple touches of colour and timber.” “At the end of the day, this day is about a celebration between you and your husband. The planning and styling of your wedding can become your main priority when preparing for your day (especially if you’re a perfectionist like me), but truthfully, all you are going to remember on that day is the joy you felt when you became one with the person you were created to be with.”“We had a mentor of ours, Shane, speak at our wedding. He has been a significant influence over our lives in the last few years and has taken the time to contribute to our growth both as individuals and as a couple.”“We wanted a wedding that reflected us both as individuals and as a couple; intimate and simple. The venue was an important part of this, we chose places based on the feeling of being encompassed by nature.”

Wedding Secrets

Biggest splurge: We didn’t splurge too much, probably either the photography or the wedding dress but even those weren’t too much!

Best money-saver: The venues; having our ceremony at a park meant that we just had to pay a small council fee and the family that owned the private property were generous enough to allow us to have our reception there for no cost.

Bridal gown: Made With Love Bridal, Mia dress, $1480

Accessories: Forever New

Shoes: Novo

Bridesmaid dresses: Popcherry

Bridesmaids’ accessories: Forever New

Groom’s and groomsmen’s suits and shoes: YD and David Jones

Rings: Prouds the Jewellers

DIY: Our wedding was mostly DIY. The reason for this was not just to save money but so that our wedding felt more personal. Both Zachary and I are creative and therefore enjoyed creating the intimate details that made up our wedding. We did the graphic design, ceremony benches and arbour, candle holders for reception table, bouquets and jukebox.

Honeymoon: New Zealand

Number of guests: 60

Wedding budget: $13,000

Who paid: Mostly us, with a major contribution of the bride’s family.“Through our faith we are able to be honest and vulnerable with each other. Our faith keeps us stable in the waves of uncertainty that is life, assured that through it all we will remain by each other’s side.”“Our reception was a private property that is owned by close friends of ours. This made our day special as it was a place that we already had a personal connection to; a place where we felt comfortable.” “Our wedding favours were small jars of honey; friends of ours have their own beehives and harvest their own honey. It is delicious and we wanted to share it with our closest friends and family!”Photographer: lovefromluff | Florist: Vintage Flower Box | Caterer: Home and Away Catering | Cake: Katelyn Park | Makeup Artist: Sally Townsend Makeup Artistry | Hair Stylist: bySARAHJANE | Rentals: Confetti Events | Stationery Supplier: Zazzle | Gift registry: Myer Bridal and Gift Registry | Officiant: Bob Rogers | Wedding Night Accommodation: AirBNB

Thank you for supporting our A-list Vendors, who helped make this wedding happen…

Learn more about… Confetti Events + bySARAHJANE + Sally Townsend Makeup Artistry

The post Emily loves Zach | Sunshine Coast Backyard Wedding appeared first on The Bride's Tree.

I think it’s pretty clear from the adorable picture above that Tamara and Tim had a picture-perfect Sunshine Coast wedding day. By the bride’s own admission, the worst thing that happened was a coffee plunger broke the day before the big day – I’d call that a success worthy of unbridled flower girl admiration, wouldn’t you? 

Tamara says her biggest priority when planning her wedding to now-husband, Tim, was to have a beautiful and relaxed day that was affordable. Her bridesmaid discovered Sunshine Coast chapel, AnnaBella the Wedding Chapel, which she described as irresistible, and so their ceremony planning began to take shape. 

Following the chapel wedding ceremony, the couple and their 80 guests travelled a short distance to Buderim Tavern, where their reception had been decked out with delicate greenery and white flowers, and macrame details. 

Lara and Susie Photography were there to to capture every memorable moment of Tim and Tam’s Buderim and Sunshine Coast chapel wedding. 

  “We tried to include as many of our friends and family in the planning process as possible.  Much of our family were overseas or interstate so this was often via email.  I had to FaceTime my mum in New Zealand when I was trying dresses on to get her vote!”   “After hearing a few wedding horror stories I expected to have one or two to tell myself.  However our day went off without a hitch.  The worse was a broken coffee plunger the day before! I count ourselves pretty lucky.”   “The main thing that makes us work together as a couple I would say would be shared morals and values. We have great respect for each other and we laugh!”    “When we started planning, we didn’t really have any set ideas. My bridesmaid discovered Annabella Chapel which I couldn’t resist.  I used Pinterest as inspiration for the reception.”   “Tim and I met at a spin class at Suncoast Fitness Maroochydore. We got engaged after six months dating. Very early on in our relationship we knew each other was ‘the one’ and couldn’t wait to get married.”   “We had a spectacular winters day to impress the kiwi guests.  The chapel and tavern were still wonderful when we visited them when the weather wasn’t too wonderful a few weekends prior.”

 “

  “The very best thing about our wedding day was marrying my soul mate of course.  Doesn’t get much better than that. We didn’t really do the gift thing. I put together a slide show with photos from all our special moments for Tim.  We show each other we care about each other everyday. The material stuff doesn’t matter as much. “   “We felt really relaxed on the day.  Our day exceeded our expectations. We were humbled by family and friends who had travelled to celebrate with us.  I felt so lucky to be surrounded by so much love.”   “We really wanted to create a super relaxed wedding vibe.  We also wanted to avoid debt from wedding costs. We saved what we needed and stuck to what we could afford.”

Wedding Secrets

  “We put together our own little gifts bags for guests.  We stamped hearts on the front of brown paper bags which contained a thank you note, an individually wrapped TimTam and a Berocca for the next morning.”

Thank you for supporting our A-List Vendors, who helped make this Wedding Day so special…   

The post Tamara loves Tim | Sunshine Coast Chapel Wedding appeared first on The Bride's Tree.

Bride Gemma went by the philosophy that there is beauty in simplicity, and planned her wedding at Buderim’s Wirreanda Park and Ebb Waterfront Dining and Cellar as such. The reception featured greenery only on the tables, which looked beautiful and fresh, but also saved an awful lot on the old flower budget! 

The bride’s personal style was contemporary and ethereal in a custom-made gown featuring intricate lace bodice and a full flowing skirt of grey tulle. Topped off with a white-on-white floral crown, there’s nothing not oh-so-right about this whole vibe. We love it! 

Sunshine Coast wedding photographer, Gavin Wyatt, was there to capture the entire affair with his distinctly creative documentary-style photography. 

Having our beautiful almost 3 year old daughter there to share the day with was so special. She referred to her flower girl dress as her ‘wedding dress’ it was very cute.

“My advice to other brides: take rescue remedy before you walk down the aisle and a glass of champagne, it stops you from crying!”

“I had two great Dads and an awesome Mum. When the decision had to be made, I chose my Mum to walk me down the aisle, as she had being waiting for this day since I was born. She couldn’t have been more excited when I told her what her special role was!”

“I wanted grey in my dress, and I wanted olive leaves to be features in all the florals.”

“The bridesmaids were given a box of French macaroons each. The groom plus groomsmen were given a hangover kit which included mini berocca, Panadol, band aids and breath mints.”

“Finding a photographer whose work was a documentary/journalistic style was the number one priority. As well as finding the right dress that was unique and only made for me!”

Wedding Secrets

Biggest splurge: The venue. We wanted something that would look stunning with limited effort. 

Best money-saver: Having greenery only at the reception, rather than flowers. 

Bridal gown: Marilyn Crystelle Bridal

Shoes: Windsor Smith

Bridesmaid dresses: Shona Joy

Groom and groomsmen’s suits and shoes: Y.D.

Rings: Brides from Gloss Diamonds, Groom’s was specially made by the Bride’s father, handcrafted from a stainless steel nut. 

DIY: Menu and place cards, seating chart, signage. 

Honeymoon: Byron Bay

Photography: Gavin Wyatt Photography | Florist: Buderim Floral Art | Makeup artist: Natalie Hunter Makeup Artist | Hair stylist: Haras & Co. | Rentals: Simply Style Co., Mask Events | Cake: Tome | Celebrant: Alison Dempster

More in Gemma + Luke’s Wedding Pinboard Gallery 

The post Gemma + Luke’s Buderim Wedding appeared first on The Bride's Tree.

Set in intimate surrounds amongst towering weeping figs, the Secret Garden is an enchanting concept that delicately combines elegance and glamour. The eclectic mix of mismatched chairs, stunning chandeliers, crystal vases and vintage mirrors, alongside a tea light aisle way, combine to create a truly magical and feminine scene.It’s the little details that really make this styling so special. We love the macramé chandelier and handwritten mirror set upon an elegant white easel. So special!

Now, let's talk about this candy buffet… my goodness, what a delectable display! Pretty apothecary jars, teacups and books make for a whimsical trip to sweet tooth heaven! Not to be outdone, the refreshments table is equally as divine. I love to death the wine glasses-come teacups. Who wouldn't love drinking from these?! Seriously, who? Find me the person – this is my challenge* to you.

These beautiful images were taken by none other than the super talented and super sweet, Jennifer Oliphant, who is one of our favourite Sunshine Coast wedding photographers. She has captured this styling beautifully, as she does with all of the weddings she photographs.

*You cannot win this challenge. You will fail.

The post Secret Garden Ceremony appeared first on The Bride's Tree.

Love, love, loving this image by Sunshine Coast wedding photographer, Tanya of Chesterton Smith Photography! It was taken at one of our favourite Sunshine Coast wedding ceremony spots, Wirranda Park in Buderim. The canopy of trees is so very magical!

As always, Tanya has done an amazing job of capturing the special moments for this beautiful couple, which is why today we have chosen this image as our photo of the week. Sunshine Coast brides, if you have not yet looked at the Chesterton Smith Photography image gallery here on The Bride's Tree, you had better high tail it over there, as you stand to find out why we just adore this incredible lady!

The post Photo of the Week appeared first on The Bride's Tree.