There is a special kind of joy in seeing pretty little flowergirls at a wedding. Mostly because you can see the unbridled joy in their faces at being part of the occasion, being pampered and all dressed up in their finest attire. They look up at the bride and know they have never seen anyone more beautiful, and hope one day they will look as beautiful on their own wedding day. 

Then they look down and see their own fun and fancy frock, and can’t believe they actually own something so beautiful. They can’t believe they can actually feel this special.

We have not seen flowergirl dresses more pretty and whimsical than these by Love Baby J, stocked online at Tout Mon Amour. This gorgeous styled shoot is sure to bring a flowergirl-sized smile to your face. The beautiful photographs were taken by Sunshine Coast wedding photographer, Andrea Sproxton Photography at Montville wedding venue, Flaxton Gardens.  

Photography: Andrea Sproxton Photography

Dresses:  Tout Mon Amour

Venue:  Flaxton Gardens

Styling:  Tout Mon Amour

Cake/biscuits:  Chocolate2Chilli

Florals:  Blooms of Noosa 

Hair:  Hair4Brides 

Headbands:  Me Tutu     

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There is one part of your wedding that does not need to be fancy-pants. No matter whether you’re having a farm picnic wedding with cowgirl boots and hay bales and a pig on the spit, or a formal sit down dinner in a fine dining restaurant, your Just Married sign is destined for simplicity.

Of course that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun with it and make it super cute! We love this DIY that brings a bit of old school charm and a time honoured tradition back to life. Everybody loves a Just Married garland with stringed cans hanging from the back of a car, but these days it’s frowned upon to hang things from your car. Oh, those party pooper law makers, eh!

You can, however, still have the elements in your wedding day, my sweet little Sunshine Coast brides. Try this sweet idea by Oh Happy Day! where they instead hang paper bells and cans from your doorway. Your groom will love carrying you over this threshold!

Full DIY instructions can be found here.

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On your Sunshine Coast wedding day morning, wouldn’t it be lovely to surprise your beloved with a love note? Of course, a beautifully hand-written letter or poem would be beautiful. However, if all your best material is tied up in your personalised vows, or you just want to make a bit more of a statement, why not keep it short and simple… and big? 

Street art, or driveway art, even wall art can be achieved quite simply, inexpensively and perfectly temporarily and most importantly – legally. For the images you see below are not featuring spray paint, but spray chalk! So your surprise love note can make a big splash with your groom, and wash off with a splash of water. 

The actually spraying part is pretty easy to figure out on your own, of course, but the how-to tips for creating your own stencil with your beautiful words of love can be found over on Oh Happy Day.

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Brides, we know you all want the perfect dress for your Sunshine Coast wedding day. It’s the one thing you dream about as a little girl, and you want so much to feel like the most beautiful girl in the world on your one special day. Your husband-to-be simply must have his breath taken away by the mere sight of you. Am I right? 

That was rhetorical, don’t answer that. I know I am. 

One of your options when choosing a wedding dress is to actually have it made from scratch by one of those super dooper clever people, who knows their way around a sewing machine like nobody’s business. That’s exactly what one beautiful bride, Kate, from Wurtulla, did when planning her wedding to longtime love, Andrew. 

Knowing her particular vision was possibly not going to be found in the local dress shops, she went on a mission to find the perfect dressmaker, who could put together her dream dress accurately, while staying within her budget of $1000. Take a peek at her amazing “boho ballerina” wedding dress and read what Kate had to say about the dressmaking experience. 

The crazy beautiful images below were taken by Sunshine Coast wedding photographer, Emma Nayler Photographer.

Stunning bridal makeup by Sunshine Coast wedding makeup artist, Sally Townsend Makeup Artistry

Kate sourced the beading for her dress belt from Etsy

Kate, what was the style you had in mind when you commissioned your dressmaker?

I labelled my style “Boho Ballerina”. The dress is based on a Johanna Johnson design. 

Was this an affordable option you would recommend to other brides?

It is extremely affordable for the quality. Considering only dupion silk and top quality tule was used, plus the inclusion of three fittings, I was charged an incredibly fair amount. I also sourced my own beading from Etsy for minimal cost. 

What made your dress so special to you?

I feel my dress was special because it was “so me” (or that was how everyone described it any way!) I tapped into my own style and decided to have my dress made from the beginning. I actually NEVER tried on a single wedding dress in a store!

Any other sage advice for brides when choosing their wedding dress?

My advice would be to go for comfort! My dress was made to fit me perfectly, so I wasn’t adjusting or pulling at it during the whole day, which was great.

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Dining on delicious fine food and wine in a gorgeous, comfortable setting on the Noosa River waterfront… Who doesn’t want that kind of Sunshine Coast wedding! 

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Rickys River Bar + Restaurant is the ultimate Noosa dining experience, and a picturesque, elegant setting for your Noosa wedding. It’s the perfect Noosa wedding venue for small weddings, right up to 130 people for a sit-down dinner.  A la carte menus are seasonal using both local and imported premium ingredients sourced for their taste and uniqueness. There are three and four course menu options to be enjoyed before the mesmerising backdrop of the Noosa River. 

Now, lovely news about this – you absolutely have the option of having both your ceremony and your reception more or less in one place, because the very pretty Quamby Park is right next door, and is a perfect place to say your vows. 

THE LOW DOWN ON RICKYS RIVER BAR AND RESTAURANT

Minimum number of guests: 50 for exclusive bookout

Maximum number of guests: 130

Operating as a wedding venue: 

Wedding days available: 7 Days

How many weddings in a day: One 

Air conditioning: Yes

Adequate parking: Yes

Wheelchair accessible:  Yes 

Operating hours: Lunch available  11.30am- 4.30pm, dinner 5.30-11.30pm

Ceremony locations: Quamby Park next door (booked through the council)

Reception locations:   Restaurant

Music:  Some restrictions, 2-3 piece band or DJ must conclude by 11:00pm

Bring own cake:   Yes

Fully staffed bar onsite:  Yes 

BYO:  No

Dance floor:  Yes 

Room for a band:  Yes 

Audio equipment with speakers and a microphone: No

Wet weather ceremony back up plan:  Can use venue from 5:00pm 

Acccess to rest of venue: Yes, from 5:30pm

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So you’re getting married. You’ve set the date, and you want to make sure all of your family and friends from all over town, the state, the country, the world are going to be there! You’d best get a Save the Date out toot de suite. 

Here is one fast and funky way to do so – online! You have your own Save the Date website created, so all you need to do is send your lovely family and friends a link! Then later down the track when you have locked in a few more details, you can comprehensively keep everyone up-to-date with your wedding plans. You can also use this medium to offer handy information to your out-of-town guests, like where to stay and what to do while they are visiting. 

This lovely site was created for Kate and Chris by Melbourne-based graphic design firm, Krafthaus. 

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They were just two ex-pats living it up in London – she had been there six weeks, while he was a local inhabitant of six years – when a mutual Australian friend came to visit. Over a restaurant dinner, sparks flew, and the rest is history! Four short years later, they were walking down the aisle at the oh-so-lovely Hidden Grove, Noosa. 

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Anita’s Greek heritage was prevalent in their ceremony, with plenty of tradition, just going to show that you can have the best of both worlds. A Greek Orthodox, or really any, religious beach wedding is not against the rules at all anymore, and we love that! A Noosa restaurant reception followed.

The family business is olive farming, so there was a strong olive theme throughout the wedding right from the start, when they sent out their calico-printed invitation, wrapped around the pot of baby olive trees! Adorable! They also gave jars of olives for the wedding favour. 

This is a simply beautiful wedding with gorgeous ceremony decorations by Splash Events.

“All of my nieces and nephews were either candle holders or flower girls, they each played a part“

“The string quartet was also a really nice touch”

“Both of my parents walked me down the aisle“

“We had a greek orthodox ceremony and during the service the priest makes you sip wine from a cup – our priest didn’t realise that he had poured a lot into my mouth and i couldn’t swallow any more red wine, consequntly it spilled out of my mouth and onto my dress. The priest said that because this had happened our first born child will be a boy!”

“We had our bridal party photos taken in Noosa national park and Noosa Main Beach“

“One of the reasons that we chose Berardos is because guests can choose what they want to eat – we chose the entrees and three mains, and guests chose from those. Berardo’s is known for its fresh seafood so we had plenty of that!“

Wedding Secrets Revealed

Biggest splurge: The Bride’s Father’s custom-made suit!

Best bargain: The flowergirls’ posies were a DIY project, made from artificial peonies found online

Bridal gown: Designed and made by Svetlana Martynova (Gold Coast, 0401027089) – she was amazing, she also made my birdscage and flower; Material was from Selective Fine Fabrics

(Brisbane)

Accessories: Earrings from Wedding Bling   

Shoes: Zu

Bridesmaid dresses: Charlie Brown

Bridesmaids’ accessories: Thousand Island Dressing

Groom’s suit and shoes: Zenetti

Groomsmens’ suits and shoes: Ted Baker

DIY: Cake was made by a family friend, flower girl posies, all decorations at the ceremony site and the wedding, bombonnieres (we had alternate old school tule with sugar-coated almonds and a jar of family olives), stationery

Number of Guests: 74

Budget: $25,000, both sets of parents chipped in.

A-List Vendors

Decorators: Splash Events

Venue: Berardo’s / Photographer: Artography / Florist: Flax Flower / Makeup Artist: Tara Monroe / Hair Stylist: Freelance Cath / Ceremony Entertainment: Offenbach Strings/ Reception Entertainment: Noosa DJs

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It’s a fair question that most couples have – what happens when at a wedding? It’s called the Wedding Ceremony Order of Service, and we’re here to explain. 

Today we have a guest blog post from Sunshine Coast wedding celebrant, Natalie Banner – From This Moment Ceremonies, who has done us the very kind favour of explaining exactly what a typical wedding ceremony involves. With a lot of flexibility in her own ceremonies, today Natalie gives us the basics as a starting point for what to expect when you embark on planning your own once-in-a-lifetime moment. 

1 Processional (or Bridal march)

2 Welcoming

3 Giving away

4 Introduction

5 Readings/Poems/Speeches/Affirmations/Funny Stories (optional)

6 Monitum/legal

7 Declaration of intention to Marry (also required by law)

8 The Asking “I do”

9 Vows

10 Ring Ceremony

12 Conclusion

13 The Declaration

14 Kiss

This can be directly after the ring ceremony or the declaration.

15 Signing of the register

Alternatively, this can be placed at the end of the ceremony if there is no music or perhaps an elopement style ceremony.) The couple and two witnesses sign the marriage Register, Certificate of marriage and the marriage Certificate, followed by conclusion of the ceremony.

16 Congratulations & presentation to family and friends

17 The Recessional

Want Your Own Personalised Wedding Order of Service? 

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If you are leaving for your honeymoon immediately, tossing it to one of your dear friends may not be worrisome to you at all. However if you plan to enjoy your bridal bouquet for the days to come while it lasts, you should be prepared with a back up for the traditional bouquet toss.

Here’s a handy tip for you, lovely brides. Have your florist put something together for you that your single gal pals will be motivated to fight for, but also that you will be quite happy to part with. 

Below hilarious photographs are by Sunshine Coast wedding photographer, Julian Beattie Photography, taken at the wedding of Brisbane couple, Taryn and Ben.  

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Amanda and Trev were highschool sweethearts, who fell truly, madly, deeply and hopelessly in love over exchange of sweet childish love letters. Those same love letters are the ones Trev bundled together in a vintage jewellery box for Amanda to open on her wedding day morning. How she turned up to her wedding ceremony without puffy eyes, we will never know! 

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This beautiful couple had a long engagement of four years before they finally tied the knot at gorgeous Sunshine Coast hinterland wedding venue, Flaxton Gardens. It was a perfect day, with their ceremony overlooking the gorgeous hinterland, which they say was their favourite part of the day. Kristy Ellis of Weddings with Kristy was their wedding celebrant, who engaged their guests and helped them to have the emotional, yet fun ceremony they had always wanted. 

We absolutely adore the colour scheme Amanda chose – the fresh white with hints of blue and coral are simply stunning and perfect for a Sunshine Coast wedding. We particularly love the florals by Ginger Lily & Rose Floral Studio with its nod to the colour theme in such a creative and intricate fashion. Love, love, love! 

Enjoy these beautiful photos by Sunshine Coast wedding photographer, NKN Photography.

“My advice to other brides is to use reputable and professionals for your wedding suppliers, their creativity and professionalism is worth every cent and you are less stressed for it.”

“I wanted a fresh, timeless look that had a modern palette using coral, white, grey and light blue.”

” As our children are very young it was important to us that our wedding was captured on film using a professional videographer that we thought would capture our personalities and our special moment as a family so we can all watch together and so that our children can see the commitment we have made to each other.”

“Our ceremony was the most special part of the day. It was so personal but fun at the same time. It was everything I had always imagined and it went perfectly.”

“Our very clever seven year old son (who was six at the time) read a beautiful and funny poem at the start of our ceremony which introduced what a wedding was all about and what our guests would be experiencing throughout our special day. Our guests loved it and were in fits of laughter, some were even crying.”

Wedding Secrets Revealed

Biggest Splurge: Videography and photography

Best Bargain: I bought my wedding shoes for $50 at Williams on sale

Bridal gown: Anna Campbell, Ivory Collection, ‘Grace’ Dress, $1099 From Eve Boutique

Accessories: Samantha Wills ‘Come Away With Me’ earrings and Pearl Bracelet

Shoes: C Est Bon $50.00 Williams Shoes

Bridesmaid dresses: Bariano One Shoulder Twist, $299.00 from Hoe Boutique

Bridesmaids’ accessories: Samantha Wills Amour Noir Earrings, $75 each from Eve Boutique, they wore their own shoes

Groom’s suit and shoes: Always Habit Paddington, $650.00

Groomsmens’ suits and shoes: Roger David $275 each

DIY: We made a chalkboard sign the day before our wedding of our love story and our children illustrated it  with pictures of themselves playing guitars and love hearts. We also had homemade cookies as bonboniere and a cool drink coaster that had “Eat, Drink, Dance – To you and to yours“,  and our names and our wedding date written on it.

Number of guests: 80

Wedding budget: $25,000

“My husband surprised me with a beautiful pearl bracelet and had a vintage jewellery box filled with love letters we had written each other over the last nine years. As I was in school when I met Trev some of them were so funny and childish. I really appreciated this as Trev isn’t the most emotional person I know.”

“The weather was amazing, not a cloud in the sky. There was a slight breeze however which made for great photos of my veil floating in the soft wind.”

“We decided to swap the standard sit down entree to cocktail food out on the terrace which gave us more time to mingle with our guests, the food was amazing, all our guests have complimented this aspect to our wedding. Then we moved inside the Winery Room to our mains which were Twice Cooked Pork Belly in a soy jus and Pan Roasted NorthTerritory Barramundi, we had a Cherry Ripe Chocolate Mudcake by Sunny Girl Cakes for dessert with a traditional top layer of fruit cake which we have kept for our first year anniversary, this was served with coconut Icecream and raspberry coulis”

Amanda & Trev’s Hand-picked Team That Made It Happen

Venue and catering: Flaxton Gardens

Photographer: NKN Photography

Florist: Ginger Lily & Rose Floral Studio

Cake: Sunny Girl Cakes

Celebrant: Weddings with Kristy

Makeup Artist: Makeup 4 Brides         

Hair Stylist: Hair 4 Brides

Videographer: Sunshine Coast Videography

DJ: Moove It DJs / Stationery Supplier: Invitation Designs By Eliza

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