Today we have a Guest Blogger, the lovely Kari, a Sunshine Coast Celebrant we simply adore! 

Congratulations to Hayley and Wade with their darling children, Charlotte and Kobi, married in the delightful Tiffany’s Chapel in Maleny.  Charlotte gave me a priceless opportunity to catch the bridal wrap, as she stood wrapping herself in Mum’s stunning bridal gown, while Toni was organising the group picture.  Too delightful to miss!

We seek ceremony when there is something profound happening.  We do things in ceremony that are symbols of a deeper meaning in our lives.  Some things are not easy to express every day, as we live it.  Some things are best expressed by ritual.  A wedding does this.  It creates an opportunity to gather the important people, and to enunciate deep feelings in the form of promises or gifts.

Hayley and Wade's wedding day was a dream come true.  And it was a wedding about family.  Hayley and Wade believe that family is first, family is everything; family is LIFE.

Often a wedding is not simply about two people.  It is about a wider group of people; community, family, heart families.  This wedding was for everyone there.

This marriage was about a family unit, yet was a recognition of the important relationship that holds the family together, the parents.  For Hayley and Wade wished to give the gift of marriage to each other.  They had already promised forever, in their kids, but on their wedding day they showed it to each other.

A key to understanding this was their choice of reading “The key to love is understanding…” taken from an unknown author in 1st century China. Read it on my blog.

Thanks to Toni Snell Photographer for the glorious images.

Today's article is by Kari, from Kari Celebrations. Kari is a wonderful celebrant on the Sunshine Coast. 

The post Married with Children appeared first on The Bride's Tree.

Mary Bruce Celebrant considers it a privilege to be a celebrant, journeying with people of all ages through the milestone times in their lives is a life-giving and wonderful profession. What a beautiful outlook! That’s exactly the kind of attitude one would want in a wedding celebrant, and here on the Sunshine Coast in this lovely lady, that’s exactly what you can expect. 

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Today is a very fitting day to have our spotlight on Sunshine Coast wedding celebrant, Mary Bruce, because we just so happen to know that she is celebrating her birthday! So once you have learnt a little bit about Miss Mary in this Q & A, why not show her some birthday love in the comments below? From The Bride’s Tree team, we wish you the happiest of birthdays, Mary! 

What is your idea of a dream holiday?

Little gite in the south of France with husband Mike and friends – a jaunt in Spain and Ireland – oh and of course Paris!

Where is your fave Sunshine Coast spot to relax and unwind?

Mike and I do our pub walk – start at the Noosa Pub on top of the hill – walk to the National Park and back – then find a table at the National Park end of Hastings Street and have drinks and nibbles as we watch the sun go down.  In winter we rug up ad  cook yummy things like Thai fish cakes and the walkers/runners all want to join it…

Mary, when you find yourself with a day all to yourself, what do you like to do?

Had to laugh Sally as I never find this happening – if there is a window it is catch up with our kids or grandkids or mates.

Are you a shoes or a handbags kind of gal?

Definitely shoes

What is something important to you in your life?

I guess my gorgeous Mum’s philosophy – I try to live it: “every day of you life, try to make someone else’s life a little better off for having known you – especially if you don’t know them!”

What do you remember most about the first wedding you ever officiated?

That it was so much fun – it was in an isolated section of beach and we got there via the Surf Club buggy. So emotional – we laughed and cried and just had a ball. I will never forget it – or the happy couple I hope – for all the right reasons…

What is the one piece of advice you always offer to your brides?

Oh that is hard – I guess to try and stay focussed on what the couple want to achieve and therefore that their Ceremony is a real reflection of who they are.  Delegate where possible and surround themselves with capable professionals – that way they can relax, be in the moment and truly enjoy every moment of their special day.

Best part of your job?

Witnessing the joy of a couple’s wedding day – it is so gratifying when you know you have contributed to possibly the happiest day of someone’s life – but then we have so much fun getting to that day, and on the day –I don’t know what part is best – the whole journey is just such a privilege and so much fun.

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Penny went into full organise mode when planning her wedding, gaining inspiration from inspiration online blogs, like The Bride’s Tree! She also wanted to put all her trust and faith in the consumate professionals we have here on the Sunshine Coast. For example, one Karen Buckle Photography, who is the lady responsible for the crazy beautiful images you are about to see. Hang onto your floral headpieces, ladies, you are in for a treat. 

“All our family and friends were very supportive but we did much of the planning ourselves or by email and phone. I Googled suppliers and followed their blogs and read their Facebook pages. In the end I went with the suppliers that seemed like they would understand my vision, I didn’t worry about getting three quotes and checking twice. It was about choosing the people I really wanted to work with.”

“We decided on a morning wedding because we wanted to spend as much of our wedding day together as possible, and then planned an after party for later where we could crank up the music and everyone could kick off their shoes and relax.“

Penny & Duane’s

Hand-picked Team That Made It All Happen

Photographer: Karen Buckle Photography

Florist & Decorations:    Ginger Lily & Rose Floral Studio

Caterer: Ebb Waterfront Restaurant

Cake: Eden Cakes & Cupcakes

Makeup Artist: Shima & Gloss

Hair Stylist: Hair by Nicola

Entertainment: Mia Wray

Stationery: The Parchment Place via Etsy

Celebrant:  Weddings with Kristy

Wedding Night Accommodation: Duporth Apartments

“I had a million themes in mind! Wedding blogs were my best friend and I poured over them all. The girls will attest that I had so many ideas; it took a while to scale everything back to a colour palette and feel I was happy with. In the end it came to be lots of white, with touches of colour in the flowers and other accents. Light and elegant was how it turned out.”

“Julia from Ginger Lily and Rose did the most incredible job of interpreting my vision, I wanted flowers everywhere.“

“My dad walked me down the aisle, Mum walked ahead of Dad and I in the place of the Matron of Honour and they both gave me away at the end. It was important to me that mum was a big part of the processional.”

“We really wanted to write and say our own vows to each other and saying them and hearing Duane’s was the most special part of the day. Being able to tell all our friends and family how special my husband is and how much I treasure him was a really precious thing.”

“We always knew we wanted an intimate destination wedding, we wanted to have really good food and wine with a great view and we wanted the ceremony to be really personal to us.“

“We are similar in nature, with the same interests and outlook on life, we have lots of funny little sayings and jokes for each other and we share everything, good and bad. It works because above all we are devoted to each other and hold our relationship sacred.”

“We came to the Sunshine Coast to look at venues Aug 2012 and were just blown away by Ebb, the view, the space and the management were superb, we booked a table for dinner that night, had a fabulous meal and then booked our wedding on the spot!”

Wedding Secrets Revealed

Biggest splurge: My wedding band from Tiffany & Co to match my engagement ring and flowers, flowers and more flowers!

Biggest bargain: I bought a lot online and from Etsy especially.

Bridal gown:  Nicolina, purchased at Something & Love Bridal

Accessories: Various from Etsy

Shoes: Zizi by Florsheim

Bridesmaid dresses:  Made to order from Etsy

Bridesmaids’ accessories: Purchased their own

Groom and groomsmens’ suits and shoes: Suits purchased at Man to Man, own shoes

Rings: Tiffany & Co Novo platinum and diamond wedding band for bride, Dora Titanium and white gold for Groom

DIY: Glass votives with lace for tea lights, frames to display the menus, table numbers, and seating arrangements

Number of guests: 75

“My favourite thing was the custom designed floral fascinators Ginger Lily & Rose Floral Studio made for the bridesmaids in place of bouquets and the table backdrop arrangement at the end of our aisle.“

The post Real Wedding: Penny & Duane on Maroochy River appeared first on The Bride's Tree.

Their beduoin marquee wedding was held in perfect seclusion on a private property in the Mooloolah Valley in the Sunshine Coast hinterland. It was a relaxed, no fuss affair with 80 of the couple’s family and friends and their gorgeous little baby. 

Enjoy these stunning images below by talented Sunshine Coast wedding phtoographer, Bonnie Jenkins.

Some beautiful words from Kari, the wonderful celebrant of Kari Celebrations, who always takes the time to get to know her couples intimately in order to present a very personalised ceremony.

“The beginning of Sarah and Flynn’s wedding seemed to be drawn out of Middle Earth…with a modern twist. To the strains of Mumford and sons playing Winter Winds, Flynn, the groom and his best man almost skipped down a path from inside an extensive hillside bamboo grove. We could glimpse them between the giant bamboo stems.  On arrival they handed a flower to each guest from a basket of hand-picked garden. 

The music changed to La Valse de Amelie, the mood became more feminine, and through the bamboo we saw a father and daughter strolling casually through the bamboo grove, she on his arm, and with baby Aoife in Granddad’s arms dressed in nymph green.

Flynn and Sarah met way back in about the year 1485 AD. But it wasn’t until 1710 that Flynn managed to ask her out!  You may be confused by the dates here.  But the bride is not as old as you may think!!

In explanation, Sarah and Flynn were the only two students in a University tutorial class about British History 1485 – 1710.  So you can see it took Flynn a a few hundred years of history and only after the final exams, to realise that he had to do something if he was going to guarantee seeing Sarah again. He managed to invite her on a date.

Amongst other things Flynn inspired by the great poets promised to “swim across the milky way and enjoy the infinite array of stars and planets and horsehead nebula……Everything I am and everything I have is yours, for history AND eternity.”

“My tip to other brides – don’t wear a strapless gown if you are carrying a baby around.”

“I wanted a vintage, country theme but we were planning it after moving to Victoria so it soon became what can we find on the internet“

Wedding Secrets Revealed

Biggest splurge: The marquee. I didn’t want a big tent and I saw the bedouin type tents on the internet and was sold.

Best bargain: Probably my wedding dress I was about 6 months pregnant and freaking out that I wouldn’t have time to look after the baby was born so I bought one online through etsy.

Bridal gown: Etsy, I paid around $500 including postage from America

Accessories: Etsy

Shoes: Wittner, $60

Bridesmaid dress and accessories: It was a dress Bec already had, same for the accessories

Groom and best man’s suits and shoes: Vest from Country Road, hats, jeans and shoes from stores in Smith Street, Melbourne.

DIY: I made the invitations, place cards, thank you notes, and did my own makeup. Flynn’s mum did the huge flower displays and bali flags (as well as organising everything).

Photographer: Bonnie Jenkins

Celebrant: Kari Celebrations

Number of guests: 80

Wedding budget: $13,000

Everyone helped out setting up the decorations, picking up and setting up the cake. Lots of Flynn’s mum’s friends lent items that we used as decorations“

The post Beduoin Marquee Wedding in Mooloolah Valley appeared first on The Bride's Tree.

Our spotlight is trained to a true superstar of the Sunshine Coast wedding industry today. Shona Anderson is someone who really brings it to each and every wedding ceremony she officiates on the Sunshine Coast. When you meet Shona, you can see beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is one lady, who truly adores what she does. Her bridal couples mean the world to her, and being there for them in the lead up to their wedding day to put together their own personalised perfect wedding ceremony is what makes Shona’s world turn.

Anyway, enough about this business stuff. Let’s get to know Your Celebrant Shona on a more intimate level. We got all the goss from this vivacious lady, and she had us giggling away at her big personality, as only Shona can! 

Where is your fave place to go for a tea/coffee on the Sunshine Coast?

I am quite partial to a Chai latte anywhere near water so “One on La Balsa” Mooloolaba/Buddina is high on my list, also nice to do some celebrity spotting!

What is one of your absolute fave things to do in your down time?

Again water features quite high on my list, The Hubster (Robert) and I go Kayaking with our Moodle ~ Missy on Currimundi Lakes, we pack picnic lunch and chill out for a few hours. Jet skiing runs a close second!

If you planned one perfect day, what would it involve?

Actually my previous answer pretty well sums it up, but add our four adult children and our new granddaughter to the mix and then it would be absolute perfection!

What is something that is really important to you in your life?

Family and friends. I adore special times with these fabulous people in my life! It can be as simple as a BBQ or as glam as a cocktail party; when family and friends are around me I am one very happy lady!

When you meet an engaged couple, what is one thing you love to learn about them?

I adore hearing their love story and family history. Why? Amazing information is revealed that makes for inspiring wedding ceremony content that will enthrall their guests and set the tone for the rest of their wedding day. For example, one couple had all their grandparents and parents all still happily married (that’s quite rare!), the combined tally of all of those marriages was 290 years, The grandparents and parents were honoured in the ceremony in a significant way and gave advise to the couple, which has remained with me to this day!

What would people be surprised to learn about you?

For several years I worked on Hayman Island in the royal suites and was the gopher for Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, Lord Wedgwood, Henry Kissinger, Andre Mastrassi among other VIPs – yep they are just like you and I, burps, fluffs and all!

If you could offer one piece of sound advice to brides and grooms, what would it be? 

Compromise! It’s the key to success in almost any given situation. 

Image by Chesterton Smith Photography

What made you want to become a wedding celebrant?

Back in the day in another locale, The Hubster and I were married by a Civil Celebrant, who did a half-hearted ceremony. I thought to myself, “I’m darn sure I could do better than this” So I did my studies and made a pledge to myself to strive really hard to create ceremonies that are unique and meaningful to each and every client and to go the extra mile for my clients, I’ve found it’s always the sweetest mile to travel with them.

What do you love about your job?

Confucius said “Find a job you like and you will never work a day in your life!” –  I’d have to agree, except, I don’t like my job, I love it! Be it a wedding, naming, funeral or any other special occasion; I feel very honoured to be a part of such important moments in peoples’ lives. Meeting so many lovely people with varied cultures and beliefs is an absolute joy to me. Symbolism and ritual research intrigues me and can be the crucial difference between a glorious or ghastly ceremony.

The post Spotlight on a Supplier: Your Celebrant Shona appeared first on The Bride's Tree.