Westival Archives | The Bride's Tree

Stacey loves Tore | Pop-up Noosa Tipi Wedding

Sally Townsend — Wed, 04 Apr 2018 03:47:21 +0000

Sydney couple Stacey and Tore invited family and friends from Australia and the UK to join them for a destination wedding in Noosa.

After their ceremony at Hidden Grove in Noosa, they took they and their 80 guests retired to the Noosa Rugby club where the couple had pulled together an epic pop up wedding complete with three tipis and multiple food vans.

How to Create a Pop-up Wedding

Creating the whole day was a DIY project, one big ‘Pop Up’ wedding on an empty piece of National Park and a reception on an open field. We brought everything in (excluding the bathroom amenities thankfully) making the whole event personalised with our favourite things from food and drinks to table settings. We created a dessert and tea station (I’m English) and also a rum, whisky and cigar bar to get the party started after the speeches.

My maid of honour (mostly) and I searched every market, vintage and op shop for all of the beautiful trinkets, decanters and tea cups; it was a labour of love. I also collected vintage plates for months and finally found enough to create individual place settings, paired with white linen napkins and a polaroid picture of each guest (the more embarrassing the photo the better!)

Our Biggest Challenge

“Tore and I lived apart for professional reasons 12 months prior to the wedding. I was planning the wedding in a town with no partner, friends or family. We both threw ourselves into our careers and would see each other once a month or twice at most, when saw each other we would be planning the wedding mostly! It was really hard but made us stronger for it.”

The Proposal

“I had just returned from a three week trip back home to the UK. Tore picked me up from the airport and told me he had organised a surprise, three days off work for a mini getaway in Noosa. Heaven! I thought, “wow he must’ve really missed me!”

“Tore had booked an apartment at Noosa Blu Resort with a rooftop spa. We spent the day doing all the things we love in Noosa, and then returned to the apartment to enjoy sunset drinks and a cheese platter. We were about to jump into the spa when Tore asked me to go downstairs and grab the bottle opener as ‘he had forgotten’ it.

“I came back up the stairs and Tore was on one knee with a ‘Hello Kitty’ ring and popped the question. I nearly fell down the stairs as it was unexpected, but I squealed with delight and eventually said yes. Tore proposed with a phony ring so we could design my engagement ring together.”

Images by Figtree Wedding Photography

“Tasleema Nigh Makeup Artist did the most beautiful make up, one of bridesmaids said she wished Tasleema had done her wedding make up!”

“”The Anna Campbell store in Melbourne made my dress experience so special after so many other disappointing attempts (Jordan, you’re the best!)”

“Tore is the life and soul of everything he does, he is known for his quick wit and sense of humour, which is what I love most about him. He doesn’t sweat the small stuff, and he keeps me grounded. Tore is so kind, genuine and just understands me and my crazy ways.”

The Music

“We had our friends perform Bob Marley’s “Is This Love” acoustically for walking down the aisle. They also performed Zac Brown Band’s ‘Whatever It Is’ for signing and then ‘Home’ by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros for our first dance.”

The Location

“We met on the Sunshine Coast, lived there together for two years, got engaged there and it just feels like home. It’s where we wanted to share our day with our family and friends, so they could see why we loved this place so much.”

Uniquely Ours

“Our biggest priority for our wedding was making it unique to anything we had experienced at a wedding before and to represent all the things we love. By making it a pop up wedding, we could pick and choose everything from food vendors and alcohol to furniture, and not be restricted by the same rules restaurants and venues have.”

Wedding Secrets

Biggest splurge: The tipis, we could have saved some cash with just two but having three gave us room to have a dance floor and the band inside. Instead of more traditional marquees the tipis were unique and made the whole venue look like a really special wedding location as opposed to a rugby field!

Also, my wedding dress – three times my original budget but it was ‘the one’ and I don’t regret a single cent.

Best bargain: Having the reception at Tore’s old rugby ground. Affordable rent and we knew the staff. Our vendors helped bring our vision to life with a bit of creative placement and thinking so you never knew you were at a rugby club.

Bridal gown: Anna Campbell

Hair piece: Anna Campbell

Shoes: Diana Ferrari

Veil and earrings: borrowed

Bridesmaids’ dresses: I gave the girls free reign to pick their own dresses, they were all from different stores.

Bridesmaids’ accessories: Samantha Wills

Bridesmaids’ shoes: their own

Groom’s attire: Peter Jackson

Groomsmen’s attire: Roger David

Flowergirl’s dress: Monsoon

Rings: Bold as Love

DIY: Stationery, place settings, decorations and trinkets, whiskey and cigar bar, tea station.

Honeymoon: Long story, we were booked to go to India but we had to settle on the Blue Mountains and renamed it a ‘Babymoon’ as I fell pregnant. Oops!

Number of guests: 80

Wedding budget: $25,000

Actual cost of wedding: $47,000

“Ashlea from The Vintage Bondwood Bar has the most beautiful caravan bar! She spoke with me for over an hour talking through the set up and helped me get my head around the run sheet for the day, plus Ash and her lovely mum whipped up the best sangria (without any guidance from us) as our welcome drinks, I knew she could just run with anything we asked and she personalised the whole van, it was stunning.”

“We found our suppliers on The Bride’s Tree, Instagram, Pinterest, Etsy, bridal expos, Eumundi markets and recommendations from colleagues and friends.”

Photographer: Figtree Wedding Photography | Florist: Heavenly Blooms | Caterer: The Canape Project, Jungle Oven Catering and Oi Taco Food Van | Beverage catering: The Vintage Bondwood Bar | Tipis: Tipi Luxe | Makeup Artist: Tasleema Nigh Makeup Artist | Hair Stylist: Hair by Nicola | Decorators: Lovebird Weddings | Entertainment: Sexual Chocolate Band and lawn games | Celebrant: our friend, Sean Fernance Celebrant | Wedding Night Accommodation: Apartment in Little Cove, Noosa – R&W Noosa

Thank you for supporting our A-list Vendors, who made Stacey + Tore’s wedding so memorable…

Learn more about… Tasleema Nigh Makeup Artist + Heavenly Blooms + Tipi Luxe + The Vintage Bondwood Bar

A huge congratulations to Stacey and Tore on the birth of their daughter, Phoenix with the cheeky smile. Wishing your beautiful family the Happily Ever After you deserve!

The post Stacey loves Tore | Pop-up Noosa Tipi Wedding appeared first on The Bride's Tree.

Caitlin loves Jesse | Yandina Tipi Wedding

Sally Townsend — Mon, 19 Mar 2018 04:33:44 +0000

Jesse proposed to Caitlin while on holiday in Queenstown, New Zealand. As they took a romantic moment in a gondola heading for the skyline. Caitlin says it was an easy choice to say an emphatic yes, as she says her now husband is the most generous and giving person, who somehow manages to put up with her!

Aw..! We’re sure the feeling is mutual, Caitlin!

This beautiful bride has kindly shared some words about her Yandina tipi wedding with us today.

The venue

“It was really important for me that my grandparents were able to attend my wedding. And once you see the Hidden Valley Farm, it’s very to see why we instantly fell I love with it.”

The food

“We are both massive foodies; so quality Asian tapas, a grazing table, craft beer and espresso martinis were at the top of our list. The food was amazing, people are still raving about how amazing it was.

“Jesse and I had a private picnic in the macadamia orchard right after the bridal party photos. We got to spend half an hour with just the two of us, it was such a special moment where got to get away from the craziness of the day.”

The wedding music

Walking down the aisle – Acoustic cover of Sky Full of Stars

First Dance – we had the whole wedding joined us on the dance floor for our first dance (because of Jesse’s injury) and we all danced to Jesse’s Girl – Bruce Springsteen

The biggest challenge

“My partner was involved in a boating accident 2 months before our wedding. He was in a wheelchair for the first month and crutches after that. He only took his first steps without crutches on the day of our wedding. Because we had a fair bit of DIY involved in our wedding, he was unfortunately unable to help. I think this was harder on him than it was on me.”

Advice for future brides

“Be organised. Not only do you save money, you also don’t have any of that pre-wedding stress in the lead up to your big day.

“Also, invest in a good photographer. Looking back on photos, it’s the little moments that you forget, that the photographer thought to capture that really mean a lot to you.”

Images by Brian Geritz

“Holding hands and looking at Jesse for the first time at the alter. A wave of happiness just came over me.”

Wedding Secrets

Biggest splurge: Tipi Luxe was our splurge. We looked at other cheaper marquee options, but we just had to have them.

Best money-saving decision: The Vintage Bondwood Bar caravan. We love craft beers and espresso martinis. So having Ashlea and the crew at our wedding meant that we were able to serve craft beers and spirits, as well as have a cocktail hour of espresso martinis at only a fraction of the price a venue wedding would have cost.

Bride’s dress: “Aster” by Karen Willis Holmes

Bride’s accessories: Earrings – The Silver Shop & Hairpiece – The Posy Co.

Bride’s Shoes: Betts Shoes

Bridesmaids’ dresses: Shona Joy

Bridesmaids’ accessories: Collette Hayman

Bridesmaids’ shoes: Betts Shoes

Flowergirl’s dress: Etsy

Groom’s attire: Politix

Groomsmens’ attire: Roger David

DIY: The furniture was dry hired through Sacred Wilde. So the bridesmaids and I styled the venue, this included going out to the venue at 5am on the morning of the wedding. The small decorations I bought from Kmart or made with the help of friends.

I run a hobby cake business, Cakes by Cait, so I made my own wedding cake. And with the help of other local cake makers, Cakes by Nola and Cakes by Zoe, we put together the serve yourself platter table.

Honeymoon: My partner had a boating accident 2 months before our wedding, so the original honeymoon was cancelled and we ended up having three honeymoons; Byron Bay, New York and Hawaii and then Bali. So I was one very lucky bride in the end.

Number of guests: 110

Wedding budget: Low $20,000’s

Actual wedding cost: Just under $30,000

Thank you for supporting our A-list Vendors, who helped make Caitlin + Jesse’s big day so darn wonderful…

Learn more about… Journey Street Food + The Vintage Bondwood Bar + Sacred Wilde + Tipi Luxe + Politix

The post Caitlin loves Jesse | Yandina Tipi Wedding appeared first on The Bride's Tree.

Real Wedding: Melitta & Trent at Maleny Retreat

admin — Wed, 17 Dec 2014 19:00:04 +0000

Trent and Melitta initially bonded over play dough creations and sand pit adventures. They first met at their pre-school, where they both grew up, on Bribie Island, however it was quite a number of years later and a day at the races that saw them come together.

After six blissful years together, Trent proposed, and what followed was a “westival” at Maleny Retreat. “A westival?”, you ask. Indeed, a wedding-meets-festival that has the key elements of a relaxed atmosphere, live music, great food, oodles of space and every friend and every family member that could be gathered to celebrate.

Maleny Retreat is the perfect Sunshine Coast hinterland wedding venue for such an event, and Andrea Thompson was there to capture the day.

“Trent took his groomsmen to the barber on the morning of the wedding for some ‘male-bonding’.”

“My parents, bridesmaids and some very close friends all stayed with me the night before. We made the bridesmaids bouquets and the groomsmens pins together. I wrote all of my bridesmaids and some of my special friends a letter and gave them all their Samantha Wills jewellery as their gifts.”

“Our celebrant was amazing and I don’t think there was a dry eye in the room when we exchanged our vows. Walking down the aisle to Led Zeppelin “Thank You” was also pretty special. I still get goosebumps thinking about it.”

“We have a lot of interests that are the same, but we also love completely different things. We respect each other as individuals.”

“We wanted our wedding to be fun-filled and not too formal. A gathering of our closest friends and family to celebrate, drink, eat and dance. It was more of a ‘wedstival’ than a wedding.

Once we had agreed on a marquee wedding and the location, we really wanted to make the most of the beautiful surroundings. If anything it was a whimsical, almost minimalistic style, but with some key features like the beautiful light up letters and the vintage caravan bar. One of my bridesmaids described it as “vintage, bohemian with a touch of glitter”.”

“I am biased, but it truly was a beautiful wedding and the best day of our lives. The day/night was exactly how we wanted it – lots of dancing and laughter.”

Wedding Secrets

Biggest splurge: The key elements like the band and the vintage mobile bar – but they are what made the day/night so great.

Best money-saver: We asked our guests (excluding family and bridal party) to pay for their meal in lieu of a gift. We had tossed and turned about this decision for a while and we also ran it passed a few guests to get their thoughts. They were also very supportive of it. It meant that we could invite more people and didn’t have to cut numbers down.

Bridal gown: Anna Campbell dress purchased at The Babushka Ballerina

Accessories: Bo & Luca head crown, Samantha Wills earrings, Crocodilli bracelet (custom made), I borrowed the veil from a very dear friend

Shoes: Jimmy Choo

Bridesmaid dresses: I asked them to pick their own dress. Their only stipulation was that it had to be ‘blue’. I wanted my girls to feel like themselves and be the individuals that they all are, so it didn’t make sense for them to be dressed the same. It worked out perfectly and they all coincidently ended up with an element of lace as well, which was beautiful.

Bridesmaids’ accessories: Samantha Wills jewellery and their own shoes.

Groom’s suit and shoes: Suit from Suits Direct, bow tie from Mrs Bow Tie, and Zu shoes.

Groomsmens’ suits and shoes: Pants and braces were from ASOS, they wore their own shoes and picked out their own socks and bow ties.

Rings: Michael Hill

DIY: Invitations, table settings, decorations, the bridesmaids bouquets, the groom and groomsmens pins, my Aunty made the bunting for the cake table.

Honeymoon: Bali, San Francisco, Las Vegas and LA. We met up with about 30 of our friends in Vegas for a birthday celebration! It was an absolutely awesome honeymoon.

Number of guests: 138

Wedding budget: $32,000

A-list Vendors

Venue: Maleny Retreat

Bride’s bouquet: Mondo Floral Design

Makeup Artist: Allure Bridal Stylists

Photographer: Andrea Thompson Photography / Caterer: SafeHands Catering Sunshine Coast / Cake: Sweet Art Sugar Decorations / Transport: Highland Connexion / Rentals: Perry’s Hire / Entertainment: Mo Swagger / Celebrant: Melissa Pecci / Wedding Night Accommodation: Maleny Wedding Retreat / Light Up Letters (T & M): AV Ideas

You simply must take a look through Melitta & Trent’s full wedding album.

The post Real Wedding: Melitta & Trent at Maleny Retreat appeared first on The Bride's Tree.