My sister Justine and her husband Greg planned their wedding on the Sunshine Coast from Vancouver, Canada where they live. Featuring more than 350 roses, marabou feather wraps and a sprinkling of bling, their wedding was a fusion of Romance and Glamour. I’m proud to have been part of this beautiful celebration, and to share in their commitment to each other. You would never know they braved torrential downpours on their special day – their beaming smiles outshone the wind and rain.

Couple: Justine and Greg
Date: 27th August 2011
Location:  Ebb Waterfront Dining and Cellar, Maroochydore, QLD.
Photography: Poetic Images

Gown: Wedding gown with dusky pink sash from Tiffany Bridal. Marabou feather wrap made to order by the very talented pattern designer, Simdy, at Simdy’s, Vancouver, Canada. note: this gown is currently for sale by the Bride for $150 (pick up at the Sunshine Coast, QLD only). Please contact steph@stephbond.com for more information.

Shoes: Collection Portia heeled strappy sandals.

Suit: Rented from Ferrari Formalwear, Maroochydore, QLD.

Wedding Party: The two bridesmaids were in different countries from each other and from me, so the dresses were bought online from David’s Bridal in the US. The bridesmaids wore different styles, but both were made from Charmeuse fabric in the Lapis colourway. Pearl and Swarovski crystal earrings and necklaces were made by the Mother of the Bride. Strappy silver satin sandals from Williams the Shoemen. Marabou feather wraps from Tiffany Bridal, Vancouver, Canada. The two groomsmen wore rented suits from Ferrari Formalwear, Maroochydore, QLD. The two flower girls wore dresses from a local designer in Vancouver, tights by Metalicus, silver ballet shoes by Seed, white faux fur jackets from Pumpkin Patch, pearl and crystal necklaces by the Mother of the Bride and purple satin and pearl headbands with rosettes by Minni Mittsie.

Accessories: Necklace, earrings and custom-made bracelet by jewellery designer Elsa Corsi, Vancouver, Canada. The dress had sparkly bead work and a dusty pink ribbon, so I wanted something that was soft and sparkly and made a statement. The pink pearls with the Swarovski crystal clasp worked perfectly and is a one of a kind.

Hair: Kerrie from Hair 4 Brides, Buderim, QLD.

Makeup: Lisa from Makeup 4 Brides, Buderim, QLD.

Flowers: We decided to do our own flowers, which turned out to be the great success story of the wedding. We bought gorgeous and very reasonably-priced roses from Marty at E & J Paradise Farm (Hutton Rd, Yandina, QLD ph: (07) 5472 7258). He was so helpful and we visited the farm the week before the wedding to choose two colours of roses for the bulk of the order, then as many bunches as he could give us of a new rose colour they had just begun growing called “antique pink,” which perfectly matched my dress. We added eight bunches of freesias (white and purple) and eucalyptus foliage from wholesaler Suncoast Flowers. My Bridesmaid and I practiced making bouquets before the wedding, but it wasn’t looking too great… until my sister stepped in (she’s the author of this site and was my Maid of Honour). It turns out she is a flower arranging GENIUS and she worked for about 10 straight hours the day before the wedding to make the stunning bouquets and all the arrangements. I could not have asked for more gorgeous flowers for my wedding … and at such a great cost (I estimate we saved about $1,000 by purchasing wholesale). My mum also made the button holes, which looked amazing as well. I was very lucky! Read this tutorial on how to create this DIY wedding flower bouquet.

Ceremony: Ebb Waterfront Dining and Cellar, Maroochydore, QLD was the location for both the ceremony and reception. The ceremony would ideally have been on Ebb’s gorgeous outdoor deck space overlooking the Maroochy River, but it rained solidly the whole day, so it was brought inside. Karen Faa was our celebrant. We thought she did a wonderful job and was professional and friendly throughout the entire process. We were allowed to have a great deal of input into what was said and the length of the ceremony (we wanted to keep it short), and Karen expertly guided us through the ceremony, helping all of us to get through it with no hassle. She also followed up with us and sent in our application for a government licence in case we need it for immigration purposes down the line. I would highly recommend Karen to other couples. I also liked having the ceremony and reception in the same place, as it meant no one had to worry about travelling.

Reception: Ebb Waterfront Dining and Cellar, Maroochydore, QLD. Because we were organising our wedding from Canada, we relied heavily on my parents to help out with things like the venue. In the end it was my Dad who chose Ebb as the location, as he had been there before for other weddings that have used his chocolate fountains.  I have been a vegetarian for 16 years, so I wanted an all vegetarian wedding, which Ebb was able to accommodate with no hassle, and the food was delightful. They came up with a great menu that included:

• landsborough zucchinni flowers – puglia ricotta – truffled peas – aged garlic
• spinach gnocchi – pinenuts – sage – parmigiano reggiano
• palmwoods mushrooms – black quinoa – horseradish crème fraiche
• butternut pumpkin tortelloni – charella feta – rosemary – beurre noisette

The desserts were amazing as well, and service on the day was impeccable.

Music: I downloaded the entire playlist onto my iPod for the wedding. We also had a guitarist play live for the ceremony and mingling, which was a great touch.

Decoration: We relied on the 350 roses for decoration. Each table was decorated with two vases (from a local florist) filled with roses, a crystal lotus flower candle holder from Dusk (borrowed from the Mother of the Bride), and scattered rose petals.  To add some pretty detail, I brought a bag of bling (rolls of sparkly stickers and pearl sticker designs, some scatter gems, etc) that I added to the table vases, the bouquets, place cards.

Stationery: I bought all the stationery from Michaels, Vancouver, Canada. We printed the stationery ourselves and I added sparkle and pearl stickers to the invites to make them a bit more special and personal. I also made the placecards myself by buying a pack of plain white placecards, gluing purple card to them, and adding sparkly letter stickers (from Michaels) to spell out the names. The wedding guest book fingerprint tree was designed by I Do It Yourself.

Transport: We stayed in The Duporth Riverside apartments above the restaurant the night before and the night of the wedding, which meant we didn’t have to worry about transport. This saved us a great deal of hassle and time, and I would recommend it to other brides if at all possible.

Budget Tip:  Having a small wedding (30 people) was a huge saving. Buying and arranging the flowers ourselves was the biggest money saver, as well as printing our own invitations, making our own placecards, buying card and decorative items when they were on special, and keeping decorations simple. We also saved a lot by just using my iPod for the music instead of hiring a DJ or live music all evening.

Eco-friendly Tip:  Hosting a vegetarian wedding was our biggest contribution to the environment, since meat production is incredibly environmentally detrimental. And I loved that we were able to source the flowers locally. We got them straight from the farm, so we didn’t have to contribute to unnecessary transportation.

Handmade Tip: Again, the flowers were the biggest handmade item, as well as the invitations, and embellishments on vases and the placecards. I also love that my Mum was able to make the jewellery for the bridesmaids and flower girls.

I wish: I wish I had chosen a more suitable hairstyle for the weather conditions on the day. They style was gorgeous, but it didn’t hold very well because of the humidity, so I wish I had gone with something more structured. I also really wish it hadn’t rained all day, but that can’t be helped!

Something Special: One of the highlights of the evening was when my new husband and I went back to our room and it had been decorated by my bridesmaids with candles, confetti, champagne, strawberries, and a “just married” sign. It felt really special and was the perfect way to start our married life together.

Images: Poetic Images

Tags:  DIY, DIY flower bouquet, Ebb Waterfront Dining and Cellar, flowergirls, guest book, Impression Bridal, pink and purple, Poetic Images, QLD, rain, vegetarian, Winter

Categories:  Glamorous, Maroochydore, Pink, Purple, Restaurant Weddings, River Weddings, Sunshine Coast