E M M A & M A T T
F R O M T H E B R I D E . . .
We first met…
Through a mutual friend who I also worked with. I worked at a hotel at the time as the Events Executive, our friend was the hotel Marketing Manager and she wanted Matthew to be on our preferred wedding supplier list for his photography. I met Matthew previously and wanted to get to know him better so our friend set us up for coffee, it was meant to be a work meeting but it was more like a first date.
How we fell in love…
It all happened so fast, it was only a couple of weeks in and we both couldn’t not say it to each other. When you know you know!
The proposal…
We got engaged on Green Island which is just off the coast of Cairns. Matthew took me away for a few nights for my birthday. On the first night we went down to the beach for sunset drinks where he proposed, it was perfect
The wedding we always dreamed of…
We changed our minds on the specifics a couple of times in the early stages although the ‘theme’ we wanted to keep was classic. Our colours were white & silver with a little navy blue. We also wanted a winter wedding, we live in the tropics and we both enjoy cool weather so we chose a July wedding in Brisbane, we were hoping for a mild day of about 10 – 15 degrees and that’s exactly what we got.
We also decided straight away that we wanted to do a ‘first look’ which is where we see each other before the ceremony and then have our photos. That way we could have the sunset ceremony we wanted and the ceremony would then lead straight into canapes and straight into the reception without any breaks in between
Ceremony venue…
Our ceremony was held on the Riverside Terrace at Customs House right on sunset. The set up was perfect, we had fairy lights overhead and chandelier under our arbour with the Story bridge as the background. We had an image in our minds of what we wanted and our wedding stylist made it happen. We also had a string trio with a solo guitarist for the music.
Reception venue…
Our reception was in the long room also at Customs House, our guests stayed at the same location for the ceremony, canapes & reception.
The bridal party…
We had a maid of honour, 2 x bridesmaids, a best man and 2 groomsmen. The maid of honour is my closest friend and the bridesmaids are my best and oldest friends, we’ve been friends since Primary school. The best man is Matthews brother, one groomsman is Matthews brother in law and the other is Matthews best friend.
They wore…
The bridesmaids wore a long navy blue, one shouldered gown with a small sparkle embellishment on the shoulder to match the brides sparkle belt. The groomsmen wore dark grey suits with a white shirt, navy ties and tan shoes.
The dress…
I bought my wedding gown from Jonovia which is a shop here in Palm Cove. The owner Alison helped me find my dress, she picked it out for me and it was perfect. After I tried it on I tried a few others however none of them compared so I knew it was the one. The gown is Sottero & Midgley and is the perfect style for me. I wanted something classic with sleeves and something that came in at the waist and was still fitted around the hips without being too tight. I also wanted a bit of sparkle so we added the belt.
The flowers…
To keep in with the classic theme we went with white flowers and baby’s breath for the bridesmaids.
The decor…
Willow Tree Creative was fantastic with assisting me to choose the reception decorating. It was white & silver throughout with a touch of navy. We had white chiavari chairs which sat around oval tables. On the table we had a silver & white chevron patterned table runner, one tall silver candelabra with white flowers and two small silver vases with white flowers. The place cards where written in calligraphy in white pen on navy cards and tied to the napkins in silver twine.
We didn’t have a traditional bridal table, the bridal party and ourselves sat at an oval table with all the other tables with the band and dance floor as the main point of the room.
Photography…
Matthew is a Wedding Photographer and has spent his career being inspired by Jeff Newsoms work, when it was our time to be married it only seemed right that Jeff would be the photographer. We love the way they capture the special moments on the day, sometimes its difficult to convey emotion and the feeling of that exact moment through a photo however Jeff managed to do it
On the menu…
We had a sit down 3 course alternative drop meal. Entrée was a salad of smoked duck breast or scallops. Main was rosemary chicken or grilled lamb. For dessert we served the wedding cake and also a selection of cheese on platters to the table.
Bonbonniere…
We chose to make a donation amount on behalf of each person to the Leukaemia Foundation, Matthews nephew was diagnosed with leukaemia when he was 18 months old, he is now almost 4 and out of the worst of it. The Leukaemia Foundation were wonderful helping Matthews sister and family throughout everything so we wanted to give something back.
Memorable moments…
There were a couple, the first being our first look. The moment we first saw each other was just between the two of us so it was really special. We will have that moment together forever. It also took the pressure off walking down the aisle later on.
The second was when Matthew and his groomsmen performed a One Direction dance, they had practised twice in secret and surprised me with a very funny dance at the end of the night to ‘One thing’, while Matthew was up there trying to do a choreographed dance with 4 other boys I was reminded of why I was marrying him, he would do anything for me to make me smile even if it means dancing to One Direction in front of all our friends & family!
Wedding soundtrack…
Processional – ‘Can You Feel The Love’ by Elton John
First Dance – ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’ by Elvis
Honeymoon…
We spent a month travelling around Mexico and USA.
The future…
Our plans are to keep enjoying our lives together, we both have great careers and the time to be able to travel and see the world so our plans for now are to keep doing that and creating life long memories together.
In 40 years we hope to…
Be retired living on a farm with lots of dogs and horses.
W E D D I N G W I S D O M
Advice on how to enjoy the engagement…
We were engaged for 18 months before we got married. My advice would be to enjoy that time as much as possible. I remember very early on wishing the time away because I was so excited for the wedding, my maid of honour reminded me to enjoy the time you’re engaged as it only happens once, after that I didn’t wish the time away anymore and I relished in the excitement of being engaged.
Advice on wedding planning…
Do it early and be organised. The more organised you are the earlier on the easier the lead up and the day will be. We planned everything early on and it ensured there were no last minute rushes or stress in the lead up to or on the day
Advice for enjoying your wedding day…
So many people told us ‘it goes so fast on the day’ so with that in mind we made sure to sit back and take the moments in on the day, doing this really helped and we don’t feel the day went by in a rush.
Get prepared the night before, lay out everything you will need the next day so you can have a good nights sleep and when you get up in the morning everything is where it needs to be. Be sure to surround yourself with people on the day who keep you calm, its important to have a nice relaxing day getting ready with your bridesmaids and groomsmen without any added stress.
And lastly enjoy each others company and celebrate your wedding the way you want to, don’t stress yourself out trying to get around to see everyone on the night, eat cake and go and dance instead.
MW x
Photography Jeff Newsom / Styling Willow Tree Creative / Venue Riverside Terrace at Customs House / Dress Sottero & Midgley from Jonovia / Flowers Mary Rose florist / Cake Cakes by Simone / Celebrant Anne Campbell Weddings / Hair & Makeup Celeste Madden / Groom’s suit Hugo Boss / Ceremony music Angel Strings / Reception Entertainment Tony George / Transport Kenz Classic