A S H L E I G H + S T U A R T
So the saying goes, the early bird gets the worm. And for Ashleigh and Stuart a sunrise and breakfast wedding was the perfect way to start their day. They treated their guests to a breakfast buffet, coffee caravan and a delicious pancake station. Not only did they get to enjoy a beautiful sunrise, but they had the relaxed and casual wedding they’d always wanted.
F R O M T H E B R I D E
We first met…
At University but we were friends for eight years before we began dating.
We knew it was love…
A few weeks into dating, we already knew each other so well everything just clicked.
The engagement…
12 September 2015, Stu surprised me with a trip to the Snowy Mountains and included a guided photography snow hike. He got down on one knee as we were watching the sunset. The Snowy Mountains were significant for us as we had travelled there the week before we started dating with a group of friends.
T H E W E D D I N G
Our photographer…
Ben Lynch from Blue Tulip Imaging. I love our sunrise morning photos, they’re everything I was hoping they would be and definitely made getting up so early worth it!
Our dream wedding…
I wanted a more casual wedding and we wanted to be able to invite as many people as we could, so cheaper was better. We decided on a breakfast wedding early on and that really set the tone for the rest of the day, it was fun and casual.
The ceremony…
We held the ceremony at Kirra Hill Community Centre. It was originally going to be outside, but with a chance of rain everyone squished into the hall.
The reception…
Tables were set up on the lawn under a marquee and we shared an amazing buffet breakfast (including a pancake station and coffee van!)
Pre-wedding celebrations…
Because our wedding was down the coast, a lot of family chose to stay the weekend and we had dinner with a large group of them on the Friday night. Saturday night was a quiet one before our super early starts. My hairdresser arrived at 3am!
The wedding party…
We didn’t officially have bridesmaids and groomsmen but out siblings and parents came to our sunrise photos for some family shots.
The bridesmaids wore…
My sisters and niece chose to wear coordinating dresses.
The groom wore…
Stu wore a custom suit from When Freddy Met Lilly
The gown…
I wore a couture gown from Wendy Makin called Daphne. I first saw the dress at a bridal expo in October and fell in love with it. I tried a few other dresses on when I thought it couldn’t be ready in time but nothing matched up. The dress has a beautiful 50s style neckline and full skirt, made from hand painted silk covered in flowers. The photos probably do it more justice than my description.
The flowers…
I made my own bouquet from a selection of roses that coordinated with the dress and the dresses my sisters were wearing. It was simple as I didn’t want to detract from the wow of the dress.
Reception styling…
All the decorations for the ceremony and reception were DIY. I made the flower wall (used behind the ceremony and later as a photo backdrop) with my sisters, I made 20 large freestanding tissue paper flowers to line the aisle and for around the reception area. My dad made the arbour, which my sisters then decorated. Stu made the signing table and I made all the signs and letter decorations. My sister, Tiffany, made 400 fabric flowers that we glued to timber boards for the table centrepieces.
On the menu…
We had a breakfast buffet, which consisted of the usual eggs, bacon, sausages, breakfast potatoes etc. We also had a pancake and omelette station and a separate coffee van.
Bomboniere…
Again a DIY job, I made photo coasters from various destinations Stu and I have travelled to around Australia and the world and also put a few sugar coated almonds in gift bags.
Memorable moments…
The whole day was pretty memorable; the first look photos at sunrise were definitely a highlight for me though.
Wedding soundtrack…
We had the live magic of Nathan Merriweather the whole day, including ceremony songs. I walked down the aisle to a version of Make You Feel My Love – Adele/Bob Dylan, our signing song was Our Song – Mirrorball-Elbow and our first dance was a version of How Sweet It Is – Marvin Gaye.
M A R R I E D L I F E
The honeymoon…
We spent a few days on Hamilton Island about a month after our wedding.
Future plans…
We’re renovating a house together (two years and counting) and hoping to start a family very soon.
In 40 years we hope to…
Be happy, retired and travelling together and have a few grandkids.
W O R D S O F W I S D O M
How to enjoy the…
Planning…
Work out what your priorities are for the budget and realise that your day should be unique to you, not necessarily what others expect.
Wedding Day…
Always give yourself more time to do things than you think you will need, your first dance will come around quickly and you’ll never get a chance to catch up with everyone. We had 150 guests at our wedding, in the end it was more important to us that we were able to invite everyone we cared about than it was to have a fancy dinner etc. I have no regrets about having a big wedding, I feel like everyone got to be a part of our day and I felt that appreciation from all my loved ones.
Gown Daphne by Wendy Makin Bride’s Shoes ShoesofPrey Groom’s Suit When Freddie Met Lily Stationery Vistaprint Caterer Barry Prestidge Catering Hair HairICome Jewellery Adam Graham Designer Jeweller Sisters & niece dresses Destiny Chic Videographer Orange Sunshine Photographer Blue Tulip Imaging Entertainment Nathan Merriweather Photobooth InTheBooth Coffee Van Olive & Co Celebrant Benjamin Carlyle Celebrant