Renee and Jason were married on 30th September in a traditional church ceremony followed by a not so traditional wedding reception at The Empire Theatre in Toowoomba. A mix of old world Hollywood glamour and stage show lights came together to celebrate this love story.
F R O M T H E B R I D E
Meeting…
We met at a beach BBQ through friends. We spent the day playing beach cricket and enjoying the sun with our friends. At the end of the day Jason asked me to coffee. Shortly after our coffee date he delivered cupcakes to me at work so that I could share them with my girlfriends for morning tea. As you can imagine after that we kept dating.
The Proposal…
Jason flew his family to QLD and told me that he wanted them to meet my grandmother who is special to him. He asked her to cook for his family at her home. We were having lunch with our immediate families and he proposed in front of everyone. Although I should have seen it coming, I was really surprised and really happy. It was lovely to be able to share our engagement with all those close to us.
The Wedding…
We didn’t really have a ‘theme’ as such but we wanted to make sure the wedding had a great atmosphere. Our tastes are simple, elegant and classic. White, ivory and black were the basic colours used. The wedding had a hint of that old style Hollywood glamour. We also wanted something really different and interesting for the reception so we had our reception at The Empire Theatre in Toowoomba. The theatre has a colourful history – from its beginnings as a flourishing silent movie house to the largest regional theatre in Australia. The ceremony was held in Toowoomba (my home town) at St Patrick’s Cathedral. The cathedral is old, beautiful and really impressive. It was a long walk down the aisle!
Jason and I have backgrounds where food is extremely important. Encores Restaurant did a great job of feeding our 250 guests quickly. We had platters of beef and chicken. Platters made it possible for our guests to sample everything and encouraged sharing and interaction on the tables. We had three difference desserts on each plate and course of Lebanese sweets.
Decorating…
Decorations were kept very simple as the venue surroundings were so impressive. We had white tables settings, fresh Colombian white roses in medium sized vases on the tables and tea light candles. We had long tables of twelve with lux red chairs all looking out to a 1100 seat art deco theatre. The 25m star curtain from floor to ceiling and amazing ‘gold’ lighting gave the stage a magical feel.
The Dresses and The Suit…
My wedding gown was fitted, classic and very comfortable. It was made of lightweight silk. It was fish tail, Ivory and had just the right amount of beading. I added the straps and topped it off with my mothers vintage cathedral veil. The fact that I could wear the veil that my mother wore was really special and one of my favourite things about the day. I bought it at Halo Bridal in Sydney. They were amazing, friendly and made the overwhelming experience of trying to find the perfect dress really easy. My inspiration was to find something that suited my shape, that was classic, comfortable and formal enough to compete with the venue. I chose Ivory as the colour for my dress because of its soft hue. I wanted my dress to be reminiscent of Old Hollywood. My sparkling multi-colour Christian Louboutin stilettos completed this look.
My sister wore a Matthew Eager dress. It was so beautiful. Black velvet top and Ivory bottom with a large ‘fan’ of material off the side. It fitted her petit frame perfectly and she looked like a stunning movie star from the 50’s. Jason pulled off his Harolds dinner suit in style. His suit will last a lifetime and was complemented by his gorgeous Italian patent shoes. The groomsmen wore black suits, white shirts and charcoal ties.
Flowers…
I chose medium sized Colombian roses with long stems for the bouquets. They were soft pink and almost antique looking.
Bomboniere…
We had a popcorn machine and buckets instead.
Honeymoon…
Bora Bora – Tahiti/French Polynesia. Yes in one of those over water bunglows!!!
Here is everyone who made this theatre wedding unique:
Photography: Evoke Images Ceremony Location: St Patrick’s Cathedral Toowoomba Reception Venue: The Empire Theatre Bride’s Dress: Halo Bridal Bridesmaid’s Dress: Matthew Eager Groom’s Suit: Harolds Flowers: Swish Flowers Decorations: Weddings by Florence Catering: Encores Restaurant
Isabel 🙂