Jarith and Brandi are our kind of couple – a playful pair who you may have already spied in issue seven of Hello May. When we quizzed them about their wedding which was captured by photographer and Hello May fave Shane Shepherd, and if they ran with any particular theme or style, they gave us perhaps the best answer yet.
Jarith explains “We didn’t want a theme. The focus of our wedding was marriage and celebrating the journey of two lives from opposite sides of the world finally coming together as one.” He wasn’t kidding about the whole other side of the world thing either. Brandi is from Salt Lake City in Utah, and the bulk of their relationship played out long distance.
Brandi tells us “Jarith flew me over to Australia for my 21st birthday in June 2013 and proposed to me on the cliffs of Noosa National Park… We spent four weeks together before I had to fly back home to the USA. We then endured another 10 months of long distance before my visa was approved and I could finally move to Australia.”
Together at last, these two crazy cats took to wedding planning like ducks to water as Brandi explains “Jarith’s parents Dezley and Michael (owners of event and floral styling business Twig & Grace) were alongside us every step of the way. It was a family affair. We pushed each other to be more creative and to not be afraid to be far outside the box of what a typical wedding should be.”
Not that Brandi, a visual artist, needed much pushing as she hunkered down to create the huge backdrop behind their bride/groom table at the reception. She also hand painted and designed the wedding invitations and used some of her original prints as wedding favours.
Meanwhile Jarith was put in charge of the booze as he tells us “Myself, with my Dad and brothers worked on a weekly basis to master the art of home brewing. Together we decided, crafted and bottled over 250 beers for the wedding.” Which Brandi, being the talented soul she is, also designed the labels for.
Once the big day rolled around the entire family pulled together to deck out Capriole Estate in sunny Queensland with stunning ceiling installations, wooden A-frame tables, the mother of all dessert carts plus all of the essentials, like an outdoor lounge suite and a whiskey bar for guests to rehydrate throughout the evening.
The latter of which proved popular with guests of all ages as Jarith recalls a favourite part of the day “My 76 year old Nan shook her groove thang all night on the D’floor and almost dried out the whiskey bar.” If that’s not the sign of a good party, we don’t know what is!
CREDITS Photos Shane Shepherd // Bridal gown Andrea Hansen // Shoes Modcloth // Hair and makeup Surrender Dorothy Hair Salon // Flowers and event styling Twig & Grace // Grooms suit Menz Mode // Cravat Cravat Club // Shoes Industrie // Hair Barberista // Ceremony and reception Capriole Estate, QLD // Catering Bon Appetit Events Noosa // Cake Buttercups Cupcakes // Additional prop hire CL Wedding and Events // Marquee Equip 4 Hire.