Engaged for only four months (and together for just under a year), this couple put forward a serious case for the old adage, when you know, you know! From the super romantic proposal- it involved letters from the bride’s best friends, a blindfold and a little Frank Sinatra- to getting married between two lakes on the bride’s uncle’s property in her “dream dress”, every little detail was bursting with love and it shows. Take a look for yourself- Peyton Rainey Photography travelled all the way from Oklahoma to capture the couple’s big day.
THE PROPOSAL A friend invited me to go out with her and as we were getting ready, she gave me two letters from my best friends who live out of state. I realised I wasn’t actually going to the event, before my friend blindfolded me and whisked me away in a car. We then walked up about what felt like one hundred stairs before she left me, still blindfolded, and I heard one of mine and Alex’s favourite songs begin to play. Alex then read out a poem from a book we had both read at the very beginning of our relationship and took my blindfold off. The room was decked out with greenery, candles and pretty lighting. He then got on one knee and asked me to marry him. I said yes and we danced to ‘I got you under my skin’ by Frank Sinatra. It was all pretty dreamy and surreal.
THE VENUE As soon as Alex and I drove into the entry of my uncle’s property, we both immediately started imagining ourselves getting married there and saying our vows between two of the lakes. For our reception, we loved Factory 51 and its rustic romantic feel. We sadly found out the date that we wanted wasn’t available and looked for other options, before checking back in with them in case anything had changed. Amazingly, almost six weeks after our initial visit, they had a cancellation!
FAVOURITE DETAIL Our wedding favours. My nana lives on a little island off the bay in Brisbane with plenty of succulents. Her and my aunty collected succulents and put them together with soil and little stones. We then tied place cards names around the jars.
THE DRESS It took way longer than I thought it would to find the dress and as our engagement was only four months, I didn’t have long. I visited bridal boutiques in Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast, and flew to Sydney and back again, empty-handed. It was literally the next day that I looked at Made with Love Bridal on the Gold Coast. I came across a little lace dress with the prettiest mid-length bell sleeves on their website and booked an appointment for the next day. It was my dream dress. The girls were incredibly helpful and fast-tracked my dress so that I could have it in two months. I’m so glad I waited to find a dress that I loved wearing and felt like me in.
LITTLE LOL One of my favourite moments was sitting down on the side of the road with my bridesmaids, stuffing our faces with cheese and crackers while the boys had their photos taken. We all kind of looked up for after a few moments and realised (with cheese still in our mouths) that we had scoffed down the majority of the afternoon tea and hadn’t left much for the boys. The best part was that our photographer had sneakily captured it all. I honestly couldn’t stop laughing.
A WORD OF ADVICE I would recommend you and the groom choose one thing you really want to do well. For me it was our greenery/flowers, and for Alex, it was good food. And invest a little more into those aspects.
STANDOUT VENDORS Peyton and Colton were so fun to work with. I had seen some of Peyton’s work on Hello May USA’s Instagram and loved it, so when she said she could do our wedding I was so so excited. She suggested her husband, Colton for video and they AMAZINGLY came all the way from Oklahoma to be a part of our wedding. I picked them up from the Airport on the Friday, and brought them back to my family home. We instantly loved and connected with them. Peyton is a pro and made the whole experience so enjoyable and relaxing. Our florist, Bits and Buds exceeded all expectations. I didn’t even have to meet with her or choose the flowers. I just gave her a brief for what we were wanting and some pictures of what I liked and we couldn’t have been happier with what she came up with.
REFERENCES Most of my key vendors were found through my friend’s suggestions and the Hello May website.
This wedding was originally published in Issue 19. If you’d like to check out more from this issue, limited copies are available via our online store and postage is on us.
CONTRIBUTING VENDORS Photographer Peyton Rainey Photography Cinematographer Byford Films Florist Bits and Buds Printer Urban Weddings Stationery Ceremony Venue Private Property Reception Venue Factory 51 Wedding Guest Book Blacklist Entertainment DJ Juzplayin Flower Girl Dress Origami Flower Girl Crown Nature Crowns THE BRIDE Bridal Gown Made with Love Bridal Engagement Ring AG Designer Jeweller Wedding Bands Michael Hill Silk Pyjamas Missguided Earrings TANIA MARAS Hair Lujo Hair and Makeup.