Wednesday, 8 January 2025

Micro wedding at Raby Bay Foreshore Park, Cleveland

Nikki and Dean relocated from the UK to Brisbane, created a life together, adopted their fur baby, Bruce, welcomed their daughter, bought a house, welcomed their son, and started a business. Planning a wedding took a back seat.

When their parents announced plans to visit Brisbane for Christmas, the couple decided this would be the perfect time to be married. They didn’t want anything soppy or mushy, and didn’t have time for intricate planning.
Dean and Nikki contacted the team at Elope Brisbane and chose the Twenty is Plenty package, which includes celebrant, photographer, arbour, 20 chairs, and 20 cupcakes. They chose the bamboo arbour with the macrame hanging for a boho look. And added a round cake for cutting, bouquets, and boutonnieres.
Being a summer wedding, Dean chose to wear chino shorts and a white linen shirt, as did Nikki’s dad. Nikki wore a beautiful trumpet style white lace gown with a train.



I played the ceremony songs through my PA system, with the couple choosing, “Sweet Disposition” by the Temper Trap for the processional, and “Let’s Get Married” from Trolls for the signing.
Their ceremony was short and sweet, and the kids ran around in the park while a few photos were taken.
As I was packing up my gear, I overheard Dean telling guests that everything had just turned out perfectly. Grooms just love that a wedding doesn’t have to mean stress, expense, and drama.



Afterwards, guests joined the couple at their home to celebrate.
Coordination and Styling: Elope Brisbane
Florist: @Capalaba Carnations

Friday, 3 January 2025

Casual beach wedding at Cylinder Beach, North Stradbroke Island


All year, Chloe and Nick look forward to their annual beach camping trip with family and friends. This year, the group decided to camp on beautiful Main Beach on North Stradbroke Island, and Chloe and Nick opted to time their wedding to coincide.
Chloe and Nick are both hard workers, spending long hours at work, so decided to leave all their wedding planning to the team at Elope Stradbroke – experts in Straddie logistics.
Firstly, the tides needed to be navigated, as the Main Beach camp site is accessible by 4WD only. The ceremony was scheduled for 10am, giving the group enough time to access the camp exit route before high tide. The next consideration was where to prep for the wedding. Chloe’s a very laid back gal, but changing into a wedding dress in a tent seemed a little too challenging. Elope Stradbroke organised the hire of the Point Lookout Community Hall, which provided chairs and tables and power for hair styling. With a breezy day predicted, Chloe asked hair and makeup artist, Ashley, to create a classic bun, with natural makeup.
On their wedding day, the team from Elope Stradbroke travelled to the island on the 6am barge, and opened up the Community Hall ready to greet Chloe and her mum. This provided a great opportunity to confirm everything was sorted for the day, and to obtain Chloe’s verabl consent prior to the marriage, a new Government requirement in 2024.
After grabbing a chocolate croissant from the bakery, the team made their way to Cylinder Beach, and set up the 4 post bamboo arbour with florals in sky blue and aqua. White Americana chairs, a signing table, and a jute mat were also set out, and with a quick rake of the sand, the beach was transformed into a romantic and relaxed island wedding paradise.
Nick and his soon to be father-in-law (also Nick) checked in on the setup, and were amazed at the transformation. This was a great opportunity for Nick to sign the declarations and confirm his consent to be married. The pair dashed back for a quick change as guests started to make their way down the path to the beach.
Guests made their way down to the beach, wearing an array of colourful beach dresses. The turquoise waters had some wondering if they had time to change into togs for a quick dip before the ceremony. Nick wore tailored navy shorts with a white shirt, topped with a grey jacket. He was keen to retain his trucker’s cap and sunnies, but alas, these didn’t get past the keen eye of photographer, Romana.
Chloe and Nick decided to forego wedding attendants, but Chloe’s three sisters had other ideas, surprising her by wearing matching blue and white beach dresses, with braids in their hair. They stepped down onto the sand and took their seats as all heads turned towards Chloe on the arm of her dad, who had changed into fresh navy boardshorts and added a cotton button up shirt for the big event. He too, was hoping to get away with wearing his fishing hat, but was met with a hard no on that one. Being country music fans, Chloe and Nick chose the song, “Take my
Chloe looked just lovely, wearing an ivory lace dress with a sweetheart neckline, lace straps, and an ivory underlay. Her long dark hair was braided, and she carried a bouquet of sky blue, aqua, and white. A long, ivory veil was fitted under her plaited bun. On the fourth finger of her left hand, the nail was painted in pale blue.


With the white sand between their toes, Nick and Chloe made their promises to each other, then sealed the deal with a kiss. Less than half an hour after stepping onto the beach, the couple were legally married and enjoying laughs and hugs with family and friends.
After some photos with family against the backdrop of the ocean, the guests headed up to the pub for some refreshing beverages while the couple shared their newlywed photo shoot with frolicking dolphins.
Thank you to Chloe and Nick for trusting us with their wedding event, and congratulations to you both.


Your Stradbroke Island Wedding dream team:
Coordination and Styling: Elope Stradbroke
Celebrant: Cheryl Landsberry
Hair and Makeup: @sparks Makeup Artistry
Ceremony location: Cylinder Beach, North Stradbroke Island
Reception location: Stradbroke Island beach Hotel

Tuesday, 31 December 2024

2024 - that's a wrap!


Yesterday's casual beach wedding on Straddie was my last wedding for 2024. Thank you all for a wonderful year.
I'm taking today off, and tomorrow starts the planning stage for 2025 weddings - I've got some delightful couples, gorgeous venues, and talented wedding specialists to work with. Bring it on!

Monday, 23 December 2024

Legals Only Wedding Brisbane

Shanela and Vishnu celebrated their marriage with their families overseas in December, 2023. They looked into the process of having a legal component to their wedding, however, it was all rather complicated and they came to the conclusion that it wasn’t a feasible option. Instead, they enjoyed a traditional and colourful ceremony, surrounded by their families.

As their one year anniversary approached, the couple decided to have a simple, legals only marriage close to their home in Brisbane.
We completed the Notice of Intended Marriage a month beforehand, then on their wedding day, Shanela and Vishnu brought along their two witnesses. Law in Australia required me to read the Monitum – three sentences which state that firstly, I am authorised to conduct legal marriages in Australia, and secondly to impress upon the couple that marriage is a serious commitment. The legal definition of marriage in Australia comprises the third sentence.
After exchanging the legally required marriage vows, the couple were officially married, and we then all signed the three marriage certificates.
The couple couldn’t believe how simple the process could be to marry in Australia, where residency and religion are not mandatory considerations. So long as a couple are not already married, are over 18, are not closely related to each other, and are marrying of their own free will, they are able to marry in Australia.


Vishnu looked very smart, wearing a dark suit and a white shirt, and Shanela wore a beautiful halter neck ivory brocade top and fitted ivory trousers, with a matching ivory bow in her dark, shiny hair. Her entire outfit was sewn by her friend and witness, Serah. Serah also created her own hot pink, floral strapless dress, and a pantsuit in lilac floral fabric for her sister.
After the simple and legal ceremony, Shanela and Vishnu met up with their friends for some fun photos before heading off to a riverside lunch.
P.s. – there’s always a little hiccup in every adventure, which just makes the stories so much more unpredictable and memorable. Groom, Vishnu, spent his first hour of married life changing the tyre on his witness's borrowed car, proving he’s a handy man to have around. Well played, Shanela!
Venue: nil
Photographer: nil
Styling: nil