CEREMONY: Campbells Beach out the front of Nautilus Beachfront Villas and Spa, Sapphire Beach, Coffs Harbour.
RECEPTION: S-cape Café and Bar – Nautilus Beachfront Villas and Spa, Sapphire Beach.
We were married on the beach which was what we had always both imagined. If there was one clear vision of our day, it was that it was on the sand! We chose Campbells beach as we travel a lot to the Coffs harbour area and enjoy surfing up there and have great summer memories in the area. Because it was a destination wedding, we really wanted our day to be relaxed for our guests, as they had all travelled a distance, Brett loved the idea of having the wedding all in one place so that everyone could relax and enjoy it.
All our guests stayed at Nautilus and the wedding was on the beach which has direct access to the resort. The reception was in the café on the grounds also, so no driving, just a short stroll from ceremony to reception!
THEME/STYLE: Modern. Relaxed. Natural. Fresh. Coastal.
PHOTOGRAPHY: My Beautiful Cousin Kristie and her husband Brett from ngg studios were our wonderful photographers. People literally gasp when we show them the photographs of our day. Their style and professionalism are to die for, they are just so easy going and relaxed and oh so creative! Their beautiful whimsical style never ceases to amaze, there are just too many wonderful shots to choose from!
BRIDE’S DRESS: My gown was a white taffeta Nicolina, which I had altered to my personal style by the lovely Rosyln at Dressense Bridal. We ordered extra fabric so that my mum could make a one shoulder strap feature for the dress.
BRIDE’S SHOES: I bought 2 pairs of shoes, as the second pair of Flat Bejewelled Jam Jam Sandals I just had to have, they were exactly what I was looking for all along and were just stunning and so comfortable!
BRIDESMAIDS DRESSES: My sister was my only bridesmaid and wore a beautiful Butter by Nadia gown sourced from the lovely Talia at Bridesmaids Only in Double Bay. The dress has around 10 different ways it can be worn. It was my intention for her to look like a Grecian goddess, and this gown certainally achieved that. I was tempted to buy one for myself! They are just so beautiful.
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JEWELLERY/ACCESSORIES: I wore silver diamante Chandelier earrings and matching chunky ring. My sister (bridesmaid) wore silver starfish diamante earrings. I had trouble finding a bracelet that matched what I had in mind. I had a triple crystal bracelet made for myself and my sister by Star at Bead Them Up in Ramsgate. Star came up with the jewellery based on my description and a few pictures for inspiration. We tied the three together and finished them off with a beautiful ribbon that matched our gowns.
WEDDING RINGS: Bride - Combined Wedding/Engagement ring in matt satin white gold with radiant cut solitaire. Groom - matching matt satin two toned band. Our beautiful friend Nina made my engagement ring for us. We sat down and designed it together and we sourced the diamond from Diavik Canada as a symbol of where Brett proposed to me. I had the inside of it engraved for our wedding day with “B & R Everlasting Love” to seal it as my wedding band.
GROOM/GROOMSMEN: The boys wore gorgeous beige Linen suits from Rico Jordan. They were so hard to find! The trend at the time was Grey and we searched high and low! The cut of the suits were divine and fitted perfectly in all the right places. Their shirts were white floral, and really set off the suits perfectly. Funnily enough, The boys chose the floral shirts themselves!
HAIR & Makeup: My very good friend and Hairdresser of 12 years Carrie did our hair and makeup and I was so grateful. It is so wonderful to be able to have your own hairdresser that knows you and your style for your big day. She came to my villa at the resort and we had such a relaxed and fun morning together!
STATIONERY/INVITATIONS: I designed and made all of the invitations, placecards, and Bonbonniere. I did all of the styling for the wedding too! I am a perfectionist and really wanted to create the most memorable day for us… it was a lot of work, but well worth the reward, and I am so pleased I did! The day turned out really unique and filled with all of the things that were ‘us’. Our invitations were made from recycled natural board which I made into cards. Each was decorated with sand, abaca silk, woodgrain paper and ribbon and a small jute square with our names attached in vellum, sealed with a star anise. I played around with lots of different designs until we found the one for us to carry through as our theme.
WEDDING FAVORS/BONBONNIERE: Brett loves cooking and is really into making chilli sauce, he eats it with everything! A few of his friends have bottles of it in their fridge and love it. So, we decided to give all of the men a jar of his creation! It was a great success! Operation chilli sauce was fun, but he had to make 2 batches as he was about 8 jars short at the end!!!! For the ladies, I made beeswax candles and decorated each in a little box that matched the rest of our stationary.
FLOWERS: Bride - White roses and white Lisianthus. Groom/Bestman/Bridesmaid - White roses, white lisianthus and succulents. We had always wanted to use succulents in our day, they are so perfect and funky and modern, they looked fantastic. Marion at Moonee Blooms did a beautiful job and knew exactly what we wanted, she is so creative and made us feel so relaxed that she would create something magical. I think she had fun with the succulents!
CEREMONY: Our beautiful ceremony was conducted on the sand by Celebrant Cindy Pocock. Brett and I chose most of the wording and our vows, and Cindy was so relaxed and genuine. Everyone commented that when Cindy said "somedays you may not be able to see the sun, but remember that the sun is still there", well the sun just came out from behind the clouds at that moment and shone down on all of us!
RECEPTION DÉCOR DETAILS: We made hession table runners for each table and topped them with natural beeswax candles that I made. The centerpieces were also home made, succulents in a posy box, trimmed with old mans beard and we attached a timber table number to each box. Each setting had a placecard and bonbonniere. The tables were finished off with a menu and lovely guests! We had a guest wish tree, where little note cards were written on, and hung on the tree by our guests.
CAKE: My beautiful Sister and Bridesmaid Nyssa made our wonderful 2 tiered, soft icing carrot cake. The cake was absolutely divine and she put so much love and effort into it. She always makes me a carrot cake for my birthday and wanted to continue the tradition! It really was so special – and Yummy! The cake was served with a fortune cookie on the side.
WEDDING SONG: I walked down the aisle to Canon in D. This song always makes me cry as it is so beautiful. My sister walked down the aisle at her wedding to the same song. I shed a few sneaky tears that no-one saw the day before during our practice of the ceremony, suprisingly when I walked down the aisle on the day I was ok!
ENTERTAINMENT: We had awesome local trio ‘Coastal Soul’. They rocked all night and seemed to have as good time as the guests! These guys were truly awesome and play all the songs that we love. When we were in coffs Harbour planning the wedding, we were going to get a friend to DJ as we just couldn’t find a band. That same day we just happened to walk into the surf club and these guys were playing, Brett and I looked at each other and said “That’s them! We just have to have these guys!”
FOOD & DRINKS: The food at the S-Cape Café and Bar was faultless, wonderful, flavor filled and just awesome. The host Anna Larson and her partner Ash showed the most wonderful hospitality, and they set the room up for us beautifully, and were so easy going and fun. Ash even did some complimentary break dancing!
ANY EXTRA DETAILS: Having our wedding in one location was the greatest thing we could have ever done. Brett and I stayed at the resort for a week prior and some of our guests came early and we got to spend quality time with them. We even had a ‘party’ in our room the night before!
I woke up on the morning of the wedding and everyone came to visit! All my friends and family, my hairdresser and beautician, my florist, it was fantastic. The day felt like it went forever, because I wasn’t rushed to be anywhere. I just took it all in and enjoyed it. After the ceremony we walked up the beach and had photos. This was great too as there was no driving and it was just so relaxed. We supplied nibblies and drinks for all of our guests on the deck of the resort over looking the beach while we had photos. They all had a great time in our absence! Brett and I feel like our day was a dream. We had the best time and Brett told me that it was the best day of his life! We wanted it to never end!
A MEMORABLE MOMENT: There was too many! One was when I walked down the ‘aisle’ and saw around 40 pairs of shoes lined up on the grass where all the ladies had taken their heels off, it made me laugh! When I reached Brett he told me that he could not believe how beautiful I looked, and he asked the celebrant if it was ok if he gave me a kiss – and he kissed me on the cheek! It was very sweet.
BEST ADVICE FOR PLANNING A WEDDING/TO BRIDES: Make sure you keep your dreams in your grip the whole time. It is your day, so make it exactly what you and your husband want. Make sure you have confidence in your suppliers, as it makes it all so much more relaxing when you have faith! A good photographer is a must! Your pictures are a reminder of your special day forever.
RENEE & BRETT'S CONTACTS:
PHOTOGRAPHY: ngg studios
BRIDE'S DRESS: Nicola, Dressense
BRIDESMAIDS DRESSES: Butter By Nadia, Bridesmaids Only
FLORIST: Moonee Blooms
CATERING: S-Cape Café and Bar
WEDDING VENUE: Nautilus Beachfront Villas and Spa
ENTERTAINMENT: Coastal Soul
