WHERE:  We were married at Villa Botanica in The Whitsundays, Queensland.

THEME:  Tropical Chic. We used Balinese inspired decorations from I Do Events to compliment the beautiful gardens and scenery at Villa.

GUESTS:  We had 30 of our closest friends and family to help us celebrate our wedding day. The majority of our guests travelled from Victoria. We had friends also travel from Mackay and our best man travelled from Townsville. We all stayed at Blue Horizon Apartments in Airlie Beach where we arrived on the Monday so we were able to spend time with all of our guests before and after our wedding which was great.

DRESS:  My dress was made by the wonderful team at Baccini & Hill in Armadale, Victoria. It was a French lace overlay silk dress with a fitted sweetheart neckline bodice and flowing skirt. I also wore a full length veil.

(interview continued below photo gallery...)

BRIDESMAIDS:  My only bridesmaid was my sister Jes Cadby. She wore a one shoulder, floor length black dress from Zimmerman and black heels.

HAIR:  My hair was done by Amanda who was organized by my wedding planner Kate.  She was absolutely amazing.  My hair was curled and then put in a low, side bun.

MAKEUP:  My make up was done by Lauriely from Loll Doll Make Up who again was amazing. My make up was done with very natural tones.

RINGS:  Our rings were designed by Jay Hynd from JHJ Creative Jewelry in Warragul, Victoria. Dan’s ring was a 9ct white gold wedding band with saw cuts in each side. Sarah’s wedding band was an 18ct white gold channel set diamond ring

STATIONERY/INVITATIONS:  Our stationery was designed by Annie Hicks at Ultimate Choice Printing in Shepparton, Victoria. We used black, grey and white and they were presented in a card. We also included an accommodation card and further information they our guests would need.

FLOWERS:  Our flowers were from Flower Hut in Cannonvale, QLD. The brides bouquet was made up of white phalaenopsis orchids with black doda vine twisted throughout with white ribbon around the stems. Dan also had a single white phalaenopsis orchid for his button hole. My sister carried a burnt orange mokara orchid with black doda vine and black ribbon around the stems. Tim also had one of these for his button hole.

PHOTOGRAPHY:  Our photographer was Lisa Michele Burns and she was AMAZING and her photos are simply INCREDIBLE!! I never felt like I had to pose for anything and even Dan who hates being photographed said he loved the experience.

CEREMONY DETAILS:  Our ceremony was at 3pm held in the gazebo. Our celebrant was Donna Fornasiero and she worked with us to create a simple yet meaningful ceremeony. A close friend of mine did a reading during the ceremony also. I walked down the aisle to White Moth by Xavier Rudd.

RECEPTION DETAILS:  We had a cocktail reception with the most amazing food. All guests were treated to cocktails before the reception. We had a Polaroid camera and photo album where our guests could take photos and then write their wishes in the photo album. We did our bridal waltz to Just the way you are by Billy Joel and had a special dance for myself and my Dad which was 1000 miles away by the Hoodoo Gurus, which was a favourite growing up. At the end of the night, we had a Thai lantern ceremony which was a lovely way to end the night and celebrate.

CAKE:  Our cake was incredible. It was four tiers which had three tiers of square cupcakes that alternated between milk chocolate mud cake and white chocolate mud cake with white ribbon around the bases. The top tier of our cake was a twist on a black forest cake which was iced in chocolate fondant icing and had fresh flowers scattered throughout the tiers.

ENTERTAINMENT:  Luke Anderson was our DJ for the night and provided excellent music that catered for everyone and kept them on the dance floor all night. Loved the smoke machine too!

FOOD & DRINKS:  We had a cocktail reception and had beautiful food. There were eight different dishes that were rotated throughout the night so everyone always got something different. There were asparagus spirals, barramundi, beef brouquets, mini fish and chips and many other dishes. All of our guests received ‘Cosmic Passion’ cocktails before the reception started.

LITTLE EXTRAS:  My sister Jes designed and made a lot of the decorations that we used and transported to Queensland. She designed all of the stationary and cards that were used during the ceremony and reception and made sure that everything was set out and looked great. We had a party when we got home to celebrate with all of our friends and family which was a great way to re live the day and wear my dress again!!

BEST ADVICE FOR PLANNING A WEDDING/TO BRIDES: The best thing about getting married at Villa Botanica is that they do everything for you so you can really relax and enjoy the experience.  The day is about you and your soon to be husband and it goes so quickly that you need to enjoy every moment! My best advice, go for a good walk the day before to clear your head and take it all in, you don’t get to do it on the day!!

YOUR CONTACTS:

PHOTOGRAPHY:  Lisa Michele Burns

BRIDE'S DRESS & VEIL:  Baccini & Hill Bridal,

BRIDE’S SHOES:  Wittner

BRIDESMAIDS DRESSES:  Zimmerman

GROOMS FORMAL WEAR:  Man to Man

RINGS:  JHJ Creative Jewellery

HAIR:  Amanda, Villa Botanica

MAKEUP:  Lauriely Taylor, Loll Doll Makeup

INVITATIONS: Annie Hicks, Ultimate Choice Printing

FLOWERS: Flower Hut

CAKE:  Mel, Sweet Ideas, Airlie Beach QLD

RECEPTION & CEREMONY: Villa Botanica

WEDDING PLANNER:  Kate Henley, Villa Botanica

ENTERTAINMENT:  Luke Anderson, LA Walker DJ's

DECORATIONS:  I Do Events, Airlie Beach QLD