Sydney couple Stacey and Tore invited family and friends from Australia and the UK to join them for a destination wedding in Noosa.
After their ceremony at Hidden Grove in Noosa, they took they and their 80 guests retired to the Noosa Rugby club where the couple had pulled together an epic pop up wedding complete with three tipis and multiple food vans.
How to Create a Pop-up Wedding
Creating the whole day was a DIY project, one big ‘Pop Up’ wedding on an empty piece of National Park and a reception on an open field. We brought everything in (excluding the bathroom amenities thankfully) making the whole event personalised with our favourite things from food and drinks to table settings. We created a dessert and tea station (I’m English) and also a rum, whisky and cigar bar to get the party started after the speeches.
My maid of honour (mostly) and I searched every market, vintage and op shop for all of the beautiful trinkets, decanters and tea cups; it was a labour of love. I also collected vintage plates for months and finally found enough to create individual place settings, paired with white linen napkins and a polaroid picture of each guest (the more embarrassing the photo the better!)
Our Biggest Challenge
“Tore and I lived apart for professional reasons 12 months prior to the wedding. I was planning the wedding in a town with no partner, friends or family. We both threw ourselves into our careers and would see each other once a month or twice at most, when saw each other we would be planning the wedding mostly! It was really hard but made us stronger for it.”
The Proposal
“I had just returned from a three week trip back home to the UK. Tore picked me up from the airport and told me he had organised a surprise, three days off work for a mini getaway in Noosa. Heaven! I thought, “wow he must’ve really missed me!”
“Tore had booked an apartment at Noosa Blu Resort with a rooftop spa. We spent the day doing all the things we love in Noosa, and then returned to the apartment to enjoy sunset drinks and a cheese platter. We were about to jump into the spa when Tore asked me to go downstairs and grab the bottle opener as ‘he had forgotten’ it.
“I came back up the stairs and Tore was on one knee with a ‘Hello Kitty’ ring and popped the question. I nearly fell down the stairs as it was unexpected, but I squealed with delight and eventually said yes. Tore proposed with a phony ring so we could design my engagement ring together.”
Images by Figtree Wedding Photography
“Tasleema Nigh Makeup Artist did the most beautiful make up, one of bridesmaids said she wished Tasleema had done her wedding make up!”
“”The Anna Campbell store in Melbourne made my dress experience so special after so many other disappointing attempts (Jordan, you’re the best!)”
“Tore is the life and soul of everything he does, he is known for his quick wit and sense of humour, which is what I love most about him. He doesn’t sweat the small stuff, and he keeps me grounded. Tore is so kind, genuine and just understands me and my crazy ways.”
The Music
“We had our friends perform Bob Marley’s “Is This Love” acoustically for walking down the aisle. They also performed Zac Brown Band’s ‘Whatever It Is’ for signing and then ‘Home’ by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros for our first dance.”
The Location
“We met on the Sunshine Coast, lived there together for two years, got engaged there and it just feels like home. It’s where we wanted to share our day with our family and friends, so they could see why we loved this place so much.”
Uniquely Ours
“Our biggest priority for our wedding was making it unique to anything we had experienced at a wedding before and to represent all the things we love. By making it a pop up wedding, we could pick and choose everything from food vendors and alcohol to furniture, and not be restricted by the same rules restaurants and venues have.”
Wedding Secrets
Biggest splurge: The tipis, we could have saved some cash with just two but having three gave us room to have a dance floor and the band inside. Instead of more traditional marquees the tipis were unique and made the whole venue look like a really special wedding location as opposed to a rugby field!
Also, my wedding dress – three times my original budget but it was ‘the one’ and I don’t regret a single cent.
Best bargain: Having the reception at Tore’s old rugby ground. Affordable rent and we knew the staff. Our vendors helped bring our vision to life with a bit of creative placement and thinking so you never knew you were at a rugby club.
Bridal gown: Anna Campbell
Hair piece: Anna Campbell
Shoes: Diana Ferrari
Veil and earrings: borrowed
Bridesmaids’ dresses: I gave the girls free reign to pick their own dresses, they were all from different stores.
Bridesmaids’ accessories: Samantha Wills
Bridesmaids’ shoes: their own
Groom’s attire: Peter Jackson
Groomsmen’s attire: Roger David
Flowergirl’s dress: Monsoon
Rings: Bold as Love
DIY: Stationery, place settings, decorations and trinkets, whiskey and cigar bar, tea station.
Honeymoon: Long story, we were booked to go to India but we had to settle on the Blue Mountains and renamed it a ‘Babymoon’ as I fell pregnant. Oops!
Number of guests: 80
Wedding budget: $25,000
Actual cost of wedding: $47,000
“Ashlea from The Vintage Bondwood Bar has the most beautiful caravan bar! She spoke with me for over an hour talking through the set up and helped me get my head around the run sheet for the day, plus Ash and her lovely mum whipped up the best sangria (without any guidance from us) as our welcome drinks, I knew she could just run with anything we asked and she personalised the whole van, it was stunning.”
“We found our suppliers on The Bride’s Tree, Instagram, Pinterest, Etsy, bridal expos, Eumundi markets and recommendations from colleagues and friends.”
Photographer: Figtree Wedding Photography | Florist: Heavenly Blooms | Caterer: The Canape Project, Jungle Oven Catering and Oi Taco Food Van | Beverage catering: The Vintage Bondwood Bar | Tipis: Tipi Luxe | Makeup Artist: Tasleema Nigh Makeup Artist | Hair Stylist: Hair by Nicola | Decorators: Lovebird Weddings | Entertainment: Sexual Chocolate Band and lawn games | Celebrant: our friend, Sean Fernance Celebrant | Wedding Night Accommodation: Apartment in Little Cove, Noosa – R&W Noosa
Thank you for supporting our A-list Vendors, who made Stacey + Tore’s wedding so memorable…
Learn more about… Tasleema Nigh Makeup Artist + Heavenly Blooms + Tipi Luxe + The Vintage Bondwood Bar
A huge congratulations to Stacey and Tore on the birth of their daughter, Phoenix with the cheeky smile. Wishing your beautiful family the Happily Ever After you deserve!
