Brisbane couple Bianca and Derek had planned a beachfront wedding ceremony along Noosa’s Main Beach at popular ceremony site, Hidden Grove. Wet weather curtailed their plans, but thankfully they were able to move their ceremony to their backup wet weather location, Sofitel Noosa Pacific Resort.
Looking out to the pool beyond, the ceremony was able to go ahead with the outdoor waterfront feel they wanted, but without the threat of a downpour from the ominous clouds.
Bride Bianca put some sweet on-trend touches to her Noosa poolside wedding, like a huge lit LOVE sign, live entertainment, and guests were spoiled with an oyster bar, a la carte menu, and open bar.
This is not a drill – the bride has also shared how she scored a Karen Willis Holmes dress at a fraction of the price online!
Linzie Russo Photographer captured the day exquisitely, complete with epic pink smoke bomb photos on the Noosa beach rocks once the weather cleared. Bianca has shared her wedding planning story and wedding day memories with us below…
DIY Thank You Notes
“For our thank you notes we personalised this with photos from our day. I found an app where I could add our hashtag and a thank you on the pictures. We took it a step further adding a five-minute highlighted clip of our day, which we purchased for this reason, and shared only with our guests. We kept it off social media so it means more to our guests. The reaction to our thank you’s has been beautiful.”
“Derek is everything that I ever wanted and nothing I’ve ever had before.”
The Proposal
“Derek had organised a picnic on the beach one Saturday afternoon. As we were walking down to the beach I knew he was going to propose as some friends had spoilt my surprise telling me Derek was going to propose by a certain date.
“As he was setting up the nibbles he told me he had found a Japanese recipe for some of the oysters, knowing I love Japanese food. A few oysters were wrapped in foil; he passed me one ,which didn’t at all have an oyster or even Japanese anything in it, but it had the most stunning ring in it! It was a beautiful moment between the two of us and the last thing I was expecting!”
The Wedding Music
“Walked down the aisle to a string quartet version of INXS’ ‘Never Tear Us Apart’. Reception entrance was ‘Five More Hours’ from Chris Brown. First dance was Lola’s theme lounge mix from the Shapeshifters.”
Wedding Secrets
Biggest splurge: “(We wanted) to spend just that little bit more on our guests at the reception so we chose an open bar. I love that they already got to choose their entree, main and dessert, but feel it added to the enjoyment of their day being able to drink what they wanted. During canapés on the grass we also had a prawn and oyster bar.”
Best money-saver: “Choosing to buy my wedding dress second hand off Still White. It wasn’t something I had to do in order to have the dress I wanted; Derek kept saying if I wanted to I could have it new, but I just liked the thought that I saved some money there. I’ve since sold it on the same site as it’s too beautiful a dress to sit in the wardrobe forever.”
Bride’s dress: Karen Willis Holmes from Still White
Bride’s accessories: Tiffany & Co. + Mimco
Bride’s and bridemaid’s shoes: Saba
Bridesmaid’s dress: Review
Bridesmaid’s accessories: Mimco + Samantha Wills
Groom’s suit: Will Valor
Groom’s shoes: Calibre
Flowergirls’ dresses: David Jones
Page Boy’s attire: David Jones, Country Road + Zara
DIY: Digital Thank You notes with wedding highlights film + photos
Honeymoon: New York for Christmas, Canada for NYE, then Bali.
Number of guests: 90
Wedding budget: Loosely $30,000
Actual cost of wedding: $40,000
“I wanted it to be a day about celebrating the love we have for each other. Having a fun day with laughter, beautiful view, eating amazing food, plenty of drinks and dancing the night away!”
“Noosa is our special spot, it was quite fitting to have (our wedding) there. We wanted to share that with everyone that’s not been there.” 
Photography: Linzie Russo Photographer | Videography: Fisheye Studio Films | Ceremony venue: Sofitel Noosa Pacific Resort | Reception venue: Sails Restaurant | Hair: Evalyn Parsons Hair | Makeup: Kate Ellen Makeup Artistry | Cake: C&KE | Transport: Private Airport Transfer | Styling + Flowers: Funcionz | LOVE sign: Wedding Love Lights | Entertainment: Niki Dé Saint | Stationery: Minted | Celebrant: Jarrad Bayliss | Wedding night accommodation: On the Beach, Hastings Street | Flower canons: Simply Rose Petals
