The start of day of Deanne and Danielle’s Brisbane elopement was spent sweetly crafting their wildflower bouquets over coffee. They went to the local flower market early in the morning and picked olive leaf, lavender, wax flower, ranunculi and daisies.
The day was spent along the iconic Brisbane River with just the two of them in a true elopement. Their ceremony included a special poem, they involved their three beloved dogs in the day and included a boudoir shoot with their photographer, Carissa, from Elk and Fir.
Bride, Deanne, has been so kind as to share the story of the day she and the love of her life, Danielle, became wives.
Vendors
Photography | ELK & FIR
Videography | IVAN STEPANOV VIDEOGRAPHY
Ceremony Location | J.C. SLAUGHTER FALLS
Celebrant | AIMEE CLARK CELEBRANT
Cake | WILD CANARY
Hair and Makeup | STACIE PARMENTER MUA
Deanne’s Dress | VIVIANA, JENNY YOO
Danielle’s Suit | SHANE AVENUE
Deanne, what made you and Danielle decide to have a Brisbane elopement?
Both our families live in different states and our friends are scattered across Australia and overseas. It felt like a big ask of people, and a logistical nightmare, to get everyone in the one place. We both felt a bit of an aversion to being the centre of attention and noticed we were feeling nervous when planning a ceremony and reception with a lot of people. But really, the biggest reason is when Danni suggested exchanging vows, just us two, on the river where we met, it just felt right. We could feel it in our guts. All the stage fright and shyness fell away.
Was it a hard decision or the obvious choice to elope?
For me, initially, it felt a little scary. I was worried we would miss our friends and family but I couldn’t ignore how ‘right’ it felt for us. Once the idea was out there, to do anything else felt inauthentic. For Danni, it was a simple decision. She always knew she wanted that moment to be just for us.
Tell us about what you did on the day.
We woke up together and spent the morning sipping coffee and making wildflower bouquets. We eventually said goodbye and got ready for the day separately. We met each other at J.C Slaughter Falls, where we walked down the aisle to Hold Me by the Teskey Brothers.
Both being somewhat restless people who love to keep moving and trying new things, neither of us expected to get so much joy and fulfilment from building a base. The home we have created together has become such a meaningful part of our lives and we really wanted to acknowledge and capture that, which is why we decided to have our home part of our photographs. So, after the ceremony, we went home to cut and share our wedding cake with our three dogs – Chase, Jesse and Einstein.
We also incorporated a boudoir shoot into the home shots. We wanted to do something different and capture some intimate moments we could look back on as we grow old together.
We got back into our wedding gear and went for a walk along the Brisbane river, retracing some of our steps when we first met. We love that all the most meaningful places to us have been part of our day and immortalised forever in our photos.
We ended our day with a romantic dinner at one of our favourite restaurants, 1889 Enotica before making our way to the mosh pit of Paramore’s gig. I just needed to swap out my heels for my boots, and hook my train over my arm and we were ready. Their music has been such a huge part of both our lives and was the soundtrack to us falling in love, so it was perfect to have them part of our day.
A few short hours of sleep and we were on our way to the airport to fly to India, face timing friends and family along on the way. On a high, exhausted, loved up with lost voices and finally wives.
What was something important to you that you simply had to include?
We knew we wanted to incorporate the River into the day somehow, as it was a huge part of us meeting. I had just moved to Brisbane a week or so before and Danni said the Brisbane river at night is a must, so we met up for a walk. We ended up walking for over seven hours. We ended our wedding day walking along the river, retracing our steps and taking in the sunset. It was really special to be back there together on that day.
I am very sentimental and it was important to be surrounded by items from my family. I wore my mother’s amethyst earrings that I had always been obsessed with as a kid. My sister gave me my something borrowed by lending me the earrings she wore on her wedding day. The most important item to me though, was my Grandmothers pearls. My great grandfather gave them to my nanna as a 21st birthday present. She wore them on her wedding day and gave them to my mother, who also wore them on her wedding day. I was gifted them on my 21st birthday by my mother and they were my sister’s something old on her wedding day. I wrapped them around my bouquet and carried them with me, which felt very special.
Share a special moment from your Brisbane elopement.
I wanted to make sure we incorporated our family and friends into the day somehow, so I organised a surprise for Danni. I took the poem we chose to be part of our ceremony and asked our parents, grandparents, siblings, nieces and nephews and bridesmaids/men to each record a line of the poem. I then collated them all into an audio file that the celebrant played during the ceremony. It was so lovely to hear our loved ones’ voices on the day. Our youngest niece at the time was too young to read any of the words, so just added at the end ‘I love you Danni-D, I love you Danni-Dog’ which was such a sweet and funny surprise.
One of the most intense memories of the day was waiting to go to the ceremony and then once we were there, waiting at the end of the aisle. The anticipation of seeing each other, knowing you’re about to share this huge moment was beautifully overwhelming. I’ll never forget the butterflies.
Any regrets on your choice to elope in Brisbane?
Only that we decided not to make a ‘Just Married’ sign to take to Paramore because we didn’t want to carry it in the mosh pit and Hayley Williams actually stopped mid performance to read people’s signs out loud. We’ll never know if we would have gotten a shout out!
Looking for a Brisbane Elopement Package?
Carissa from Elk and Fir can help you plan your elopement on the Sunshine Coast or Brisbane. Even if you’re considering a destination elopement further afield, the Elk & Fir collective of wedding vendors from Elope & Co. can follow you on your elopement adventure anywhere in Australia and worldwide.
