Emily loves Chris | Country Luxe Wedding Theme

May 24, 2018

After a chance meeting outside their local Woolworths here on the Sunshine Coast, Emily and Chris connected on social media. Soon after they had their first date, and the rest, as they say, is history. The local couple planned a Country Luxe wedding in Yandina. They made the day all about family with Emily even choosing her brother, Luke, to be her Man of Honour.

Getting Started with Planning

“Initially I spent a lot of the time scrolling through social media for inspiration. Once we had selected our style I used The Bride’s Tree (for inspiration), it was the only blog I used throughout the planning process. It had a really good selection of real weddings and vendors that suited us and our style.

“We really wanted to ensure that our wedding was a good representation of us as a couple. We chose a venue that was close to our home, hired vendors that suited our style and incorporated details such as our favourite cake flavours and personalised wedding favours.”

Wedding Day Highlight

The very best thing about the wedding was the ceremony. Kath Tilly created a very personal ceremony for us. It was a great representation of who we are as a couple. There is no better feeling then walking down the aisle to the man of your dreams in front of all your closest family and friends. Involving our families in the planning process and incorporating them into the ceremony was a highlight on our wedding day.

Family comes first

“Our families played a big part in the planning stages. They were all very keen to visit the venue and come to meetings with vendors in the years and months leading up to the wedding. I think their excitement and enthusiasm was such a special part of the planning process. Not only did they support us, they helped with decisions regarding dresses, suits, flowers, food, invitations and much more.

“During the day we were able to incorporate family into the bridal party and ceremony. My bridal party was made up of my siblings and niece, which was something very important to me.

“The ceremony also centred around both families. My mum walked down the aisle with my man of honour, Luke, we asked our mums to witness our marriage and we also asked our dads and uncles to let off some rose petal cannons when we were pronounced husband and wife.”

Images by Nicola Holland Photography

Gifts for the Bridal Party

“For my bridal party, I bought the girls Mimco jewellery for the wedding day. I also bought my man of honour perfume and a wallet. Chris bought all of the guys their favourite bottle of spirits.”

Music

“We hired, Sally Skelton to play during the reception. She is an amazing singer who recently appeared on The Voice Australia. She played an acoustic set from the start of the reception till the speeches.”

“Our main focus has always been about being a team. We have always focused on being great friends and supporting each other through every endeavour.”

Wedding Secrets

Biggest splurge: “Our biggest splurge was on photography and videography. We hired a photographer, videographer and photobooth to ensure we captured every moment of our wedding day.”

Best money-saver: “We 4saved a lot of money by using a private jeweller. We were able to still receive great quality rings that didn’t have the retailer mark up.”

Bridal gown: Karen Willis Holmes