Kara and Shane – Q1 Wedding
Proposal: We were on a three week European holiday and in Venice at the time. Shane spent ages trying to pick out the perfect Gondola for a ride along the canals and I was saying they all look good, just pick one. I was oblivious to his plan to propose during the Gondola ride, despite the engagement being fairly planned and with certainty the proposal would come on this trip. There we were out on the Grand Canal facing the Rialto Bridge when Shane got down on one knee and proposed to me. I said yes without hesitation with a massive smile on my face wondering how Shane managed to catch me by surprise.
How you Met: We met through a mutual friend at Flinders Street Station in Melbourne, where Shane came with his mate to pick me up for a planned weekend away with friends. The rest is history!
Wedding Stationery: Our invitations and accompanying information were pocket fold style, which we did up ourselves after purchasing the stationary from Cards & Pockets online store.
Wedding Ceremony: Our ceremony was held at Mantra Sun City in Surfers Paradise. We had planned to have the ceremony on a large open balcony on the 26th floor with 180 degree views of the Hinterland and Gold Coast to the beach. However, the weather had other plans and we ended up having our ceremony at our back-up location, which was the Saya’s Restaurant on the ground floor of the resort. It was set up beautifully with gorgeous water features in the background and we were not disappointed in the slightest. We both wrote our own vows and that was the best thing we did as they were so personal and meaningful to us.
Wedding Celebrant: Candy Barter from Two 2 Wed Celebrant Services. She is a lovely lady and performed a beautiful ceremony tailored to our desires and family circumstances.
Wedding Music: Our processional was “Forever Yours” by Michael W Smith which we just happened to come across during our long search for the aisle perfect song. Meanwhile our first dance was to “Again” by Lenny Kravitz which has special meaning to us from when we met. We hired Pepper’s Entertainment for our reception DJ entertainment and were 100% satisfied with their service.
Wedding Reception Venue: Our reception was held at Level 2 Ballroom at Q1 Resort and Spa. Kate Mockler, our co-coordinator, was fantastic throughout the whole process and we were thrilled with the room presentation, food and service on the night. Everything was exactly as we wanted and we cannot recommend them enough.
Wedding Styling: Jo Vitelli from Elite Weddings and Events did a tremendous job and nothing was too much trouble. She was super helpful in trying to source decorations that she did not already have in stock and in suggesting ideas to bring our dream wedding to life, being an elegant Hollywood theme wedding with black and hot pink colours and a silver accent (bling!).
Wedding Flowers: Our wedding bouquets and buttonholes were real touch hot pink and white calla lilies, which we bought online from the Little Bouquet Shop. The quality of the flowers was superb. They looked real and were just beautiful. We also bought fresh long stem roses from Q Flowers to be delivered on the day for our Rose Ceremony and again the service, quality and value for money were not to be faulted.
Wedding Cake: Our cake was made by Heather at Say it With Cake, Northlakes. She made our engagement cake and we were extremely satisfied with her artistic ability and the divine taste of her cakes, so it was a no brainer to engage her services for our wedding cake. We were thrilled with her 3 tier elegant masterpiece for our wedding (mud chocolate, white chocolate & raspberry and red velvet flavours) and just sorry we didn’t have any leftovers to take home.
Bridal Gown: This was bought from Oceana Bridal. It was the first dress I tried on and I fell in love instantly.
Groom and Groomsmen Suits: The guys’ suits were bought from Ron Bennett at Robina, who also fitted the suits for us. Again the service, value and quality were not to be faulted.
Wedding Shoes and Accessories: I had gorgeous hot pink glitter heels which I bought from Heels.com online and all of my accessories were purchased from Ebay. Ebay is your best friend for all those wedding extras!
Wedding Hair and Makeup: Blush Artistry. The girls did a truly amazing job making everyone look flawless and stunning in their own right. They were happy to take on board my comments and work with me until they perfected the exact look that I wanted.
Wedding Transport: We didn’t actually require transport to get to the ceremony as we stayed at Mantra Sun City the night before the wedding. However, we hired a limo through Golden Gate Limousines as transport to our photo shoot location. Due to rain we didn’t need transport to our photo shoot location, but the driver was more than happy to wait around whilst we took photos at Mantra Sun City before taking us for a tour around town to relax and wind down with champers.
Wedding Photography: We had planned to have our wedding photos at the Southport Broadwater Parklands but it was pouring with rain. It turns out the pouring rain was a blessing in disguise, because the amazing Photographic Art gave us such beautiful and elegant indoor wedding images at Mantra Sun City and Q1 that we could not be happier with. We also hired a photo booth for our reception through Photorazzi which was a hit with all our guests.
Wedding Videography: Action Studio.
Honeymoon: We stayed at Sandalwood Luxury Villas & Resort in Koh Samui, Thailand. It was absolutely beautiful with the most magnificent views. It was everything we hoped for in a honeymoon. The resort staff were wonderful and helpful.
Advice: Plan things well in advance and plan it together as a couple as you will never get the experience again. We planned our wedding over 15 months and were glad that we took the time to do so as things just creep up on you. Also, don’t worry about things you cannot control… like the weather. You will be grateful if you have the mindset that things like that don’t matter, because they truly don’t and are not worth stressing about.
Things that were exceptional or went wrong: Our day was perfect, absolutely nothing went wrong whatsoever. It rained, but we really could not have cared less because we were marrying each other. The service of Mantra Sun City and Q1 were just exceptional, they went above and beyond to make our day run smoothly and beautifully (and to keep us dry!). But the true highlight for me was Shane’s secret vows, they were so beautiful and heartfelt that I struggled to hold myself together and get my own vows out.
