Renae & Joe – Victoria Park Wedding
Proposal: It was the night before my 21st Birthday and Joe told me to pack an overnight bag and that we should get to sleep because it was going to be an early morning. He woke me up at 4am and we got dressed and jumped in our car. I had absolutely no idea where we were going or what was going on. Joe has always been very romantic and so good at pulling off the best surprises! He drove me down to the gold coast on a very windy & rainy February 22nd 2011.
We pulled up at main beach overlooking the water & decided to stay in the car because the weather wasn’t the best. Joe had made us a beautiful breakfast. We ate and then I opened my birthday presents feeling so special. As the sun started to rise, the rain stopped and the clouds broke apart to an incredible sunrise. Joe insisted we go for a walk on the beach to watch the sunrise. We walked along for quite a while and I was talking away to Joe when I realised he wasn’t walking beside me. As I turned to see where he had gone, there he was behind me, kneeling in the sand with the most amazing ring in his hand asking me to marry him! (Of course I said YES!)
How you Met: Joe moved over from the UK in September 2008 with his family. He made great friends with a guy who lived across the street. That guys girlfriend was my personal trainer at the time. We were training one day when she told me about this gorgeous guy with a pommy accent who is friends with her boyfriend. They played match maker for us and set us up on a blind date. We both nervously agreed to go & the rest is history.
Wedding Ceremony: Our ceremony was held in the Garden Marque at the Victoria Park Golf Complex. It’s a a beautiful venue. The ceremony was filled with all kind of emotions and we wouldn’t of had it any other way.
Wedding Celebrant: Our celebrant was Noelene Owen. She was recommended by Victoria Park and was absolutely brilliant. We could not have asked for a better celebrant. It felt like we were being married by our best friend. She was so helpful and spent time with us putting our wedding ceremony together to suit us.
Wedding Music: Nathan Seiler is the pianist and DJ we used for our reception. He was really great. He played piano and sang through dinner, then after the formalities turned into a DJ and had everyone up dancing.
Wedding Reception Venue: Alabaster Room at the Victoria Park Golf Complex. We had 88 guests at our wedding and this room was the perfect size for us.
Wedding Styling: We did our styling through Victoria Park. They were fantastic. Sally, our stylist did everything she could to make our vision come alive. The room looked beautiful!
Wedding Flowers: I had a red rose bouquet and my bridesmaids had white roses. We also had buttonholes and corsages. Our florist was Sue Nahrung was brilliant! Our flowers were delivered right on time and were so fresh and vibrant.
Wedding Cake: For our cake we used “Cakes by Simone”. We had a 2 tier round cake. Chocolate hazelnut on top and white chocolate, coconut and raspberry swirl on the bottom. It was so yummy and looked exactly like we had imagined.
Bridal Gown: My dress was from Winnie Bridal in Brisbane. It was my perfect image of a princess dress. White, with lots of bead work, a big skirt and a long train. A dress that I will keep forever to remind us of what a magical day it was.
Groom and Groomsmen Suits: The boys hired their suits from Ferrari Formalgoo at Capalaba. They wore Grey morning suits which looked very smart. Joe picked the suits. He couldn’t have picked any better, they matched our wedding theme perfectly.
Wedding Shoes and Accessories: For my shoes I went for something a little different. With red being our theme colour, I chose red heels from Betts. Our rings were both custom made (And designed by Joe!) by a family friend. Earrings and bracelet were from Prouds.
Wedding Hair and Makeup: With the Maid of Honour being a hairdresser, there was of course no question on who would be doing hair. I used Arbonne for my makeup and decided that being a makeup artist myself, I would be more relaxed doing my own. I did use a makeup artist for my bridesmaids and mum. Leah did a great job.
Wedding Transport: This was Joe’s thing! Being a man, of course he wanted to choose our cars. And he did an awesome job. We had vintage cars. A white Jaguar and a Black Dodge from Kenz Classics. Our drivers were great and they were very efficient for the entire day.
Wedding Photography: Photographic art were our wedding photographers for the day. They were the very first wedding photographers we met with and we knew straight away that they would be the best to use for wedding day. They were so professional, yet made us feel extremely comfortable. Our photos were done in the Botanical Gardens, which were very busy! Yet Brad was on a mission to get all the good spots and that he did. We could not be any happier with the photos we have from our wedding. They are stunning and capture every single moment!
Wedding Videography: Rob & Barb from Fisheye Studios were our videographers. Videography was something we were unsure about for our wedding as we hadn’t seen a lot of it at weddings in the past. But my goodness are we glad we decided to book Fisheye Studios. They were awesome! Very professional, yet so friendly and fun to work with. Watching our video takes us right back to the day and that’s something that is priceless.
Honeymoon: We spent two amazing weeks in Thailand, doing a whole lot of nothing. After the crazy lead up to our wedding, cocktails, beach and relaxing was exactly what we needed.
Advice: Be organised! Both Joe & I are very unorganised people, so decided we would be the complete opposite for our wedding. We were completely over organised and over prepared but it was so worth it when every single little thing went according to plan. Also just enjoy your day. We made sure throughout the day that we took a couple of minutes here and there, just Joe & I to stop and take it all in. And we’re so glad we did because the day just flies by.
Things that were exceptional or went wrong: We were very lucky that nothing went wrong. I guess our biggest worry, like all couples is the weather. But the weather gods really looked after us and we had the most amazing blue sky all day long.
