Fabulous crafty Mishy (graphic designer, wedding invitation designer, photographer and blogger) and Stu put a lot of thought into creating a unique, vintage-style wedding on the Sunshine Coast. I just adore all the details that showcase the couple’s creative style, including the cool Kombi van wedding transport and of course the handmade origami folded paper flowers. There are also lots of great budget-conscious ideas for us to learn from. What an inspiration.
Couple: Mishy and Stu
Date: 18th July, 2009
Location: Ebb Waterfront Dining & Cellar, Maroochydore, Queensland.
Photography: My friend Yan Chan volunteered to do our photography. I have always admired his work, and he was just marvellous. He stayed for the whole night and we got so many great photos. Stuart & I also have a Digital SLR that we handed over to my crafty friend Ange for the day. She took some magical candid shots and had a lot of fun as well.
Shoes: One week before the wedding I fell over and tore ligaments in my ankle! I luckily had bought sensible low-heels in a lovely dusty blue. Found at Myer for $100. (Thanks to my friend Roberto, also a great physio, who helped heal me up in time to walk down the aisle).
Wedding Party: We had two bridesmaids, my best friends Tori and Robina, and two groomsmen, Stu’s best friend Ben and my brother Brad. The flowergirl was Ruby, Stuart’s niece who stole the show and looked adorable in her little dusty pink dress that I found at a stall at the Bulimba church markets for $15! The bridesmaid dresses were gorgeous and unique sun-dresses we found at the West End markets. They were made from vintage materials in the most perfect colours, and only cost $35 each! With some help from my crafty friend Ange, we added a dusty pink ribbon and made tulle petticoats to make them a bit more dressy. Ange also modified Ruby’s dress to fit. I am so happy with how gorgeous all of my favorite girls looked on the day.
Accessories: Large vintage crystal earrings, a headpiece I made from some Russian tulle and some mini paper flowers. My mother-in-law let me borrow her sparkly Oroton handbag that she kept from her wedding.
Hair: My friend Jo did my hair, She is a great hairdresser but an even greater friend. Loose curls, simply pinned back, very soft. Lasted all day! Thanks babe.
Makeup: I did my makeup myself with some help from Mum. My main investment was Dior Waterproof Mascara for really great photo-eyes.
Flowers: I made them all myself with help from friends. We spent many ‘crafternoons’ folding origami lillies made from beautiful papers. Stu and his brother Cameron (also our MC) constructed them with wire and ribbon a week before the day. (Ed: Love Mishy’s flowers? You can order them from her.)
Ceremony: A civil ceremony performed by Bill Scurry, a very professional and romantic man. I cannot say enough nice things about this man. It was a beautiful and relaxed ceremony which he gave us full input to. Bill got us to write some ’special words’ to each other which we sent straight to him without showing each other. Bill read them out during the ceremony, and it was very special and personal.
Reception: After researching on the internet, we found that Ebb Waterfront Dining & Cellar was the most beautiful location for our wedding. The views over the Maroochy river were amazing, the interior of the restaurant was very modern and stylish, and we also wanted to have the ceremony and the reception at the same place. They also gave us a great discount for having a Winter wedding, even though the weather was perfect on the day!
Reception: After researching on the internet, we found that Ebb Waterfront Dining & Cellar was the most beautiful location for our wedding. The views over the Maroochy river were amazing, the interior of the restaurant was very modern and stylish, and we also wanted to have the ceremony and the reception at the same place. They also gave us a great discount for having a Winter wedding, even though the weather was perfect on the day!
Music: We walked down the aisle to Joze Gonzalez’ “Heartbeats”; a song which best represents how we feel and how we felt when we first met. The reception music was the best! We hired an acoustic trio set – The Paper Flowers (how fitting) who were spectacular. Everyone loved the music, and they did a special version of “Use Somebody” by Kings of Leon for our first dance. It was so moving that I cried. Later on in the night my Dad even joined in for his very own bongo solo which was very entertaining. “Mr Lane is the coolest Dad”.
Decoration: I collected old glass bottles and had a branch of origami lilles standing in them. One for each table. We also collected vintage cigarette cards and tied them with twine to Merci chocolates as the place cards.
Stationery: I designed and printed all of the invites and RSVP postcards based on our colours and the restaurant design. I bought some gorgeous textured paper from Invitation House at the Emporium, Fortitude Valley.
Cake: Not a major feature of the night (we had dessert included in our meals at Ebb) – a simple two layered cake with white ganache frosting. We threw some paper flowers on top for decoration (yes – we had made a LOT of flowers).
Car: We were chauffeured by our friend’s Matt in his 70’s blue Kombi van.
Budget Tip: Trust your friends and don’t be afraid to ask for help. Most of our wedding day was looked after by our friends, and many of them treated it as their gift to us. It made the day very personal and shared the tasks around. This saved us thousands!
Eco-friendly Tip: Re-use. Why buy new “stuff” when there are so many beautiful pre-loved things at garage sales, antique shops and local markets. I believe that our wedding was very unique because of this.
Handmade Tip:
1. the flowers for bouquets and decorations, was really easy and a fun thing to do with friends. You can find instructions on the internet, have fun and play with different types of paper.
2. the invitations. As a graphic designer I found this process very easy. I loved it so much and I hope to do more for clients soon.
3. The headpiece. It was a headband on sale at Myer for $5. I took out the elastic, attached bobbypins to each side and tadah! I had my veil / headpiece done.
4. Overall tip – have a vision. Collect images from the web – wedding blogs are great inspiration!
I wish: I had written my speech. I should have made time to sit and write down some dot-points. Even though I am a confident speaker, I forgot to thank my parents for hosting the reception. They were so generous and supportive, and without them we would never have had such an amazing wedding day. Thanks Mum & Dad. We love you.
Something Special: The whole inspiration for my wedding was my late Grandma. She was so thrifty and creative, and I think she would have loved it.
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For more Sunshine Coast wedding vendors, check out the Sunshine Coast Wedding Directory on Sunshine Coast Wedding Planner.
Tags: Craft, Handmade, QLD, Winter
Categories: Blue/Navy, Budget-Friendly, Maroochydore, River Weddings, Sunshine Coast, Vintage
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Oooh – my friend had her wedding reception at Ebb – it was a lovely location and the catering offered was fab!
What a lovely and clever bride! I love the origami flowers; so much better than cutting so many fresh flowers.