Creative couple Daneve (Chicuff by Daneve accessories designer using recycled enviro-bags) and Darren (photographer and graphic designer), treated their guests to an eclectic, non-traditional wedding using Daneve’s favourite flower (the Bird of Paradise or Strelitzia) as inspiration for the purple, green and orange colour scheme. The Bride wowed everyone in a peacock feather-covered purple gown of her own design.

Couple: Daneve and Darren
Date: 15th October, 2005
Location: Byron Bay, NSW
Photography: We were lucky to have our talented friend Damien Nikora photograph our wedding. We were really happy with how the photos turned out and how he captured the day perfectly. Everyone commented on how much fun Damien was and how he made the day something to remember. As he is born and bred in New Zealand, he and his family moved back there to pursue high end fashion photography.

Gown: Traditionally brides wear white, but I wanted to express my creativity and chose purple as that is my favourite colour. I also designed the dress but designing such a different outfit, I found it difficult to find a dressmaker. The dress consisted of many peacock feathers, beads and 4 different parts including a top, a floor-length skirt with a small train,and  an intricate belt piece made up of many beads and peacock feathers. The detachable skirt revealed pants underneath to surprise everyone half -way through the Bride and Groom’s wedding dance which started as a slow dance and broke into a salsa dance to finish.
Shoes: I would have loved to have been married in bare feet but that wasn’t practical, so I was really happy with what I found.  As shoes weren’t a huge focus I chose to not go to the expensive bridal shops and went to everyday shoe shops. The boys wore casual leather slip-on shoes as we really wanted to find items that they could wear again.
Suit: The Groom’s suit and the Groomsmen pants were from Roger David. They were a light linen fabric in a sandy colour. The Groomsmen wore a shirt from Just Jeans with a tree print at the base of the shirt. The Groom wore a purple shirt to complement the Bride’s dress.
Wedding Party: We had four Bridesmaids and four Groomsmen. The girls wore an outfit that I designed and the boys wore a smart casual outfit that we knew that they could wear again.
Accessories: The girls’ jewellery was from an everyday store. My Mum made bracelets for the Bridesmaids and I to wear. I made the Bridesmaids’ hair accessories using peacock feathers and beaded wire. The dressmaker made my veil which was a brown/orange colour (taken from the peacock feather palette) with beads on the border.
Hair: Tracey Trezise, Byron Bay, NSW.  She did a fabulous job on all the girls and the result was exactly what I wanted. The styles were “twisty and spikey” with green diamantes through the Bridesmaids’ hair and peacock feathers through the Bride’s hair.
Makeup: Donna Korn, Byron Bay, NSW (0411 083 189) .
Flowers: I created my bouquet which was a mixture of tropical flowers. We also arranged the reception flowers which were vases of Bird of Paradise (Strelitzia). Passionate Flowers, Byron Bay, NSW created the Bridesmaids’ bouquets (three different coloured Vanda orchids) and buttonholes for the men (an orange orchid for the Groomsmen and a purple orchid with a peacock feather for the Groom).

Ceremony: We chose to marry in Byron Bay, where Darren proposed as I am from Brisbane and Darren is from Melbourne so NSW was between the two states. We knew that people would be coming from Queensland and Victoria, so we wanted to create a weekend away for them.
The ceremony was held at The Cape Byron Lighthouse. We met on a P&O cruise and the lighthouse and the ocean represented how we met. We were  privileged to be married by Zenith Virago. We asked the guests to bring along a small object that had a special connection to them and the Bride and Groom. The objects were used in the ceremony by placing them into a circle on the ground within which we stood to exchange our promises to each other.  Each guest at the ceremony received a gift bag which contained a bottle of water, bubbles, a sandalwood fan for the females and a stubby holder for the males which had our wedding logo printed on it.

Reception: The reception was held under a marquee at Byron Bay Manor which we hired for four days. Guests were transported to the Manor after the ceremony where there were light refreshments, games and activities upon arrival. Each guest received a chinese take out box (coloured in our theme of orange, green and purple) that contained personalised rock candy from Candy Addictions, Montville, QLD and a small puzzle which entertained the guests throughout night along with sparklers.
Focusing on cost, we hired Byron Bay Party Hire to erect the marquee and supply the crockery, tables and chairs. We had bought the cutlery, vases and wine glasses which we still use to this day. The bridal party and family staying at the manor all helped set up the area. The beauty of staying at the manor was that we were able to purchase all of our alcohol in bulk which made it a lot cheaper.
The main focus was that we were not restricted to a time frame for the party. As a result the reception went to the early hours of the morning which resulted in a few sore heads in the morning!
Music: Music is another area where we saved on cost as we took our own CD player and music to the lighthouse for the ceremony. At the reception we asked the chief Bridesmaid’s brother to hook up his computer to the sound system which was provided by a Groomsman.
Decoration: We used simple modern Asian-themed decorations in the three colours (green, orange and purple). Most of the items were purchased from Asian Ideas online and included paper lanterns hanging from the marquee and the house, chinese take out boxes for the guests, favours, umbrellas for the girls and guests at the ceremony, and fluffy fans for the bridesmaids. The marquee was also decked out in fairy lights and the tables had candle centre pieces with vases of Bird of Paradise (Strelitzia) on each of them. We also made orange balinese flags which we used at the ceremony and lining the driveway of the Manor.

Stationery: We created handmade magnetic “Save the Date” cards. For our wedding invitations, Darren used his creative design abilities to make an Interactive CD with a hard copy invitation/RSVP inside the front cover. For the wedding we made labels for disposable cameras, bags, wine bottles, take out boxes which had the guest’s name on them, along with many other items. Each item contained our wedding logo designed by Darren.
Cake: The cake was made up of a main cake and tiers of mudcake cupcakes topped with a replica lighthouse bought from The Cape Byron Lighthouse gift shop. The cake was made by The Larder who also provided the catering for the evening.
Transport: The boys drove themselves up to the lighthouse, and the girls had a limousine from Byron Bay Limousines, Byron Bay, NSW. We hired the Limo Bus (Limbusine) from Chauffered Luxury Transfers and Tours, Brisbane QLD, to take us around to different locations for photos after the ceremony. This was so much fun as it had a karaoke machine and plenty of drinks.
We also hired taxis to pick up all our guests from the ceremony and take them back to the reception venue. This enabled the guests to not worry about driving and have a few drinks. Pre-booked taxis were organised for the guests to get them back to their accommodation at the end of the night.
Budget Tip: You don’t have to pay top dollar to have the same effect and end result when you can find similar items at a lower cost. I suggest shopping around. Also if you have great friends and family, like we did, ask for help when you can as it saves on the cost of hiring someone.
Eco-friendly Tip: If you buy items for your wedding try to get things that you know you will use again. So many of our items we still use to this day and many of our friends and family have borrowed items from us over the years. Darren still wears the shoes and he has worn his pants and shirt on several occasions.
Handmade Tip: To save on costs, try to make things yourself. If you don’t think you can, ask friends and family. We handmade most of the items for our wedding ourselves which made it more personal for us. We had many positive comments from our guests about all the items we made.
I wish: … that my husband didn’t get the stomach bug at the reception. But lucky for us we had our dance and speeches first before dinner. If I had the chance I would do it all over again. I loved planning it and it was such a fun wedding.
Something Special: We gave the opportunity for the guests to create something unique which gave us something special to remember. We gave them all a small 6×4cm canvas with their wedding invitation and asked them to use the canvas in any way possible to create something that represented them or us instead of a wedding card. Most of the guests did this and the result was fantastic. We received many different creations including paintings, collages and poems and we displayed them on a table at our reception venue. We still look at them today and have a bit of a laugh at some of them.

Tags:  Balinese flags, green and orange, green and purple, marquee, non-traditional, NSW, orange and purple, peacock, Spring

Categories:  Byron Bay, Green, Marquee Weddings, Modern, Non-Traditional, Orange, Park Weddings, Purple, Relaxed