For creative couple Jade (handbag designer) and Kym (chef), the focus of their big day was on the marriage itself, so they kept it as pared down as possible with a huge focus on the food which is very important to both the bride and groom. It’s sweetly perfect in its simplicity, and as Kym is an amazing chef, it was fantastic for the guests to be treated to his talent on their wedding day. I love the happy, summery vibe of this wedding.

Couple: Jade and Kym
Date: 28th January, 2006
Location: The Bride’s parents house and garden in Oxley, Queensland.
Photography: We didn’t have professional photographer but had a relative take photos for us who was getting into photography and she was able to use the photos for her portfolio. Also, our Brother-in-Law had an awesome camera and he took some great pics too.

Gown: White cotton dress with embroidery by Camilla and Marc – it only cost about $350!
Shoes: I wanted shoes I would wear again so opted for some beautiful yellow shoes with detailing on them from Midas. I think I got them for around $200.
Suit: Kym got his outfit from Elio Moda – a nice crisp white shirt with French cuffs, pants, jacket (not that he wore the jacket – it was January!!), tan shoes and belt.
Wedding Party: We didn’t have a wedding party apart from our 12-18 month old nephews who passed (or rather chucked!) the rings for us.
Accessories: A yellow flower that I clipped to my dress by Alannah Hill and earrings by Lisa Ho.
Hair: My girlfriend works for Wella so she did my hair for me the morning of the wedding at Mum’s house for a bargain!
Makeup: I did my makeup myself – I wanted to keep the make up I used rather than spend a lot on a professional for one day with nothing to have afterward. I worked out what I wanted in a department store and jumped on StrawberryNET.com and purchased new Chanel foundation, powder, eye shadows and lipstick at a much lower price.
Flowers: I used orchids as my bouquet with smaller orchids in my hair.
Ceremony: Mum and Dad have a beautiful green garden and recently renovated Queenslander so we thought it would suit us perfectly to get married in a place we spend so much time at. The ceremony was in the back garden under a massive tree.
Reception: Kym made all our canapes – over 20 different kinds. The food was amazing. We had guests arriving and he was still in his chef’s jacket – I had to force him to get out of the kitchen and get dressed! Staff from his work served and reheated the canapes, and we purchased all our alcohol from our local The Grape Liquor Market. We decided to make the food and buy the alcohol ourselves rather than pay another company to provide it as we had contacts in the industry and we wanted really good quality wines and awesome food, which you often don’t get when you opt for food and beverage packages.
Music: We compiled playlists of our favourite songs, and hooked up our computer to indoor and outdoor speakers.
Decoration: I purchased a range of different purple and pink and green orchids in pots from the markets and displayed them throughout the house and outside on the day.
Stationery: I made the wedding invitations myself.
Cake: We had a croquembouche that Kym picked out from Yenmart Pastry Art on the Gold Coast. Yenmart also made the sugar castle that Kym used to house my ring when he proposed!
Budget Tip: We asked people we knew to do a lot of things for our wedding so it kept our costs down. I think the whole wedding, including alcohol, food, photos, hair and outfits was about $6,000 to $7,000 and there were approx 65-70 guests.
Eco-friendly Tip: I probably wasn’t as eco friendly then as I am now, but we did have things like candles lining the yard rather than lights. And we kept everyone at the same place all day and night so that should have reduced our carbon footprint by not needing to drive from location to location.
Handmade Tip: I made the wedding invitations and I the food was ‘handmade’ by Kym!
I wish: … I had possibly paid a professional photographer as although there were some good shots, I probably would have like a few more up close and perhaps someone who was more confident to tell people where to stand etc.
Something Special: I loved that Kym made our food, even though he worked on it the entire week leading up to the event and was pretty stressed. But he made all my favourites and it was perfect. We couldn’t have asked for a better day.

Tags:  QLD, Summer

Categories:  Brisbane, Budget-Friendly, Garden Weddings, Relaxed, Smart Casual, Yellow