Brendan and Bec’s beach house wedding

 

Brendan and Bec got ready together with a few friends, the casual and beautiful setting helping everyone to relax.  After a beachside ceremony the reception was held on the deck of Boonooloo beach house and rolled through till the next morning!  More about the couple and the day below:

How did you meet?  Brendan and I first locked eyes at the Melbourne Wine Room on the first warm summer weekend in October 2006. I thought he was the cutest guy in the room. We got talking and he said he was new to Melbourne and had returned to Australia after a few years in London. I offered to show him around Melbourne and the rest is history.

The proposal?  It was a surprise – and knowing my love of all things cute and furry – Brendan proposed at Phillip Island after the fairy penguin parade.

Why North Queensland?  We had both grown up in tropical locations in Australia and overseas so North Queensland was a natural choice. There is something inherently romantic and relaxing about the sea so beach side was the next natural selection.

Brendan and I had considered eloping in order to keep the focus of why we were getting married and not get caught up in the stress of a wedding. For the sake of our families we decided the best solution was a simple ceremony and reception where the guests came to us and we could enjoy the day without worrying about transportation, timings etc.  It was also wonderful for our friends who had babies and young children because they could be put to sleep in the spare bedrooms in the beach house. I’d highly recommend a private house venue for small private weddings that include young families,

We didn’t have a bridal party in an attempt to keep our wedding as low key as possible and equally inclusive of all our friends and family.

The Dress: A very simple design of 3 layers of silk chiffon… An off the shelf BCBG Max Azria from Saks New York. It wasn’t actually a wedding dress but I thought it was perfect as soon as I saw it.   It had to match the relaxed nature of the wedding and the beach location. I loved that the wind caught the silk layers in some of the photos…Where did the inspiration come from?  I loved the Grecian style dresses that were popular a few seasons ago so I was looking for a more modern version of that style.  When trying the dress on I was on my own and it was the only one I tried and required no alteration.  I nearly couldn’t believe it myself.

My birdcage veil and silk orchid was by Arpie and Maral. I loved it and had so many comments about it, a great accessory for the beach

Shoes?  Jimmy Choos from Saks Fifth Avenue.  I didn’t want a traditional satin wedding slipper for beach side and the strappy wrap design worked for the beach. It was love at first sight and I will be able to wear them again. I really only wore them for the ceremony before they were swiftly kicked off for the beach photos..

Flowers?  Moth orchids for my bouquet – a tropical flower that just seemed to fit for the location and worked well with my dress.

The groom: Brendan joked that he didn’t want to look like a foreign tourist on the beach so suits were strictly banned from the wedding for everyone.  He chose a simple charcoal linen pant and white cotton shirt combo from Saba.

Most memorable moment of the entire ceremony?  Reading and hearing the vows we had individually prepared for each other was very special or having the show stolen by my best friends 1 year old daughter Violet….she started singing during the ceremony.

Any surprises?  A dear friend who could not be at the event  had prepared a very moving speech to be read. There were tears….

The setup and reception:  Our decorative theme was very simple, with the back drop that we had, little decoration was required. Just a white palette with natural style decorations.   We chose the location because it was an entirely private location that we had to ourselves for as long as we wanted. We just wanted to maximise the simply beauty of the ‘postcard’ beach backdrop.

We had a cocktail service on the beach while we were getting our photos and then a sit down seafood menu on the deck afterwards by Port Douglas Catering – they did amazing food, Dee our wedding co-ordinator was amazing. www.portdouglascatering.com.au

 

Brendan’s closest mates played acoustic guitars which was a really great personal touch and we were so happy they wanted to play.  Late in the evening we were laughing at the mini sand storm we had created when everyone hit the beach to dance the night away! (not so funny for the contact lens wearers).