What could be better than having your own sister document your wedding day? That was the case for Chrissy with her sister KARENA NUTTALL being on hand for their YANDINA STATION wedding. Chrissy & Luke had plenty of talented friends to call upon when it came to putting their day together, and having them all involved along with the couple’s children made the day very personal and intimate ééò despite there being over 100 guests.
Tracy from BELLE & GRAY was integral in helping the couple pull together their ideas and ensuring they had a memorable day. Chrissy tells us a bit about it, ééòOur wedding really was beautiful. From the smallest detail of the hand made hearts to having our children share the day with us. What made it for me was how personal the day was, even though there were more than 100 guests at the wedding. It felt very intimate and I think that came down to the personal touches on the day. Having all our closest family and friends there. They honoured us with their presence and all the love we felt from them made it for us. It made our day truly unforgettable. It is true that every love story is beautiful but ours is my favourite.
HOW DID YOU MEET? We meet at work. I had already been working there for a few years and Luke started in late March. Its funny because a friend had taken me to see a physic, 12 months earlier, and I and asked her when might I meet the guy I’m going to marry. I didn’t take it to serious but looking back on it everything she said about me meeting my husband has come true, even down to his personality and to the date and where I would meet him.
We got alone instantly and had a lot of fun together, found us hanging out more and more. With a little help from some friends it didn’t take long until we were dating. He was like a big kid most times, and also sweet and caring. won me over pretty quickly.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR PROPOSAL? He asked me twice and I said yes both times. We had gone on a holiday to Vanuatu, Luke had hidden the ring in his surf board bag. We had only been dating for just over a year so I hadn’t expect it at all. It was a full moon and after dinner we had decided to take some champagne and go sit down the beach. He ran back to the room to go get something and I went and waited on the beach. When he came back he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I was completely surprised but of course said yes. The following day we had gone to The Cascades waterfalls, it was stunning when we had got to the top Luke decided this was a more romantic and unique setting to ask me so he asked again under a waterfall in the rain.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR WEDDING DRESS? My dress was custom made by Jennifer Gifford Designs. I had seen a photo of just the top of the dress and fell in love. When I meet Jen she was able to help me dress come to life. It was amazing to wear so light and comfortable, It made me feel like every girl should on her wedding day.
ANY DIY ELEMENTS? The best thing of using Bella and Grey styling, was she makes it very personal. Using lots of old photos of myself and Luke and our family. With the help from tracy from bella and grey I made everything for our wedding from the true kl pom-poms, to the wax paper curtain, we collected all the plants and vines from the local fauna. I even hand made and designed my wedding invitations. I constantly questioned myself about what I was doing and was it worth it, many times I felt overwhelmed by it all. But in the end I’m glad I trusted myself and spent the long nights making wax paper cones and tying the wire around the many glass jars I had collect to hang tea lights. And all the other projects because it was worth it in the end.
IN WHAT SPECIAL WAYS WERE YOU ABLE TO INVOLVED FAMILY & FRIENDS? I come from a large family and family is very important to both of us. Luke and I both thought it was very important to involve everyone as much as possible. I loved having our kids at the wedding. I was luckily enough to have my sister photograph the wedding.
MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT: The entire day was memorable but one thing that stood out for me was when I was standing at the aisle and looking out and seeing all my family and friends there to share such an special moment with me, knowing that all my favourite people
where here and here for us. We had decided to ask our guest not to take photos at the ceremony, for two reason. The first to allow the photographer to be able to get the best shots. And the second to allow the guest to see the wedding in the present not through a camera. It really did make a difference and I highly recommend it to everyone.
FAVOURITE DETAIL OF THE DAY? I couldn’t pick just one thing ééò Tracy from Bella and Grey made everything look amazing and brought my dream to reality. Guest favours were hand made by Jasmine from COASTAL STUDIO ééò it was the ideal finish. YANDINA STATION was just the perfect setting for our wedding ééò from getting married under the beautiful tree to dancing on a dirt floor.
Photographer KARENA NUTTALL / Venue YANDINA STATION / Wedding planner & stylist BELLE & GRAY / Brides dress JENNIFER GIFFORD DESIGNS / Bridesmaids’ dresses LANGHEM / Bride & bridesmaids shoes IMRLDA SHOES / Grooms suits OXFORD CLOTHING / Cufflinks NJD DESIGNS / Guest favoures COASTAL STUDIO / Floral design THE WHITE MAGNOLIA / Makeup TONI from MAKEUP FOR FORMALS, FUNCTIONS & WEDDINGS / Bride’s hair SMYTHSINC HAIRDRESSING / Grooms Hair CAPTAINS SIP SOPS BARBER SHOP & OUTFITTERS / Music SHANNON SOL CARROLL
