An island wedding, tooling around on golf carts with pals (and champagne!), a mid-wedding surprise sunset cruise and tons of fun...Does it get any better than that!? I think not! This couple created a glamorous and unforgettable affair, but I suppose we shouldn't be too surprised since the bride is a designer. She certainly shows off her stupendous skills in the full gallery of images, which you simply must check out. Many thanks to Kelly Tunney Photographer for capturing the island magic!
Hamilton Island Wedding at Outrigger from Kelly Tunney Photographer
Click here for the FULL wedding!
From the Bride... Matt and I met on a home renovation show — he was working as a builder and I was on the design team. We like to think we embrace all life has to offer. We are always looking for a new adventure and never do anything in half measures. I think these qualities led to our magical and very unique wedding weekend! We have a passion for travel, architecture, design, sport and the finer things in life. Our family and friends mean everything to us. This year has been a big one for us — we embarked on a huge renovation of our house whilst planning a wedding — now there's a recipe for stress!
Although our wedding was by the ocean, it was very glamorous with lots of textures, and my dress exemplified this. My dressmaker Joanne Panzarino was absolutely amazing. The experience of having her design and make my dress made my wedding fairytale complete. Being in the design industry, I was a perfectionist about every little detail. Matt was born in the UK and we wanted to bring a touch of his heritage to our wedding. We both love history and used the "keep calm" war posters at various times leading up to and during our wedding! Our motif, which was featured on our invites, order of service and other stationery, was a crown with our initials inside — we figured if you can't act like royalty on your wedding day, when can you? We surprised our guests and took them on a sunset cruise between our ceremony and reception. It was such a beautiful surprise. The boat collected us from the shore after we finished our photo tour so we were able to watch the sun go down while sipping champagne with our friends and family.
The ceremony itself was very special to Matt and me, It was filled with personal touches and details that had been carefully planned by both of us. Having my dad walk me down the aisle meant the world to me. Matt's beaming smile and his reaction when he saw me walking toward him was one I'll remember forever. At the beginning of the ceremony, we released two butterflies to represent family members who couldn't be present on the day. Combined with two readings from very close friends of ours, it was very moving. Our vows began very traditionally but we finished them with messages to each other that we had written separately. It was the best feeling to declare our love for each other to the world. We loved going on our photo tour with our bridal party. As we drove around the island from location to location, our bridal party piled into three golf buggies with champagne in hand, flags waving and laughter echoing through the air! My wonderful father and I made flags for everyone's golf buggies. As they are the only mode of transport around the island, most of our guests had one. The flag displayed the crown and our initials — the same motif that had been used on our invitations. It was so lovely for guests to drive past one another and recognize others who were sharing our fabulous week!
We are in love with our wedding photos. Kelly Tunney and Pete (her assistant) were wonderful. Apart from memories, their photos of our day are the only keepsakes we have, so I placed a lot of importance on our decision to ask Kelly photograph our wedding, and we were certainly not disappointed. From the moment they arrived, they felt like family and we loved them being a part of our celebrations.
Wedding Photography: Kelly Tunney Photographer / Reception: Outrigger in Hamilton Island, Queensland / Floral Design: Aleksandra / Styling: Kristy Popplewell / Wedding Cake + Desserts: Yummy Cupcakes & Cakes / Wedding Invitations: Designed by Kristy Popplewell + Printed by The Distillery / Getting Ready Venue: Qualia / Wedding Dress: Joanne Panzarino / Bride's Shoes: Christian Louboutin / Hair: Eliza Campagna