Amy & Craig

I am so excited to kick off 2011 with a stunner of an Australian wedding – Amy and Craig married in the Byron Bay hinterland. Their wedding is so well, them! Amy and Craig married in Bangalow in an intimate celebration marked with a gorgeous afternoon garden party and intimate reception.

Amy, our first newlywed for 2011 kicks off our (set to be!) amazing year by telling us how she & Craig met. “We’d known each other for a number of years and had a lot of mutual friends but different social circles. It’s a bit embarrassing but the relationship actually sparked at a political debate! We exchanged business cards and it went from there. Emails back and forth and before I (Amy) knew it I was tricked into a first date… very happily I might add. It was the night of the lunar eclipse, 28 August 2007. Craig says he had it all arranged, I say God was good to him.”

Today’s photographer is Sayher Heffernan who just captures images so beautifully! It’s such a delight to see his photographs full of raw emotion, beautiful light and a whole lot of love.

Amy’ and Craig’s wedding was filled with handmade touches. Amy says “There were MANY DIY details, most courtesy of my sister Bec who is a graphic designer at You Would Love This. Where do I start? We placed a  fold-out welcome map with the weekend’s details in every room (everyone stayed the weekend in Byron). We made hand-drawn badges each with personal conversation starters for the rehearsal dinner.”

Amy wore a one shouldered gown with lavender detail by Brisbane designer Juli Grbac. She accessorised with pearl drop earrings by McKinneys Jewellers and wore a vintage bracelet from her grandmother. Her bridesmaids wore short lavender gowns from Manning Cartel. Amy says “Brie from Bella Amante did hair and make-up for the bridal party and was so determined to get every detail perfect.”

Amy & Craig // Happy Everafter in Your Eyes from Motion Art on Vimeo.

Amy and Craig were married at the All Souls Anglican Church in Bangalow, set in the Byron hinterland. Amy walked down the aisle to “Happy Ever After In her Eyes” by Ben Harper, Motion Art Cinematography captured the wedding day on film.

Following the ceremony a garden party was held at the Bangalow Heritage Museum where guests feasted on cheeses, fruit and wedding cake.

Amy explains, “The wedding was a weekend getaway, starting on Friday night with the rehearsal dinner. Saturday morning the boys kicked off the day with some golf, while us girls took the many hours preparing ourselves. We had the ceremony late afternoon, 3.30pm, followed by the garden party and then an intimate reception.

The garden party was great fun with a very festive, relaxed feel including croquet, a Polaroid photobooth and an old-school foosball table. Craig (groom) made his speech here and we also cut the cake.

The reception, held at Dish Restaurant, Byron Bay, started with a cocktail hour, serving three signature cocktails and freshly shucked oysters. Dinner served four courses with matching wines, amazing! The night concluded with some hilarious speeches and of course, dancing.”

For the ceremony and garden party, Amy, Craig and their families made the fans; order of service; ring cushion (made by Mosey); doiley confetti cones, vintage washing box with stacked layers (made by John Jenkins, the groom’s father), homemade lemonade (a family recipe) chocolate with cream and mascarpone filling wedding cake (by friend, Georgina Watson); 110m bunting (made by Amy’s grandmother, Nellie); and even a photo gallery with photos of the bride and groom through their childhood strung up.

Hannah Bigbee from Flowers On The Run made a sensational arrangement of flowers for the garden party including bouquets filled with beautiful masses of flowers. Amy says “We couldn’t have been luckier with the vendors we worked with – everyone was passionate about what they did and extremely talented.

I’d definitely like to make mention of: Bec Worth (designer and sister) from You Would Love This, worked her fingers to the bone creating the most magical details for the weekend; Derek Worth (father and jeweller) made the most perfect wedding bands with absolute precision; Morgane from The New Collector (Bangalow) styled the garden party with exuberance; Geoff from Motion Art did an incredible job capturing on film and has since made a lot of people cry; Guy Parker and Hannah Smith catered the garden party in spectacular fashion; Georgina Watson was a God-send and coordinated everything!”

Amy and Craig celebrated with guests at Dish Restaurant, Byron Bay.

Copper Willow Letterpress printed the couple’s favourite quote and their names onto thick parchment paper set at each table setting while the couple gave their favourite homemade chilli jam as favors.

Amy and Craig made wooden table numbers and C and A for the back of their chairs (hand routed by Craig’s father), hand folded paper hearts and calligraphed place cards to set the scene for their reception.

Congratulations Amy & Craig! Thank you for sharing your wedding day as the first wedding of 2011 on Polka Dot Bride! Thank you also to Sayher Heffernan for today’s photographs!