Catherine and Stephen

Oh, Queensland, what months of rain you have had! Rain doesn’t really matter when it comes to weddings – it just makes for umbrellas and gumboots and luscious looking grass and dark storm clouds. Catherine and Stephen, today’s couple headed to country Queensland for their wedding.

The story of how they met? As romantic as they come! “Seven years ago…an Irishman and a Kiwi lass, both residing in Brisbane, were not aware that they were destined to be “together”. Stephen was desperate to head back to the Emerald Isle and Catherine was just desperate (hehe). They meet one muggy night at the “Down Under Bar”, the stars must have been smiling on them and hey hit it off instantly thinking to themselves that they had just met someone special! Unfortunately they were both already taken. Was destiny to be denied? Yes, but only for a while…fast forward a year or 3…the lift doors open, their eyes meet, thunder rolls, angels sing and rest is history…

Stephen knew he wanted to marry Catherine from that moment, and Catherine accepted that although Stephen could not dance to save his life, she wanted to marry him too, dancing isn’t that important to Catherine. So after giving his future father-in-law a heart attack (John survived and is fine now and honestly it wasn’t all Stephen’s fault), Stephen proposed to Catherine on her return from a holiday to NZ (ladies, absence really does make the heart grow fonder).”

Photos today are by Feather & Stone Photography who manage to make every wedding photograph burst with character – showing off fun, life and happiness.

Catherine and Stephen held their ceremony at the Laguna at Sirromet Winery.

Catherine wore a Fiorenza gown from Bridal On James. The transport turned out to be golden for Catherine and Stephen. “The Limo driver from Golden Gate Limousines was just awesome! He provided an excellent service to Stephen and I, but also was very accommodating with any request we had. One big standout was due to the rain and the reception venue being 750m away from the ceremony location, after the ceremony he drove back and forth between both venues dropping people up to the reception venue. He was brilliant and really looked after us!” Catherine traveled to the ceremony with all of her family and best friend – there were ten in the limo!

Catherine walked down the aisle to ‘Falling Slowly’ by Glen Hansard, played by Greg Copeland (it was amazing and Greg did such a good job, I picked the song because Stephen is Irish and loves Glen Hansard and the Frames, also Stephen didn’t know what song I had picked so it was a nice surprise for him).”

The rain didn’t put a dampener on the ceremony. “The atmosphere generated by the soft sound of the drops and gentle ripples they made among the lilies on the lake was calming to the jangling nerves of the waiting groom. And the warmth and camaraderie of the guests was multiplied ten fold as umbrellas were shared and sheltered room was made.”

Catherine says “Most brides dread the thought of being married in the rain, but this bride’s motto of “as long as we get married it doesn’t matter what else happens” and “that’s how we roll” kept everyone cool and allowed all to see the funny side.”

Guests continued the celebration in the Sirromet Winery barrel room.

The couple’s friends ensured the day was memorable. “A good friend of ours (Brad Skinner) organised our cake and gave it to us as our wedding present. The cake was made by Samantha Cater  (samcarter75 at gmail.com)and it was a beautiful cake with beautiful piping and oh so tasty.”

Greg Copeland with Wear the Fox Hat played the music for the day, including “You Look Wonderful Tonight” by Eric Clapton for Catherine and Stephen’s first dance.

One of Catherine’s favourite moments was one of the last moments of the day. “Getting a maxi taxi home with six of our friends and some family, and getting home and eating Dominos pizza and drinking White Russians.“

Congratulations Catherine and Stephen! Thank you for sharing your wedding day with us on Polka Dot Bride! Thank you also to the by Feather & Stone Photography team for provided today’s images