Jessica and Lance

Lance and I met in church 3 years ago and I can honestly say that those years have been the most wonderful, challenging and precious years of my life. I’m 21 (I was 20 on our wedding day) and work for the Department of Communities as a graduate. I’m passionate about working to empower and improve the wellbeing of Aboriginal people and children within the Child Protection system (Child Safety). I grew up in Brisbane with my Mum, Dad and sister. My family have been my greatest support in life, they have helped me believe that I am deserving of a wonderful life and a successful marriage. Lance is 24 and works as a pathology Lab Assistant. He is passionate about growing a strong family.

Lance proposed to me on the 13 February 2010, when we travelled to Caloundra on a camping trip with friends for my 20th birthday. At dusk, my best friends helped him to set up a champagne picnic under this big old tree near the water. Luckily he was able to use the “it’s your birthday and the weekend of Valentine’s day, I just want to be romantic” line when I asked him what all the effort was for, so that I didn’t have any suspicions. As we got up to leave after enjoying our time together, he bent down onto one knee and asked me to marry him! I was in such disbelief that he needed to ask me a second time before I answered “YES” without hesitation. Ever since that day, Lance has been incredibly supportive throughout the wedding planning process. It was so funny to watch him sitting with the stationary team at Urban Weddings trying to pick between the smallest details such as Ivory or Champagne paper for the invitations. It was through the wedding planning process that we learned many lessons which have prepared us well for marriage.

To find my dress, I went shopping with my Mum, sister and best friend (Maid of Honour) in Brisbane city. After looking in two other shops we arrived at Casar Elegance where Kisha and Anna helped me to look through such a huge range of wedding gowns. I tried on a Maggie Sottero gown “Ella Marie”. When I came out of the dressing room my mum, sister and best friend teared up, it was the one! I ordered the dress and it was due to arrive 4 weeks before our wedding day (just in time). As the wedding drew near I lost weight so Anna worked tirelessly to cut inches away from the dress (YAY!!!), she also used parts of the embelishment and lace to create straps which made me feel extra comfortable. Lance has since told me that he loved my choice of dress for the day.

I wanted Lance to feel great in his suit, after all, it’s his wedding day as well and if I get to wear an incredible dress then I think that the groom should feel special as well. Seeing as we were going for a garden/vintage feel, I thought that we should stick to shades of grey. I wanted Lance to stand out in the photos so that it would be blatantly obvious that he was the groom. After trawling through all the expensive brands with no avail, we popped into Roger David in the city which is where we found everything we needed.

Lance and all of the groomsmen were tall and thin, so we needed a slim fit suit. I love the white trim on the lapel of Lance’s suit as it tied in really well with my dress (on my last dress fitting I took Lance’s suit, tie and shirt just to make sure that it would all look great together). The groomsmen wore a darker charcoal coloured suit which was also a slim fit design. We bought the suits and took them to be tailored. Again, if us ladies were to receive so much special attention on the wedding day, it would only be fair to make sure that all of the boys felt dashing! Picking the ties was the hardest thing because the colour of the bridesmaid dresses was so specific. In the end after searching through numerous tie shops we returned to Roger David who matched ties within seconds. The boys felt and looked great and have commented that they’re happy to have a great tailored suit to keep.

Bridesmaid dresses! What a challenge! I had girls of different ages and body shapes in the bridal party, so finding one dress to accommodate my ideas was challenging. I searched through hundreds of dresses online to not only find the right style but mostly the right colour! In the end I stumbled across a Henry Roth dress in baby pink that was perfect! The junior bridesmaid was eleven so I of course needed to keep the look really age appropriate. We ordered an extra 2 metres of fabric which we later used to create different straps for each of the girls. They all loved their dresses and felt special that their look was unique! I cried twice on my wedding day, the first was when all of the girls came out of the room all at once, parading the final finish. They looked so beautiful. My bridesmaids were incredible, my best friends and new sisters, I was so proud to have them represent me and help me on my wedding day.

Paula and Sarah from the Powder Room met with us at 6am to start the beautifying process for myself, my bridal party and close family members, they were very supportive and carefully listened to our needs. Terrianne from Mondo Floral Designs worked tirelessly with us in order to ensure that our wedding was abundantly floral and suited to our personal style.

Trudy from Love Bird Weddings was absolutely outstanding throughout the wedding planning process as well. She worked generously and flawlessly with Mondo Floral Designs and Maleny Manor in her event styling role to create a garden party themed decor using french provincial furniture. I always hoped to give my wedding a DIY feel, however after breaking my leg earlier on in the year and requiring surgery, studying full time and also working upwards of 30 hours per week it wasn’t meant to be. My husband, friends, family and all of the vendors were so supportive and made my dreams come true!

The wedding day was incredible, I have such vivid memories of every detail , every smell and every moment shared between Lance and I as well as the loving company of our bridal party, family and friends. We were married under the pavilion at Maleny Manor on January 08, 2011.

I really have found it so hard to choose just 20 from the 500 incredible photographs that were taken by Todd and Alyda; Todd Hunter McGaw Photography.

Lance is compassionate, wise and gentle and I have so much admiration for the way that he conducts himself in life. Lance comes from a beautiful family and I have loved getting to know his parents, two brothers and two sisters. They are generous and have welcomed me and my family into their world.

The second time I cried on my wedding day was at the end of the night, right before we left, in one last dance with my new husband, the pressures of the day were over and all at once a rush of overwhelming love hit me. I remember dancing with him, crying, saying “I love you, I love you so much!”

Photography by Todd Hunter McGaw Photography

 

 

Ms Gingham says: “There’s so much to love about Jessica and Lance’s wedding. The clothes, the flowers, the styling and the absolutely stunning photography, which has captured such candid emotion. It’s so obvious how much in love this couple are. Thanks so much to Jessica and Lance for sharing their wedding with us!”

Jessica says: “Our wedding day was the most incredible day, I will carry those memories with me for the rest of our lives! It really was perfect and I feel so much joy in being able to share this with you on Polka Dot Bride.”

Click here to read Samara-Jaye’s (Jessica’s bridesmaid’s) account of the day.