Melissa and Peter

The thing about weddings in the city, is the incredible backdrops they provide. Not only do you get the amazing architecture, but there’s a sense of history, of stories between the walls. Brisbane’s Old Government House provided a grand backdrop for the ceremony and reception of Melissa and Peter. The classic style of their wedding lent itself to the historic beauty of the buildings.

Melissa says, “We met when we both worked in a Brisbane pharmacy where we were pharmacy students. ”

Photos today are by Studio Con Brio. I love the drama of these photographs, they capture the classic elegance of today’s wedding but have sense that this is a huge occasion.

Peter wore a suit made by The Cloakroom. His groomsmen wore suits from Stuart Suit Specialist.

Melissa wore a delicate gown by Bora Couture and carried a brightly coloured bouquet by Green & Bloom Wedding Flowers.

Melissa and her bridesmaids had their hair & makeup styled by Rebecca Calvert. Melissa paired her dress with shoes from Midas .

Melissa remarks “The time I spent with my bridesmaids for a dinner the night before and the morning of the wedding really set aside the nerves.  Broncos rugby league team were staying at the Stamford Plaza, where we were getting ready. One bridesmaid interrupted the photo session in the foyer to sprint across the Stamford plaza floor shouting ‘Alfie! Alfie!’ when she spotted retired player Allan Langer and within a couple of days of the wedding had  the resulting enlarged photo displacing other important documents in a frame!” Melissa’s bridesmaids wore gowns made by Ultra Suite.

Melissa and Peter were married at Old Government House Brisbane. Melissa recalls “Peter’s favourite moment was seeing me enter the room as I started the walk up the aisle.  My favourite was feeling him squeeze my hands and smile at me during the vows.” Friend Tim Windle played the music for the ceremony.

The couple were married by Father Mauro Conte.

Melissa notes “Peter and I took to the time to make sure we enjoyed each other’s company during the event.  The location photography session was great for this.  Peter also did well to send me roses to the Hotel on the morning of the wedding and wrote a beautiful letter.”

The guests kicked on with a reception, also held at Old Government House. Melissa says, “We used the same venue for both the ceremony and reception which made travel a bit easier for our guests.  Old Government House has a beautiful old grand piano which I felt needed to be used and a stunning chandelier and stair case as ideal extra features for the ceremony.  The reception gave us access to use the entire ground floor for the house, which meant we had a separate adjoining room for the lolly buffet & photo booth, separated from the dance floor which was important for our enthusiastic dancers who needed their space.”

The couple had their stationery designed and made by Beacon Lane. Green and Bloom Wedding Flowers styled the reception floral arrangements and decor.

House of Loulou & Co created a lolly buffet for the couple which also doubled as their guest favors.

Melissa had some fun with the table names. She explains “As my Husband’s surname is Jones – we named all the guest tables after songs with Jones in the title.  For example the bridal table was “Me and Mrs Jones” while the table with my Doctor friends was ‘Doctor Jones’.”

The couple set up a photo booth and Melissa injected personality into the props – and the guestbook! She says “I purchased some postcards online as an alternative for a guest book, with topics related to love, marriage and our respective professions and interests. (My favourite post card – was “Real Men Marry Doctors”)”

The couple’s two tier wedding cake was made by Cake Star . Melissa changed into a shorter gown for the reception, designed and made by Paul Hunt. Melissa says “Paul was absolutely fantastic, understood my vision perfectly (even though I difficulty describing it). Cakestar did a great job in replicating it in sugar for the cake!”

The speeches were a highlight ” The speeches were both entertaining and touching. Peter’s three younger  brothers gave a speech which had the guests in tears of laughter with their clever puns and friendly banter. “

The first dance was not just any old first dance. Melissa explains “We wanted to have a dance that would be less of a shuffle and more of a performance, so we took private lessons from two dance companies to make this happen.  I changed into a custom made dress designed by Paul Hunt, which was a shorter 50s style.

We had two ‘first’ dances. The first was an entrance dance to the reception to Glee’s version of Marry You. We did a combination rumba, and triple swing to set the mood of the party.

Our official first dance was a choreographed combination of a fox trot and jive to Michael Buble.  The fox trot was to ‘Baby – You’ve Got What it Takes’ and the jive to ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’.  Our finale and ending dip went off without a hitch, considering our last move was called a “death drop” from our dance instructor.”

Of their photographers, Melissa says “Trudy and Dean from Studio Con Brio stayed for the entire reception, were unobtrusive while making the process fun.  They were absolutely lovely and many guests commented on their enthusiasm and gorgeous personalities.  A favourite moment was seeing Trudy curled up in a ball on the floor in fits of laughter while photographing Peter’s brothers’ speeches. We were thrilled with the results.”

Melissa has so many memories of the day that delight her, including one from a tiny hotel guest. Melissa recalls “When we left the wedding to retire to the Stanford plaza we entered the lift with a couple and their young daughter who had just been to a wedding themselves.  The young girl looked at me and said “Mummy is that a bride?” The mum replied “You ask her,” to which I agreed.  The little girl said “Wow, doesn’t she look beautiful mummy.”    It was a lovely compliment to end the most perfect day.”

Congratulations Melissa and Peter! I wish you all the best in your married life together! Thank you to Studio Con Brio for sharing today’s photographs with us!