Emma and Alex’s Rustic Rainy Brisbane Wedding

Alex and Emma

Alex and I met late 11^th February 2007 at a music festival. I had recently moved to Brisbane and we became good friends. I remember the first time we hung out was for an afternoon coffee that ended up lasting six hours together, walking the South Bank River, just chatting. Five years later, he proposed to me under stars at that same spot. We chose February 24^th as our date… so it was reminiscent of when we first met.

On the day, I woke up at around 4am in the morning and couldn’t go back to sleep! I waited until around 6am then messaged Alex. Funnily enough, he had been awake too but didn’t want to wake me! As the morning progressed, my excitement turned anxious but as soon as the Stewart (our photographer) arrived it all settled and I couldn’t stop smiling (just in time).

My dress is Pronovias and I bought it from White Lily Couture. I went to so many bridal stores in Brisbane, and White Lily was the only store that stocked Pronovias. I remember everyone’s faces when I put it on… like it was made for me! My shoes are Badgley Mischka so sparkling! My makeup was done by the beautiful Sally R.  She made me look so pretty! My hair was done by my hairdresser and friend of 8 years, Tammy from Hair At Salt, Kingscliff.

My flowers were done by Jo. As soon as I started planning the wedding, I made thousands of inspiration boards of flowers. Jo really understood what I was after and they turned out better than I imagined.

I let my bridesmaids choose their own styles, found the material in the colour I was after and had a dressmaker make them.

My photographer Stewart Ross. We couldn’t speak more highly of. He was so easy and fun to work with, not to mention talented! He captured every single detail, emotion and expression. I remember feeling a little down that our day was going to be overcast and raining but Stewart assured me it was perfect for lighting, and he was right! The pictures are more than we could ever imagine! Our videographer Geoff from Motion Art was brilliant. We hardly felt he was there but after seeing our wedding trailer, he was there, filming every moment beautifully.

The cars were Jaguars by Kenz Classics. My grandfather sadly is no longer with us but in life he was a jaguar enthusiast and he actually drove my mum to her wedding in a jaguar so I knew that was definitely the cars we’d be having on the day. Ken & Robyn were exceptional on the day, rolling out the red carpet and always on hand with an umbrella. Robyn would also help fix my train in and out of the car! I didn’t realize how handy our drivers would be!

Our ceremony was held at the Broadway Chapel which is so sweet and dainty. Our celebrant Clarah Luxford was THE person who added the perfect touch to our wedding. The ceremony was beautiful; the words she wrote were just ‘us’. I wish I could remarry Alex over and over again, just to hear the words Clarah said in our ceremony!

Alex is Latino so we incorporated a Spanish tradition into our ceremony. A lazo is draped around our shoulders to symbolize an unbroken circle and an everlasting union. Our mothers placed them over our shoulders which was really special.

Our reception was held at The Ballroom at Victoria Park. The room is stunning to say the least. The chandleries were the perfect touch to our night. Our cake was made by Cakes By Judy. It was a cupcake tower and our cupcakes were then boxed as our bonbonniere! Everyone has commented on how yummy they were.

Alex is usually shy with lots of people around so I was unsure how his speech would go. Obviously I wasn’t the only one in the element because Alex’s speech brought the house down! He was funny, sweet and touching. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house from either laughter or tears.

I LOVE wedding blogs so I had so much inspiration! I wanted my reception tables to be reminiscent of a rustic flower party. I didn’t want any of the tables to look the same so collected all sorts of jars and glasses for vases (including making pasta once a week, washing out the jars and keeping them) I brought brown paper mache numbers for my table no. from Spotlight.

I found a vintage paneled window frame and a friend of mine drew our seating plan on it (it is gorgeous!). Also had some picture frames placed at various areas (photobooth and wishing suitcase) with cute sayings on them. We had a wishing well which was for our honeymoon so I LOVED the idea (as seen on polkadotbride) for a suitcase! I found one on etsy and bought a banner to hang across it. Our invitations were designed by Ello There. We knew we wanted everything that was about us on our invites. Ello There pieced it together and it was exactly what we wanted!

I can’t believe how quickly the day went! I woke up and felt it was all a dream. They say it’s good luck if it rains on your wedding day; well we were VERY lucky, as it didn’t really stop! Your wedding day is the greatest day of your life – rain, hail or shine. Oh and your dress will get cleaned and come up as good as new!

Photography by Stewart Ross

Ms Gingham says: This is one wedding that had me grinning from ear to ear! The smiles, the emotions, the details… all captured to perfection by Stewart Ross. Huge thanks to Emma and Alex for sharing their wedding today!

Emma says: “My name is Emma and I’ll soon be marrying my best friend Alex. Music has been always be much of my life but I also adore our kitten and ice-cream! I am excitedly counting down until our big day and soaking in inspiration from the love stories of others to make it as memorable as possible.”

Emma and Alex’s Engagement Shoot