Janine and Kiel

Janine and Kiel’s wedding day was nothing short of whimsical. Filled with sunshine, plenty of personality and an atmosphere of joy!

Janine tells their story. “We spotted each other while I (Janine) was working at a massage stand in a busy shopping centre in Broadbeach. A mutual friend introduced us and we had an instant connection. We went out for a few months, then spent some time apart before Kiel finally realised that this was meant to be forever (I knew all along of course).”

Photos are by Deep Grey Photography who capture beautiful moments, rich with colour and depth.

Janine and Kiel were married at Janine’s family home. Janine explains “I was fortunate enough to grow up on a beautiful property in Northern New South Wales surrounded by passionfruit vines, cane fields, and banana trees on the mountains around us. I wanted to feel as relaxed and ‘familiar’ as possible with our venue, so the choice was clear – their was no place like home.” Janine’s friend and bridesmaid made lengths of bunting to decorate the gates and entrance to the property.

Janine was sure to remember lost loved ones on the day. She notes, “My father Barry and brother Chris have both passed away and I really missed that opportunity to have them with me, and walk me down the aisle that day. We lit candles for them during the ceremony, and I had my dad’s wedding ring tied around my wrist for the day just to reinforce that sense of having him by my side on the special occasion.”

Kiel handmade much of the decor for the day. Janine remembers, “Kiel is the Creative Director at Potato Press; so his skills and access to print and laser-etching equipment made us fortunate enough to add loads of personalised touches. Firstly he designed and printing our wedding invitations. Kiel designed and made our illuminated “BAR” sign for the reception, table numbers and signs (“ceremony”, “reception”, “parking” etc) out of old ‘white picket fences’ (which I thought was very symbolic for the occasion!).”

There was so much DIY at the wedding, Janine even made Kiel’s bow tie!

Janine remembers, “We had the ceremony under a great big camphor laurel tree near the house, had drinks and platters a short walk away from there, Kiel remixed a Sol Seppy song for me. My bridesmaid Erin introduced me to Sol Seppy years ago and I fell in love with how pretty and whimsical her songs were.”

During the ceremony, Janine and Kiel lit candles for Janine’s father Barry and brother Chris.

Janine says,  “Our wedding was specifically ‘us’; using our creativity, family memorabilia, country hospitality, vintage collections, and our favourite food, music and people to create a celebration of who we are as individuals, and as a couple.”

Of their photographer, Janine says, ” Finding the right photographer for our wedding was really important to us. We love photography and creative imagery and could not risk being disappointed with how our special day was captured. So we researched loads of photographers and their portfolio’s to find the quality and style that we’d be happy looking back over for the rest of our lives. Eventually we came across Deep Grey. Their images speak for themselves. They are stunning, candid, and really capture the essence of a moment. We hated the idea of the typical, awkwardly posed wedding photo’s – it was going to be a beautiful day full of love and happiness – no posing required for that. Adam and Fiona at Deep Grey were an absolute delight to work with from date dot, and we could not be happier with the stunning album we have.”

The flowers for the day were styled by White Ivy Designs . Janine explains, ” Janine from White Ivy Designs heard our brief and executed it beautifully.”

While photographs were taken, Janine’s sister made and served mojitos to the wedding guests. The couple made the favours themselves, Janine explaining, “Together Kiel and I designed thank you cards and made our wedding favours: wooden bird brooches for her, and “K & J” embossed drink opener / key rings for him”.

Janine notes, “Kiel laser-etched the “Mr & Mrs Tillman” wood piece that sat at the front of the bridal table. Kiel also made wooden glasses and moustaches for guests to have fun with in photo opportunities. He found an old door at the tip shop which turned into our seating chart and menu board. Kiel made “K & J” monogram stickers for the back of the chairs at the reception “

The couple and their guests celebrated in an old barn on the property. Janine remembers “The dinner reception was in the large barn that was draped and transformed by fantastic friends and family into the perfect mix of rustic country charm and fairy-lit romance. It was definitely a whole lot more work, stress and organising then if we’d hired a venue – but I wouldn’t have had it any other way. A whole lot of gratitude goes to Erin, Deb, Russell and Nathan who worked their magic and transformed the barn into the stunning venue we were hoping it could be. And countless friends and family who donated their time, resources and expertise to put the day together. ”

Janine recalls, “I used my gorgeous vintage chair that I inherited from my Nana in our photo-shoot. My Nana and Pop’s old suitcases were used at the Bar to display the red wines. One of my favourite things I loved doing in preparation for the wedding was spending hours hunting through op shops for vintage china: and managed to collect enough for all 100 guests to have their dinner  and desserts from a mix-match of gorgeous old, detailed crockery – they were centre-pieces within themselves. I used my Nana’s Royal Albert china, and her lace table cloth on the bridal table. We have quite the collection of camera’s – so we had them set up on a dressing table for guests to use throughout the night. We loved looking back through the night through other peoples eyes.”

The cakes and desserts were all made by family and friends, Janine says, ” My mum Adele, Kiel’s mum Sue and I each made our signature cake which made up our 3 tiered wedding cake. I asked my friend Alana, sisters Louise, Belinda and Diana, and sister-in-law Leah to each make a dessert which collectively made our desserts table. My darling mum even especially crocheted hand-towels for the porter-loo’s for goodness sake! ”

For their first dance, Janine remembers, “We danced to “First Day of my Life” by Bright Eyes. It gets us welled up each time we hear it – it has such beautiful lyrics and melody. We’re not trained dancers by any stretch – but both love dancing – whether it’s to make each other laugh, or to fully embrace and celebrate our favourite music.”

Janine’s sister made small bow ties for the shoulders of the chairs at the reception which were decorated with monogram stickers made by Kiel.

Janine recalls, “We had the most horrific weather leading up to our wedding day – and much to my mum’s dismay – there was barely a half-baked back-up plan if the weather was bad. Erin (bridesmaid) took a snapshot of the weeks weather forecast: and every day was stormy: except our wedding day which was sunshine and blue skies. As one of our guests put it, “The Gods were happy this day”, and provided the weather accordingly. The night sky was so beautifully clear, the milky-way graced us over the barn, there were so many stars and my father-in-law and I witnessed a shooting star over the ‘wishing moon’. It honestly felt like the most magic day we could have hoped for, in more ways then one. A special mention would have to go to the groomsmen’s speech which had us all in stitches, and tears of laughter ruining my make-up – well done Aaron and Ry.”

Congratulations Janine and Kiel! Thank you for sharing your wedding day with us! Thank you also to Deep Grey Photography for sharing today’s photographs!”