Michelle & Dave

Michelle and Dave’s barn wedding in Queensland was such a beautiful occasion. It’s so fun looking, it’s definitely the kind of wedding I want to pop some cowboy boots on just so I can dance all night!

Michelle tells of how they came to be. “We met as kids working in the same takeaway shop; we started dating two years later, when we were seventeen. Not the most romantic story going, but it has been terribly lovely to ‘grow up’ together and to so completely share our lives.”

David Ferguson Photography really sets the mood for today’s wedding with classic, but beautifully fun captures!

The day kicked off with, “My very dear friend, Nicole, and her stationery business, Bootiful Creations, helped us with our invitations (on elephant dung paper, no less!), and they were just perfect! Annette Cacciola did our hair and makeup, and she was a dream. So relaxed (no small feat, with 8 people to tend to!) and very, very talented.”

Michelle chose a gown from Darb Bridal Couture . Family played an important part on the wedding day, Michelle remarks, “It was lovely to have photos of our families’ wedding days, from our grandparents to my sister, on display, especially as none of our grandparents could be there on the day. It was nice to include them in some small way. I also had my very dear baby brother as a bridesmaid, which he got no end of grief for. But it was very important to me to have him by my side.”

Michelle and Dave chose St. John Bosco Catholic Church, Kenilworth  for their ceremony. Michelle explains, “We were married in a lovely old weatherboard church in the small country town of Kenilworth. There were no pews (or chairs of any kind, for that matter!), which came as a surprise on the day, but, happily, this ended up creating a very warm, intimate atmosphere.”

For the processional, Michelle remembers, “Two members of my husband’s band (LittleLam) performed an instrumental, stylised version of Paul Kelly’s “If I Could Start Today Again”… The lyrics are terribly unsuited to a wedding, utterly un-romantic, but the melody is beautiful and has always sounded somehow nostalgic to me… And we are big Paul Kelly fans!”

Michelle recalls “One of my favourite moments was having our mothers act as ‘ringbearers’. They presented the rings to us (my mum gave me my husband’s, and vice versa) at that part of the ceremony, and it was very special to have them both part of such a moment.”

Of their photographer, Michelle says, “We met David Ferguson when he came to our place to discuss the wedding… After he and my husband talked AFL, beer and Denmark for about half an hour, I knew we’d found our photographer. We were looking for someone we would be comfortable with, someone easy-going who wouldn’t force us into ridiculous poses, and someone who would capture the moments that we’d want to remember forever. David was above and beyond everything we could have hoped for; so many people commented that he was just like any of our guests: celebrating our marriage and sharing in our happiness. I will never tire of looking at our photos. I only need to glance through them, and I remember every moment, every emotion, in finest detail. Everything I felt is captured on film. David is one of the most talented people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing, and I can never thank him enough for preserving our wedding so perfectly.”

Michelle remarks, “I loved our wedding because it was US… Every decision, every detail, we made together. Except for the dress, of course, but that goes without saying. In every other aspect, we were a team, and that makes me very proud. We loved every second of our wedding, because we had created it ourselves, together. Now we can stand back and say, “Hey, look what we did!” Such a great feeling. I guess this is not particular to our wedding, but it’s one of the most overwhelming feelings I remember from the day: How wonderful it is that all the people you love in the world, all your dearest friends and family, come from near and far to stand together in one room to celebrate your love! What a marvellous thing! And also, of course, it was very special indeed to marry the very best man there ever was. ”

Michelle and Dave held their reception at Kenilworth Homestead . Michelle remarks “We actually found the Homestead on Polka Dot Bride, in a blog about barns. We’d seen it done a lot in the States and we loved the idea…. With a bit of help from Polka Dot Bride, we found Kenilworth Homestead and loved it immediately. Consisting of a lovely old cottage, dorm accommodation for 150 people, 4 private spa rooms, a full industrial kitchen, and a 100-year-old heritage listed barn; the Homestead sits in the Mary Valley in one of the most glorious parts of Australia. Just magic. The hire of the venue included accommodation, so we were able to invite all our guests to spend the night, resulting in a whole weekend of celebrating, not just one ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ night.”

“Our venue was truly very, very special to us: unique and stunning. I remember looking around as we were having drinks on the lawn in front of the barn after we had our photos done, and being absolutely gobsmacked by how beautiful it all was in the fading afternoon light. I was also truly amazed by how willing all our friends and family were to chip in and help us. As we were DIY-ing basically everything, we spent many a Sunday in working bee mode, and everyone, wonderfully, delighted in taking part. The morning after the wedding, we provided breakfast for our guests, and we woke to find our families running about in the kitchen; frying, toasting, boiling away for 120 people. It was awfully humbling. It was very special to have my big sister there. She lives in Dublin, and although we spent a year with her there in 2010, I don’t get to see her all that often. Although I know she would never have missed it in a million years, I still feel it’s worth a mention, because I loved, loved, LOVED having her home.”

The guest book was a personal, special, touch “Our guest book is now one of my most prized possessions: We made a photo book with photos we’d taken over our eleven and a half years together, but rather than using pictures of just the two of us, we included photos of us and all our guests over the years we’ve been together. It was a lovely way of showing each guest how special they’ve been in our lives, and also kind of a celebration of the shared life we’ve had since we were seventeen.”

Blooms of Noosa created the floral arrangements using a palette of green and white.

For favors, Michelle remembers “Our wedding favours were biscuits that the two of us and my mother-in-law had baked, and we labelled them using our guests’ nicknames, even the very obscure ones, such as Matt the Eel and Ducka-ducka-ducka-duck (long story!). Everyone got a kick out of that, and it was nice to show each guest that they were individually special to us. We also made up bags of favours for all our guests’ children (who we unfortunately weren’t able to invite), which I think people appreciated.”

The suppliers the couple chose made the evening a breeze Michelle remarks “Our caterers, Capelli Foods, were wonderful; nothing was too much trouble. Caroline is a dream, and I think she was even more concerned than me that the day should run smoothly! The staff were all brilliant, and spent every quiet moment at the bar dancing along with us! I’m fairly certain our band, Benjam, made the night; they were just unreal. Such great, down-to-earth people, for whom, again, nothing is too much trouble. We saw them at a friend’s wedding years ago and said there and then we would have to have them… And they were even better than we remembered!”

For their first dance, Michelle recalls “Well! One of my favourite ever songs is “Home”, by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. My husband and his band recorded a softer, sparser version as a surprise for our first dance. Oh, there were tears!”

There was one final surprise for guests! Michelle remembers “Our very good mate (and one of the groomsmen) owns a gourmet pie shop (Piefection), and he very kindly provided his delicious pies as a midnight snack… Complete with a “pie do” tag!”

Congratulations on your marriage Michelle and Dave! Thank you for sharing your day with us! Thank you also to David Ferguson Photography for sharing today’s wedding!