We shared Mary and Dave’s wedding film earlier today, so I’m thrilled to share their absolutely gorgeous wedding. This lovely couple exchanged vows on a friend’s farm before heading to the raw, urban space of Lightspace to dance the night away with their guests.

Mary and Dave kick off their story with how they met. “We met through friends and family. We were going to the same church and the groom was a good friend of the bride’s big brother so we just keep running into one another (which soon became intentional).”

Photographs today are by Julian Beattie who has captured today’s wedding elegantly and beautifully.

Dave and his groomsmen wore outfits that had elements from various different places including bowties hand made by Dave’s mum. The couple were so inspired by them, they’ve started a little business called Oh Hunter making similar bow ties!

Mary chose a gown by Darb Bridal Couture. Her mother made a floral crown to wear in her hair.

Mary and Dave recall, “We made white bunting and wooden signs for decorations. We also made the marquee that you see at the ceremony. A friend had some scrub that could do with some clearing so we used that for the upright posts. The Groom’s mum made the enormous calico covering. Together with friends, we pitched it on the morning of the wedding.” The couple married on a big green field at a friend’s property in Draper. “The colourful metal chairs at the ceremony were one of our favourite features.”

Mary remarks, “Dave’s mum also lovingly made five buttonholes for the boys to wear. She used babies’ breath and a selection of small feathers including the beautifully distinctive guinea fowl feather, which is black with white spots! The ends were tied off with dark navy ribbon.” Mary walked down the aisle to ‘Bloom’ by The Paper Kites.

The couple’s good friend and clothing designer Cooper Jane made the bridesmaid gowns. Mary recalls “Pretty much everything you see was handmade in some way by someone – invitations, marquees, bouquets, bow ties, bridesmaid dresses (to name a few). That was pretty special to us. We always wanted to design our own stationery. The bride is a graphic designer and the groom is so talented that it just happened so effortlessly.”

“We loved our hand written vow. They were very personalised and very us.”

Of their photographer, the newlyweds say, “Julian was (is) great. He is a super friendly guy, which made us feel like we had always known him. He was so chill and easy to share our day with. Meg Kelly was also there and we felt exactly the same about her. Super blessed to have them capture our special day.”

Mary and Dave held their reception at Brisbane’s Lightspace. They say “The reception venue was definitely a highlight – when we first walked through Lightspace, we knew it was perfect. It’s an incredible mixture of old commercial warehouse combined with classy, modern fittings and polished concrete floors. They also provided wooden crates, stools and heaps of delicious leather couches and plants.”

The single tier cake was made by friend Jen Bray.

For favors, Dave and Mary tell, “We made small calico bags and filled them with mixed flower seeds. The bags were tagged with a small message that read “plant with love” tied on with jute string. The bags were placed in a timber cutlery tray made by the groom’s grandfather, Edgar, and guests were invited to help themselves! A simple but heartfelt gift.”

“We remembered to stop and enjoy every moment. We remembered to stop and enjoy each other. It wasn’t a big blur because we made an intentional decision to bask in every minute of it. We loved the speeches. We were so overwhelmed by what everyone said and so glad that we had Alex Ball there, recording them for us to treasure forever.”

For their first dance, Dave and Mary remember, “We danced to ‘May Waltz’ by Brooke Fraser. It’s a slow, insanely romantic song. This was definitely a highlight of the day for the Bride.”

Congratulations Mary and Dave! Thank you for sharing your wedding day with us on Polka Dot Bride! Thank you also to Julian Beattie for sharing today’s images!