Karissa and David

Well nothing’s going to shake Winter quite like a beautiful Port Douglas destination wedding! Oh to marry with a big holiday, a pool bar and your favourite people the most relaxed they’ve ever been. Yep, sounds like a good dose of heaven!

Karissa tells the story of how she and David came to be. “David’s father moved in next door to my parents and when David moved in with his dad, my mother and I couldn’t help but notice how hot he was. David had a motor bike and we would peek out the kitchen window when we would here him pull up. Little did I know he would do the same when he saw me pull up to my mother’s house. I would check him out when he was mowing the lawn and he would do the same when I was washing my car.

For a long while the most we would ever say to each though would be hello. I remember one of the funniest moments during the speeches when David’s dad joked that when he was first told by a friend that David was dating his neighbour his first thought was must be Sharon my mother because of how disinterested we both seemed in each other. But obviously we both secretly had a crush on each other but would never show it. It was out of the blue when late one night David sent me a text asking me what I was doing and I knew that he was interested and I was so excited I went and woke my mum up to tell her. We decided to hang out and it took off from there, like we were both just waiting for one of us to make the first move.”

Blue Sky Photography captured the beautiful beach side photography today.

Karissa chose a Sottero and Midgley strapless wedding gown.

Floral Edge Port Douglas created the floral arrangements including a tulip bouquet for the bride.

Sea Temple Resort, Port Douglas  was chosen as the venue for the wedding, Karissa noting, “We had the wedding at Sea Temple Port Douglas, some of our friends and family stayed with us the night before which made for an exciting build up. We got married in front of the pool on the lagoon terrace which was beautiful, and the guests had their canapés by the pool at the pool bar.”

Karissa walked down the aisle to “Amazed” by Boyz II Men.

Aphrodite Anderson married the couple.

Of their photographer, Karissa says, “Ben is amazing, from the time we met till our wedding day he made us feel comfortable, it was no surprise to see the photos turn out perfect and the vibe he created on the day was fun and relaxing.”

“There was one photo where we were out on the beach at low tide, and like you would expect on your wedding day, a labrador walking on the beach decided to come and join the fun. Thanks to quick thinking from my maid of honour Leigh and her karate skills the dog didn’t get close to my dress.”

“The reception was held in the Aqua Restaurant that we had decorated by Ward Benedict and it looked like a fairy tale. There were white drapes hanging from the ceiling with fairy lights hidden amongst them and on each of the tables there were large silver candelabras, which had pink crystal scatters sprinkled around the table, the kids couldn’t get enough of them. After the cutting of the cake and desert, we moved from the restaurant to what they called the temple room where we had a DJ, dance floor, bar, lounges and dry-bars set-up. This is where we had our first dance followed by garter and bouquet toss. It was so fun and it added a party like atmosphere to the end of the night.”

“The speeches were definitely a highlight of the night with plenty of laughter and tears of joy. As you would expect the Dads where hilarious and David’s speech melted the room, we couldn’t have been happier.”

For their first dance, Karissa recalls, “We danced to “Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” by Aerosmith. Our first dance lacked professionalism but made up for it with love and intimacy with a hint of fun. We even managed to get a couple of spins and a dip in there.”

Congratulations Karissa and David! Thank you for sharing your day with us! Thank you also to Blue Sky Photography for sharing today’s imagery with us.