Rachel and Lai’s Stylish Yandina Station Wedding

Rachel & Lai

I often wonder how those in the wedding industry make any decisions regarding their wedding – Rachael and Lai, who held their stylish Yandina Station wedding last year, captured by Marcus Bell of Studio Impressions, last year both work in events and decided on a day that was a careful consideration of their beliefs about life together.

Rachel and Lai, tell of their somewhat musical meeting. “Lai and I met doing backing vocals for Brisbane artist, Bec Laughton. Singing really did bring us together and I would say we will be singing together for the rest of our lives.”

Rachel decided on a gown and jewels by MXM Couture, Lai choosing a grey suit from Brisbane tailor Wil Valor.

Wedding planner, The Main Event Weddings kept everything on the straight and narrow, including the local wildlife! Rachel remembering, “A highlight, to everyone’s amusement, my wonderful wedding planner sacrificing herself to a vicious magpie so as to allow the safe arrival of the bridal car. We have pictures. Haha.”

Yandina Station was chosen for the wedding celebration, Rachel explaining, “Lai performs at high end weddings almost weekly and therefore I felt that he would be the best person to choose our wedding venue, being that he has pretty much seen them all. He chose the magnificent Yandina Station at Yandina because we wanted that “Southern Hospitality” feel to our wedding and Yandina is a unique venue that really does make people feel as though they have arrived home.” CL Weddings & Events styled the wedding and the beautiful touches.

Rachel walked down the aisle to “I’m Ready” by Anthony Hamilton. She remembers, “Memorable moments would include my brother giving me away, the look on Lai’s face when I walked down the aisle, and Lai’s family singing a traditional Fijian hymn to conclude our ceremony.”

The day was filled with love, sunshine and music, Rachel remarking, “The weather could not have been more perfect. We had our favourite vocalists performing at the different stages of the wedding day.”

I love how Rachel and Lai decided upon their guest list, another carefully considered aspect. Rachel explains, “Every person that was invited to our wedding had at some stage, positively impacted Lai and I, either separately, or as a couple. Despite their having been part of our history, we were excited about them being a part of our future as well.”

Twigs & Grace created the floral arrangements for the day.

Of their photographer, Rachel tells, “Marcus Bell from Studio Impressions just happens to be the best of the best. Everybody knows this.”

Guests were guided to their tables by pear place cards.

With both CL Weddings & Events and The Main Event Weddings – the couple’s wedding day was an incredible celebration with beautiful details. Rachel telling, “Despite making all the preparations possible with our wedding planner to make our wedding day the best day possible, we still felt that amongst all of the organisation, the day still felt natural and organic. It was not without it’s imperfections, but definitely the better for them. For example, the vintage bridal car we had initially hired, broke down on the way to the venue, and so an entirely different one showed up. It was still the best car we could have asked for.”

Guests enjoyed a delicious dinner catered by The Rolling Dolmade.

Rachel and Lai opted for wheels of cheese from Farmgate Cheese served with grapes for dessert in lieu of traditional cake. Music being high on Rachel and Lai’s priority list meant Higher Ground Band from Rush Entertainment were enlisted to get the party started.

The first dance was all about Lai’s Fijian culture and paid homage to the couple’s relationship status changing to dating! Rachel remembering, “We performed our first dance to “A Girl Like You” by Kevin Edmonds as this was the first song that Lai ever sent me once we had bridged the gap from being best friends to being more than that. I do have to mention that Lai performed a traditional Fijian dance called the Raude Dance with his two younger brothers, as we wanted to honour his Fijian culture which has brought so much to our relationship. This was definitely a highlight for me and all of our guests.

Lai & I only chose to go through with formalities which were important to us, which ensured that everything felt completely sincere; and although we are performers/singers, our wedding was not a show.”

Even the eldest wedding guests joined in, Rachel remarking, “A highlight would have to be Lai’s 87 year old Grandmother up on the dance floor which just made my life.”

Emm Films  shot the day in motion, creating this film of the day for Rachel and Lai’s memories.

Congratulations Rachel and Lai! Thank you for sharing your beautiful wedding with us, thank you to photographer Marcus Bell of Studio Impressions for sharing today’s celebration!