Renee and Christopher
Christopher and I grew up living two streets away. I would spy him in the park and make a point of saying “Hey” as you do when you are 15 years old! We eventually started dating years later after we ran into each other at a night club. He agreed to go for a run with me in exchange for taking me to the movies and the rest is history. Christopher proposed on Christmas Eve. As we were both sitting under the Christmas tree enjoying a glass of red listening to a CD of ‘our songs’ that he had made, he asked me to marry him. His parents always hold a special Christmas Eve dinner so he organised for my family to come over after dinner and we celebrated the news together.
My sister actually picked my dress! I had made a few selections, none of which seemed to be the ‘one’. I told my sister “no” at first and she forced me (as sisters do!) to try it on. As soon as it was on I knew it was the one. It was a beautiful design by Wendy Makin which I purchased from Bella Donna Bridal North Qld.
My bridesmaids were gorgeous in pink; the design of their dresses was so flattering and they looked just beautiful!
Christopher and his groomsmen wore suits from Newpark Menswear.
I wanted old English roses with pops of green in my bouquet. The perfume of the roses was just sensational. Rainflowers Florist provided the flowers for the day; they were just what I wanted!
We were married at the Alamanda Great Barrier Reef Chapel which is managed by South Pacific Bridal. It is a purpose built chapel located right on the beach. When we originally decided to hold our wedding in Palm Cove I had booked two chapels to inspect. We attended the Alamanda Chapel first and I immediately cancelled the second appointment. Christopher said I couldn’t take the smile off my face when we arrived. I walked down the aisle to Pachelbel’s ‘Canon’ played on a harp by Joy Zahner. The sound of the harp was just enchanting.
Together for our vows, we wrote a list of promises that we agreed to make to each other. It was really fun making the list together. My favourite promise was “when you can’t fight anymore, I will fight for us”. It meant so much reading the promises to each other.
We were married by a local celebrant Wayne Rees. Wayne was a character! The best part of the ceremony was at the conclusion when he pronounced us as husband and wife. He told us to brace ourselves (which thankfully we did) and it made my Nanas jump!
After our ceremony we joined our guests for canapes and drinks under the palm trees on Palm Cove beach. The post-ceremony soiree was catered by Nu Nu and the food was exquisite. It was so wonderful to spend time with our guests that had travelled to celebrate with us immediately following our ceremony.
Ian Stone from Posh Photography captured our day. We felt very comfortable with Ian. We hired a limo from Cairns Luxury Limousines and Ian took us to a number of locations including an old saw mill, the Pier, train tracks and a creek surrounded by sugar cane. Our ceremony was filmed by Visibility Video. I am so happy we decided to film our ceremony and post ceremony celebrations. We will make a point of watching it every year!
Catered by Nu Nu once again, our reception was held on Sunset Terrace at the Sarayi Boutique Hotel. Our guests enjoyed canapés on arrival, pink sangria and a three course meal followed by wedding cake. The food was just exquisite and we received so many compliments about it from our guests. Our evening entertainment was provided by Andrea Mullens of Cairns Premier Entertainment. Andrea firstly sang throughout dinner and then played all our favourites as a great DJ.
Rather than a traditional bridal table, Christopher and I sat at a table ‘just for two’. Decorated in a gold cloth, it was so romantic!
My favourite part of the evening was Christopher’s speech. He delivered a beautiful speech and brought a lot of people to tears. At the conclusion of his speech he looked at me and said “And I’d choose you; in a hundred lifetimes, in a hundred worlds, in any version of reality, I’d find you and I’d choose you”. It was just perfect.
Ms Chinoiserie Says: What a beautiful wedding Renee and Christopher; a perfect day with family and friends – completed by Christopher’s heartfelt speech!
About Renee: My name is Renee Lovelady Tomas (yes I have kept my maiden name!). I am a lawyer in Townsville, Queensland and I am 27 years old. I drink lots of coffee and I love Minnie Mouse.
Wow – we are so very proud of you Renee, you have come a long way from the days of singing “Love Shack” in the back of Mum’s car 🙂 Steve and I were honoured to attend your beautiful wedding and share this very special time with Christopher, yourself, your families and your friends..
Excellent wedding photos, we just just loved the fact that each and every moment was captured so well. Everything is Really worth, considering its’s The special day for the couple.