Samantha & Craig’s Relaxed Australian Beach Wedding

Samantha & Craig

Sunrise is my favourite time of day so the idea of a wedding just after the sun comes up is my idea of something magical. Samantha and Craig’s relaxed Australian beach wedding was a surprise weekend celebration for their guests, who met at a Brisbane location before being transported together to North Stradbroke Island where the weekend celebrations unfolded. Samantha and Craig chose Bird + Boy Photography to capture their day.

Samantha and Craig told their guests “So, weddings seem to be a pretty big deal! It never seemed to matter to us, until we saw some of you get married and we experienced the happiness and excitement it brings to their family and friends. For us, two kids who squirm in the limelight, we want our wedding to be about the people we love the most. About you. You special, incredible, beautiful souls who have supported us, made us laugh, stuck with us and helped us grow! As travel addicts, we want you to have the excitement a holiday brings, as well as time to chill and relax. We would love for you to come with us, and hopefully we can provide you with our favourite travel elements: – suspense & surprise – dreaming & wondering – the unknown – letting go of control – thinking on the fly – learning new things – new experiences – adventures – finding magical places, people & things – stories & photos. We are 97.654% sure you will enjoy the journey and the surprises along the way!”

The couple started their wedding day morning with photographs, remembering “We found our photographers and celebrant through scouring blogs.  We knew the style of photos we loved and were so thrilled to support a young couple with a growing family and business! They blew us out of the water with speedy responses and were more than accommodating. Bird and Boy Photography were incredible as they had to travel to the island and be ready to go for our early morning wedding. Jerome helped us laugh and relax as we splashed in the water, tiptoed barefoot through the wetlands, scrambled up hills and balanced along the cliffs.”

The bride chose a lace dress by Spell and the Gypsy Collective with a Summerblossom flower crown and beaded barefoot sandals from Forever Soles. She tells “I love the beachy, gypsy vibe of Spell and the Gypsy collective. I saw the dress on their Instagram before it was released but thought it might be too casual. I went to a couple of bridal stores and found very simple dresses, but nothing really had the lacy, flowy style I wanted. I eventually decided that I loved it, even if it was casual. When I got around to buying it, it was sold out in Australia and I had to buy it from the USA. It arrived the morning I was going in for laser eye surgery. So it was a speedy try-on and decision before I wouldn’t be able to see properly for a week!”

Guests were welcomed to the ceremony with coffee by Half Lever Espresso, Sam noting “We found Half Lever Espresso through extensive Googling – Melbournians love their coffee and when combined with a morning ceremony, the expectations were high! Tim was wonderful and his coffee was a big hit! The decision to get Tim involved was great – everyone really enjoyed the morning coffee and it really fit in well with what we wanted.”

“I loved the signs and decorations along the beach and track. I had so much fun designing, choosing fonts and making them! The signs, lamps and other things we pieced together really fit the vibe we were going for and also the setting leading down to the ceremony.”

The celebrations were all held on North Stradbroke Island with the ceremony on Home Beach, Samantha remarking “We didn’t think or consider any other venues! When we first started discussing the wedding, it was more about how we could get married, and show how much we loved and appreciated our family and friends too. We love travelling and adventures (our honeymoon is our second round the world trip, we will be gone for 8 months) and we wanted to give this type of experience to our family and friends. We had been to Straddie a few times and love the wildlife, landscape, sea life and chilled vibe. We just wanted to share one of our favourite places with those we love. It was also where we got engaged!”

Vanessa Linn Butterfly Ceremonies officiated the ceremony, the bride noting “Our celebrant, Vanessa was brilliant, she is so relaxed and fun! She customised our whole ceremony and nothing was too hard or difficult! Again, we were happy to be supporting a young business owner – seems to be a theme!”

“Sam’s grandparents are an important part of her life so we wanted them included. They became our ring-bearers – although were only told that morning to minimise stress! They were so honoured and excited to have such a special role.”

Celebrations continued with a breakfast at Point Lookout Community Hall.  “Gordon, our caterer, we heard about when talking to locals – and whilst he is sometimes difficult to get a hold of, apparently ALWAYS pulls through – no exception with us! We needed to keep in mind he was planning for dozens of different weddings while we were only planning one. The food was delicious, and the last minute request for fresh coconuts was met with ease! Our guests raved about all our vendors – and we have nothing but praise! They were all phenomenal!”

Congratulations on your marriage Samantha and Craig! Thank you for sharing your stories with us! Thank you also  to Bird + Boy Photography  for sharing today’s gorgeous celebration.