Liz & Ben
Wedding planning can be extremely overwhelming, so the best advice comes from today’s bride, Liz, who says that while she loved researching everything when planning their colourful, tropical hinterland wedding, she could get easily overwhelmed by the process and so she and now husband Ben just kept coming back to what suited them. And a relaxed wedding at Belle Helena, captured by Possum Creek Studios, was exactly what they wanted. Subsequent trips to Byron Bay for wedding planning were definitely an added bonus!
Of how they met, the bride remembers, “Ben and I met while working together at Dreamworld back in 2006. Ben was the water technician, and I worked in health and safety. We used to test out the “Flowrider” every Wednesday night with the engineers and got to talking while waiting for our turn!” The rest, as they say, is history!
Liz chose a gorgeous, lace gown from Suzanne Harward. “I really wanted a dress that had a V-shaped neckline AND at the back, and it was so hard to find! I first saw it on Instagram and the designer happened to be coming to A Darling Affair on the Gold Coast, so I went to see it in person and loved it! It was so light weight, which was great for the warmer weather up here and exactly what I was after! I didn’t want an overly bridal look and it just seemed simple and pretty. Also, it turned out their shop was just up the road from my head office in Melbourne so I could duck up for fittings at lunchtime when working down there. The ladies at Suzanne Harward were lovely, and when something wasn’t quite right they were willing to make sure it was perfect.”
Hair stylist Clare Moriarty, along with makeup artist Tanielle Jai, created the the soft, natural look for the bride and her bridal party, and their stunning, vibrant flowers were styled by The French Petal.
The groom wore a tailored, navy blue suit from Calibre and Ministry Menswear to create a classic, dapper silhouette on his day. Liz says warmly, “He chose navy as it is my favourite colour on him.”
“We really just wanted a fun, relaxed and heartfelt wedding ceremony,” the bride explains. “We just wanted a time to enjoy our ‘official’ commitment to each other in front of our closest friends and family.” Liz walked down the aisle to “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” by Israel Kamakawiwo’Ole, and the couple were married, by celebrant Oliver Thomson, in front of the beautiful palms of the rainforest.
“Our venue was just amazing! We actually had our first choice fall through, but Belle Helena was even better! I really wanted a tropical vibe, to feel like we were all on holidays and it was perfect with a rainforest on site! We were so lucky with the weather, as the day before was a little rainy. It was great to have a destination wedding too, it was so lovely to be in beautiful Byron Bay where we often holiday, but with all our closest family and friends. We just had the absolute best day!”
The couple chose Possum Creek Studios to shoot their wedding, and they couldn’t have been more happy with the results. “Ann-Louise was amazing!” gushes the bride. “She was always so relaxed, nothing was too difficult and she really put lots of effort and research in to ensure we got the beautiful photos we were hoping for! Her style was so effortless – we didn’t feel the pictures were posed at all, and having our photos taken didn’t feel like a chore. She managed to captured so many beautiful moments of our day. Ben and I headed down to the beach in the kombi to get some more beautiful photos. I loved taking some time out for just Ben and I after having bridal party photos and heading to the beach.”
Liz and Ben chose “Hold” by Vera Blue for their first dance. “It is such a beautiful, sweet song that we both liked. We are not the best of dancers, and didn’t want to look like idiots, so we had some dance lessons with Demi at Raw Dance Company and got it within just a few lessons!”
“The main thing that made our wedding so special was that it really just felt like us, the day was true to who we are together,” Liz tells, happily. “The location and weather were so beautiful – we were very lucky, but it was our closest friends and family that really made our day.”
“Insta Kombi, in particular, was awesome,” Liz tells. “I was lucky to find them only a month or two before our wedding and everyone loved it! They were so easy to deal and went above and beyond to make our day perfect. All of our vendors were absolutely outstanding!”
Byron Wedding Visual were on hand to capture the couple’s incredibly fun and joyful wedding film! “Possum Creek Studios and Byron Wedding Visual were an outstanding team that worked together so well, we are so thankful to have chosen them!”
https://vimeo.com/164659844
Congratulations on your fabulous day, Liz and Ben! Thank you to the couple, and to Possum Creek Studios, for sharing their glorious wedding with us.
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