Glorious Gabbinbar Homestead Wedding

Molly & Kristian

If you’re in the mood for something a little bright, contemporary and fun, look no further than the stunning wedding of Molly and Kristian. The couple wanted their day to have a joyful, relaxed vibe to it, and to spend as much time with their family and friends (many who had travelled), so chose to keep everything at the one venue. Their glorious Gabbinbar Homestead wedding was captured by the fabulous Edwina Robertson, and we’re very in love!

Of how they came to be, Molly remembers, “We met in my home town of Toowoomba on a night out. Neither of us had planned on going out that night, but by chance we both changed our minds at the last minute. Kris worked away at the time, so in the beginning our relationship was based on long phone calls and romantic weekends away. But it quickly progressed into something really special. Kris proposed to me with the ring around Felix’s, our French Bulldog, collar on his first day as part of our family – so we knew he had to play a role in the wedding!”

The bride wore a modern Carla Zampatti gown, aptly named “Walk Me Down the Aisle”. “Nothing else compared,” Molly tells. “The dress suited my personality, and was just the perfect fit for the overall style of our wedding. I didn’t want something overly “bridal”, and the stripes and cut of the dress were so fun I couldn’t resist! I felt exactly how I always thought I would when I put the dress on on our wedding day. It was just perfect.”

Molly and her bridal party were able to get ready the morning of the wedding at Gabbinbar’s “bridal retreat”, the bride explaining, “This was the most amazing feature, as I was able to take walks around our venue in between hair and makeup, and take it all in before the wedding. It also meant that I was able to spend some quality time with my girls without having to do last minute tasks, which was so special. The staff at Gabbinbar were also incredible. I remember asking if they had an Apple charger for my computer, and one was delivered to the bridal retreat on a silver platter! They just made us feel like nothing was too much trouble.”

“I walked down the aisle to “The Feather Theme” from Forrest Gump, which is Kris’ favourite movie,” Molly remembers. “He had no idea that I had chosen that piece of music to walk down the aisle to, and says that it was one of the most special parts of the wedding for him.”

“It was important to us that our ceremony reflected our personalities. Kris hates being the centre of attention, so we wanted it to be short, sweet, succinct and relaxed so that we could celebrate with our guests all the sooner. We asked two of our closest friends to do readings, which were simple and relaxed – one reading was a quote from Bob Marley. Our French Bulldog, Felix, was in attendance at our ceremony. He stole the show and walked out with us as husband and wife!”

The couple’s choice of venue for their ceremony and reception, Gabbinbar Homestead, is an historic estate in Toowoomba in Queensland. They were married in the gorgeous gazebo, filled with amazing flowers, and the reception was held in the conservatory, complete with an atmospheric glass ceiling. “I was lucky enough to have the assistance of my friend, the beautiful Annie Glover from Blue Willow Weddings & Events, to help me in the preparation and styling of our wedding,” gushes the bride. “Annie and I planned and organised all aspects of the wedding together. Annie played such a crucial role in our day. It meant that my bridesmaids, my mother and I were able to relax on the morning of the wedding, as Annie worked tirelessly to make sure every detail was perfect. She did all of the styling, table arrangements and arranged our hanging gardens herself – she is really talented!”

The bride and groom planted each individual basil plant and painted each gold pot together for their wedding favours. “As a couple, cooking is an enormous part of our lives and our herb garden is always full of basil, so we thought it was the perfect gift for our guests. We have had so many reports that their basil plants are thriving!”

The flowers for Molly’s bouquet were from Toowoomba Flower Market. “I adored our flowers. They were so beautiful and really capped off the styling. I really wanted dahlias in my bouquet, as my late grandfather used to grow them and they have special meaning to me. Initially, I was told that I was unable to have them as they were out of season. I was so disappointed. Then, on the day, my bouquet arrived – with the most beautiful dahlias included. I felt like my Papa was there. It was a really emotional moment.”

“We had the pleasure of having the beautiful Edwina Robertson do our wedding photos. She is phenomenal, and her photos speak for themselves. We are so happy with our photos – they capture the exact feel of the entire day. Asking Edwina to be part of our day was one of the best investments we made.”

The MC at the couple’s reception was Molly’s sister (who was also her maid of honour). “Her speech was absolutely hilarious!” laughs the bride. “See the paddles – she made us play a game of “I Do” where we had to answer with “I Do” or “?” to various questions regarding our personality shortcomings. She did such a great job, and had everyone in stitches!”

Molly and Kris danced to “Forever” by Ben Harper for their first dance. “The lyrics are simple, meaningful and beautiful, and it has been our song since we started dating, so it has a lot of meaning to both of us and there really was no other option,” the bride explains.

“Our band, Ramjet, were phenomenal and had all of the guests on the dance floor all night! At the end of the night, they asked us to pick the last song. To their shock (as I think they thought we would choose something chilled for the last song) we chose “Jump Around” by House of Pain, and I remember looking around and all of our guests had one arm raised and were jumping in sync, including all of our aunties and uncles – age was no exception. It was one of my favourite moments from the night. It was the perfect ending to such a fun night.”